Nominees announced for 2020 James Tait Black Prize

James Tait Black Prize 2020 nominees announced

Three nominees have been announced for this year's £10,000 James Tait Black Prize.

Any original play written in English, Gaelic, or Scots is eligible to be nominated for the award, with previous winners including David Ireland (for Cyprus Avenue), Gary Owen (for his one-woman monologue Iphigenia in Splott​), Gordon Dahlquist (for Tomorrow Come Today), and Tanika Gupta (for Lions and Tigers).

The James Tait Black Prize is overseen by the University of Edinburgh, who announces the lucky winner generally every August. This year's nominees were carefully selected from over 80 entries worldwide and the winner will be revealed next month.

List of 2020 James Tait Black Prize nominees in full

The three nominated plays this year include seven methods of killing kylie jenner written by Jasmine Lee-Jones and produced by the Royal Court Theatre with support from Jerwood Arts; [BLANK] written by Alice Birch and co-produced by Donmar Warehouse and Clean Break; and J'Ouvert written by Yasmin Joseph and produced by Theatre503. 

Last year, Clare Barron won the James Tait Black Prize for her play Dance Nation.

A statement from Greg Walker of the judging panel

Greg Walker, Judging Panel Chairman, said: "This year's astounding shortlist works with timely themes in exciting and fresh new ways. This year we had our highest number of entries for the Prize, and they showed exciting diversity of form and writing.

"When considering the award, we ask our judges to nominate dramas that make them look at life a little differently, and this year's James Tait Black nominees more than fit the bill in this challenging year."