The 2023 Women's Prize for Playwriting has been awarded to Sarah Grochala for her play Intelligence. Exclusively available to female or non-binary playwrights, the prize includes a £12,000 award, as well as the opportunity to have the winning play produced by Ellie Keel Productions and Paines Plough.
Intelligence tells the story of computing pioneer Ada Lovelace, who is determined to forge a career for herself as a scientist, but finds every path blocked by men. When she is repeatedly reincarnated, Lovelace realizes the world of technology may not be everything she believed.
“Sarah Grochala's Intelligence is one of the plays I've been dreaming of finding since the idea for this prize first came to me," prize founder and director Ellie Keel said in a statement. "It is powerful, original, expansive, ambitious—all the things that audiences hope for and deserve when they book to see a new play. Sarah's writing is witty and luminescent, vividly bringing to life her detailed research into the story of a fascinating and overlooked scientist and computing pioneer, Ada Lovelace, whose struggle to be recognized and fulfill her full potential sadly is, or has been, shared by so many women throughout history."
The competition opened January 16, 2023. Over 1,000 entries were received and judged by a panel made up of Indhu Rubasingham, Samira Ahmed, April de Angelis, Chris Bush, Noma Dumezweni, Mel Kenyon, Anya Ryan, Nina Steiger, and Katharine Viner.
The Women's Prize for Playwriting is sponsored by Concord Theatricals and Fiery Angel. The prize's founding sponsor is PER.
