Alice Birch is this year’s recipient of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, American Theatre reports. She’s being honored for “Anatomy of a Suicide,” a play about three generations of women dealing with a legacy of depression. It premiered last year at the Royal Court in London.
Named after American actress and writer Susan Smith Blackburn, the Blackburn Prize was launched in 1977, and has since honored nearly 400 plays by women. The award — which includes $25,000 — recognizes English-language plays from female playwrights from around the globe.
“I was interested in whether trauma can be passed on through our DNA; how much is nature and nurture?” Birch has said of “Anatomy of a Suicide.” “I’d read somewhere that when the mother kills herself, it’s chaos. Once the suicide taboo has been broken in a family, does it becomes easier to repeat later? And I wanted to look at how does one break out of that pattern so the cycle doesn’t become inevitable?” she explained. “As research, I met an academic who specializes in suicide studies at Oxford University and we talked about what it means when your mother kills herself, how difficult it is to form yourself as an adult when your mother is removed from you.”
Birch’s other plays include “Many Moons” and “Revolt. She said. Revolt again.” She made her screenwriting debut with last year’s “Lady Macbeth,” a critically acclaimed period drama about a young bride sold into marriage who begins sleeping with her servant.
Clare Baron took home the Blackburn Prize in 2017 for “Dance Nation,” a dark comedy about a pre-teen dance competition inspired by “Dance Moms.” The year prior the honor went to Lynn Nottage for “Sweat,” a drama set in a Pennsylvania town rocked by rumors of layoffs at the local factory.
All of this year’s Blackburn Prize finalists are listed below. Each will receive $5,000.
- Elinor Cook (U.K.), Out of Love
- Aleshea Harris (U.S.), Is God Is
- Fiona Doyle (Ireland), The Strange Death of John Doe
- Colleen Murphy (Canada), The Breathing Hole
- Antoinette Nwandu (U.S.), Pass Over
- Nina Raine (U.K.), Consent
- Anusree Roy (Canada), Trident Moon
- Tori Sampson (U.S.), If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must be a Muhfucka
- Lauren Yee (U.S.), The Great Leap
