Comic scoops £10,000 award

Comedian Katie Mulgrew has won a £10,000 playwriting prize.

The Rochdale stand-up won the award from Liverpool Hope University for her play Omnibus, about a group of housemates watching a soap opera 'until an unexpected visitor arrives to give them an episode to remember'.

The Royal Court Liverpool is now considering staging the play on the back of her success in the award, which is the second largest prize of its kind in the UK.

Mulgrew – the daughter of legendary comic Jimmy Cricket – was voted the winner from more than 200 submissions from a panel that included actor Kathy Burke, writer Frank Cottrell Boyce and playwright John Godber.

After her victory she tweeted that she was 'so unbelievably shocked and chuffed' at the award.

She said: 'When I saw the list of judges, I knew I'd love my work to be judged by those people. I thought that even to get feedback would be incredible, but to win is unbelievable.

'The fact that it was judged anonymously also means a lot to me. It means that there was no positive discrimination and that everyone's work was judged on its merits, which makes me feel amazing.

'I hope that this play will be a platform for my comedy writing and a chance to really break into the comedy world. It would be an absolute dream to have my play performed at the Royal Court.'

John Bennett, principal lecturer in drama at Liverpool Hope University, said: 'Her play made me laugh out loud and is a skilful, deft combination of classic farce with contemporary urban mores; all judges agreed it was a worthy winner.'

And John Godber, whose work includes Bouncers, said of Omnibus: 'There was an honesty about it. There was a truth about the situation. In the end, there was a unanimous decision on the winner.'

Published: 2 Apr 2015