Winners of Live Theatre's North East Playwriting Award 2026 Announced

The winners of the North East Playwriting Award 2026 were announced at a ceremony at Live Theatre on Tuesday 31 March 2026. 

Andrew Thompson won the main award for his play Not A Happy Love Song which will receive a full commission with a view to a production on Live Theatre’s main stage. The Under 26 Award was won jointly by Ben Gettins for Fiddle and Abby J. Walker for The Hanging Room. 

Supported by the Northern School Of Art, the biennial awards were open to all writers over the age of 16 who are from, living or working in the North East. A host of special awards were also presented for 2026.

Milethia Rachel Thomas scooped the Residency Award for Amazing Grace, a new play about voluntary homelessness in response to the Windrush scandal and how prejudice in the modern day is increasingly normalised.

Theatre critic Tracey Sinclair received the Outstanding Contribution to North East Theatre award. A tireless champion of North East Theatre, Tracey plays a crucial role in keeping new voices in the national conversation. Her award was presented to her by Lyn Gardner from The Stage. 

Hamzeh Al Hussien, the Syrian writer and performer of critically acclaimed production Penguin won the Adopt A Playwright grant, a special grant to help seed fund his next play The Entertainer. Ukrainian artists Ivanna Nitsak and Volodymyr Piterov were given the Spirit of The North East Award by North East legend Jimmy Nail. 

The tireless founder of Alphabetti Ali Pritchard, who has transformed the emerging and mid-career artists scene in the North East and beyond, was recognised with the Live Theatre Honorary Award.

The main award winner Andrew Thompson’s play Not A Happy Love Song is a stunning new play about the unravelling of the NHS explored through a toxic relationship. 

Andrew said: “This means so much. It means everything to me as a writer to have my work read and championed by Live Theatre, a space I grew up in and have been constantly inspired by. I feel truly honoured to have won and am really excited for the opportunities this represents."

Ben Gettins said: “It’s an honour to receive an award in a theatre that has such a working class legacy and to be part of it’s future is priceless.”

Abby J. Walker commented: “Winning this award means the absolute world to me, especially as someone trying to find their feet in their writing career. To be so welcomed and encouraged by Live Theatre and their community of fellow playwrights and theatre-makers is more than I ever could have hoped for. I'm so excited to work on The Hanging Room and set it on its journey!”

Live Theatre Artistic Director, Jack McNamara, added: “Playwrights have more to say than ever right now. We were overwhelmed with submissions and judged every one anonymously. So these are very worthy winners and we are thrilled that they happen to cover such a wide spread of the North East region. We are also very happy to be able to shout about some truly unsung heroes. Ali Pritchard who changed the game in the North East with Alphabetti, Tracey Sinclair who is one of our most devoted regional critics, the great Hamzeh Al Hussien and our two Ukrainian colleagues Ivanna Nitsak and Volodymyr Piterov. The North East new work scene is feeling very exciting indeed.”

The evening also included readings from Fiddle and The Hanging Room and Jack McNamara interviewed directors and writers of productions premiering in the 2026-2027 season.