In its 42nd year and from a record number of 1700 submissions, 20 new plays have been longlisted for Soho Theatre’s new writing competition, the Verity Bargate Award, sponsored by Character 7.

In a clear reflection of originality and audacity of emerging playwrights from across UK and Ireland, the list includes plays that span an extraordinary range of subjects, themes and genres. From an ailing bar in 1950s Trinidad and Tobago to encounters with walruses in contemporary Norway, to a near future where memories can be extracted and preserved for future generations.

Good
Written by Joy Nesbitt

Bullock Creek, SC. 1862. Ginnie is an enslaved woman enwrapped in a 10 year relationship with her captor, Doc. Navigating oppression of plantation life with 5 children, Ginnie attempts to conduct a romantic relationship with Doc as the civil war rages around the plantation. On the eve of emancipation, she must make a decision: to stay with her captor or free herself. Based on the true family history of the playwright, Good explores freedom, coercion, and ways in which Black women have had to navigate misogynoir throughout history.