Irish playwright Rory Mullarkey has become the third recipient of the Royal Court Theatre’s annual Pinter Commission.
Presented by Harold Pinter’s widow Lady Antonia Fraser, the prize is given annually to support a new or established playwright in writing a new play for the Sloane Square venue.
Mullarkey, who last year became the youngest playwright to have his work performed at the Royal Exchange Manchester when he premiered his first full length play Cannibals, has built a strong relationship with the Royal Court and has worked with the venue on a number of projects including the translation of Russian and Ukrainian plays.
On receiving his award, Mullarkey said: “Harold Pinter and the Royal Court Theatre have always been gigantic inspirations to me, so I feel really honoured and grateful for the opportunity.”
The Royal Court’s Artistic Director Vicky Featherstone believed the playwright’s prize was well-deserved, saying: “I’m enormously excited to offer Rory his first commission for the Royal Court as a playwright in his own right. He is a remarkable writer – an original fresh voice, with a sharp political edge and a thread of his Eastern European travels running through.”
Previous recipients of the award, which Fraser describes as “exactly what Harold would have wanted”, include double Olivier nominated playwright Nick Payne and If You Don’t Let Us Dream, We Won’t Let You Sleep’s Anders Lustgarten.