Could you write like Bernard Shaw?

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The Shaw Society / T F Evans award

Offered for the first time in 2011, this award in memory of the late T F Evans will be made for a sequel or additional scene for a Shaw play, reflecting not only his literary style but his wit and wisdom.

The judges for the award will include Sir Michael Holroyd (Shaw’s biographer), Barbara Smoker (ex-president National Secular Society), Sam Walters (Artistic Director, Orange Tree Theatre), Sylvia Syms (film, TV and theatre actor) and Alan Knight (chair of the Shaw Society)

The Shaw Society / T F Evans award is open to all ages, professions and nationalities; there is no charge for entries. Further information and guidance, and details of how to enter, are given below.
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An award of £500 will be made for the winning entry, which will also be given a rehearsed reading

Closing date for entries: 31 July 2011

The award

In the first year, the award will be made for an additional scene (a prequel, a sequel or an inserted scene) for one of the following plays by Bernard Shaw:

• Mrs Warren’s Profession
• Candida
• John Bull’s Other Island
• The Doctor’s Dilemma
• The Apple Cart The judges will look particularly for entries which reflect both the literary style and the “wit and wisdom” of Shaw.

Shaw himself wrote additional scenes for a number of his plays, notably for the film versions of Major Barbara and Pygmalion (including for the latter the Embassy Ball scene, which introduces an entirely new character). He also of course added extensive Prefaces and Postscripts to many plays, which in some cases suggest what any additional scene might be like.

An example of an additional scene could be an epilogue to Candida, ten years later, in which Marchbanks returns to the Morell household; or a scene inserted between Acts 3 and 4 of Mrs Warren’s Profession in which Kitty Warren tries to find out from Sir George and Frank Gardner why Vivie has fled back to London. But we would also welcome entries which not simply extend an existing Shaw play but subtly bring it up to date, by making reference to contemporary themes or debates. What might Shaw have written if he were still alive at the beginning of the 21st century? (An example might be an epilogue to John Bull’s Other Island, set a hundred years after the events of the play, reflecting on more recent Irish history.)

Entries for the award should be a scene of between 20 and 45 minutes’ playing time. The title page should name the play and where the scene is to be inserted. Since the judges will not be told the names of entrants, please include your name only on the title page or covering email. The closing date is 31 July 2011 and the winner will be notified by 31 October 2011.
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Terms and conditions of the Shaw Society / T F Evans award, 2011

1. The Shaw Society / T F Evans award is open to all ages, professions and nationalities.


2. The full specification for entries is as published on the Society’s website:
   www.shawsociety.org.uk.


3. Entrants may submit one entry only, of between 20 and 45 minutes’ playing time.


4. Entries must be submitted via email to: tfevansaward@shawsociety.org.uk. Please include your email address in the file if submitting as an attachment, or in the email itself. (Alternatively, entries will be accepted as hard copies, but three non-returnable copies must be supplied. Address for posting: Shaw Society / T F Evans award, c/o 22 Selborne Road, London, N22 7TL.)


5. The closing date for entries is 31 July 2011. Entries will not be accepted after that date.


6. The Shaw Society cannot accept responsibility for entries which are not received or which are received after the closing date due to technical failure or for any other reason.


7. The winner of the award will be notified by 31 October 2011 and the result published on the Society’s website.


8. The decision of the award judges will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.


9. The judges reserve the right not to make an award if no entry is considered to be of sufficient quality.