Kaite O'Reilly's play IN WATER I'M WEIGHTLESS is on the shortlist for the new James Tait Black Drama Prize. The shortlist of five was picked from more than 180 submissions. The winner will be announced at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh on 5th August.
The play, performed by a cast of deaf and disabled actors, explores our connection to our own bodies. The original National Theatre Wales production premiered at the Wales Millennium Centre, before transferring to London's Southbank Centre. It was commissioned as part of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival.
The new drama award sits alongside the James Tait Black awards for fiction and biography, Britain's oldest literary prizes. The £10,000 award is judged by representatives of the University of Edinburgh, the National Theatre Scotland and the Traverse Theatre.
Neil Murray, Executive Producer at The National Theatre of Scotland said: "It is an incredibly strong shortlist, of bold, provocative plays - exactly what this award sets out to recognise."
While Nicola McCartney, playwright and lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, said: "We are thrilled by the response to the first year of our drama prize. The James Tait Black Awards are renowned for showcasing the very best of literature and we are delighted to celebrate the work of playwrights this year.
"The shortlisted plays are of an incredibly high calibre and address a wide number of important issues - it will be a real challenge for the panel to choose a winner."
