The Geoffrey Whitworth Trophy is awarded annually to an original short play first performed in the UK one-act play festivals organised by the four nations. Geoffrey Whitworth founded the British Drama League in 1919. He was heavily involved in drama for many years and encouraged original work; his philosophy was to ensure that writers would benefit from seeing their plays performed and adjudicated.
In 2026, nineteen plays were entered for the competition – four from Scotland and fifteen from England. The scripts were judged and marked by groups of experienced people from all four countries, with the top nine being sent to final judge Colin Dolley to pick the winner and give his comments.
Two scripts were highly commended. Estimated Time of Arrival by Tom Casling from Durham is a claustrophobic two-hander in which obsession, control, stalking and the passing of time are just some of the themes. Tigers by Brian Hutchison from Liverpool is a dark and unsettling play: there is a line near the end of Lord of the Flies that speaks of the ‘end of innocence’, and that is one of its several themes.
Runner-up this year was We Found Love in a Homeless Place by Jamie McLeish from Sunderland. Aptly taking its title from the Rihanna song, the play has themes which include loss, despair, homelessness and, eventually, hope.
Colin felt the two central characters are drawn with skill and have genuine depth, their growing relationship explored with nuance and understanding. We are drawn to them as people and to their situation. The son, however, does not have the same depth and remains somewhat superficial. The opening situation is set up well, and the growing, compassionate connection between the older woman and the young homeless man is plotted well and always with the ring of truth – they seem drawn together as two lost souls.
The play is episodic, structured over ten scenes, and there may be space for a few cuts that would give the text a tighter shape; perhaps the concluding scene is just a shade too pat. But undoubtedly, although it deals with tough subjects like loneliness, abandonment and grief, this play is also about the power of friendship and has abundant warm humanity.
We were delighted that Keith Mackenzie from Perth won the trophy with his brilliant play A Thousand Invisible Choices.
Colin commented that there is nothing original about a plot where a woman meets a man by serendipitous accident, which is the starting point of this new play. There is, however, much originality in the style and structure of the writing in this absorbing script. The dialogue moves easily from inner thoughts and scene-setting to real-life interchanges between the two characters, each gradually revealing their own back story as the relationship develops.
We gradually discover why they have come to this remote Gairloch hotel in 1987 – the woman having a personal emotional crisis, while the man is facing a physically sinister crunch time.
This offers two great, nuanced roles for the actors. The characters are well rounded and create interest from the outset, and that involvement is maintained and built as we see them taking steps to discover each other and explore their emotional situation. As they warm to each other we, too, warm to them, as their gradual steps are plotted with great skill by the playwright.
The narrative moves through several scenes and would need a creative set designer and astute director to keep the production moving fluidly without losing the dramatic energy the play demands. The very brief appearances of three other characters might be better played by different actors rather than by the central couple.
The play is structured intelligently, building to a final scene which is not wrapped in a glib happy-ever-after moment, but leaves the couple – and us – with the possibility of an important, more visible, life-enhancing choice in the future.