Lincoln PhD Student Shortlisted for Prestigious Verity Bargate Award

Samantha Miles, a third-year PhD student in Creative Writing at the University of Lincoln, has been shortlisted for the highly acclaimed Verity Bargate Award, Soho Theatre’s premier new writing competition.

The award, sponsored by TV production company Character 7, has been celebrating impactful new plays and voices since it was created in 1982 and sees the winning work rewarded with a full production at Soho Theatre, London.

This year’s competition saw a record-breaking 1,700 submissions and Samantha’s play, Dragonslayer, was selected as one of just five plays on the shortlist.

Dragonslayer represents a central part of Samantha’s creative portfolio for her PhD at Lincoln, where her research explores authorial agency in contemporary gothic playwriting. The play’s six-month creative process resulted in a theatrical work that embraces both the eccentric and the grand historical themes of the stage.

Though set in the present day, the play weaves together elements of medieval fantasy and modernity, featuring princesses, knights, jesters, and even dragon puppets. Inspired by Shakespearean comedy, 19th-century gothic melodrama, and modern performance art, the play juxtaposes its lively theatrics with a poignant commentary on gender-based violence throughout history and the narratives that shape women’s lives, directly informed by Samantha’s own lived experiences.

Samantha shared her excitement at being shortlisted: “I am absolutely overjoyed to see my play make it to the Verity Bargate Award shortlist, having submitted it to the competition with absolutely no expectations whatsoever.

“Not only is it a play that represents months of creative research in the context of my PhD, it is also a very personal play that I hold close to my heart. To know that it has been read and enjoyed by a number of people throughout the competition means the world to me.”

The winner of the Verity Bargate Award will be announced on November 7, 2024 and will receive an £8,000 award, alongside the opportunity for a London stage production at Soho Theatre, as well as workshops and rehearsed readings of their play in both India and the USA.

This year’s judging panel includes celebrated figures from stage and screen: Stephen Garrett, Alan Cumming, Anthony Lau, Anupama Chandrasekhar, Moira Buffini, Rebecca Lucy Taylor (AKA Self Esteem), and Ryan Calais Cameron.