Exploring the tensions between local communities and tourists, the winner of the first Lighthouse Playwriting Prize may be set in Cornwall but it will touch a nerve throughout Dorset and the South West. 

St Ives, by Dan Nixon, is set in the Cornish beauty spot and tells the contemporary story of the difficulty local people in finding affordable housing in the face of demand and prices pushed up by interest from the tourist/second homes market. 

The play will now be performed by professional actors at Lighthouse in a rehearsed reading on 9 March in front of a paying audience as well as invited guests from regional producing houses. The reading will also be recorded. 

Launched last year to discover new stories and to champion writers, the first Lighthouse Playwriting Prize attracted 41 entries that were judged by a panel of independent readers including Bridport-based international theatre director and practitioner Natasha Nixon (no relation!) who will direct the rehearsed reading, playwright Andrew Muir, Tamsin Fessey and Lynne Forbes of Angel Exit, Gobbledegook Theatre’s Lorna Rees and readers from Wiltshire Creative. 

Commenting on the competition and the winning entry, Natasha said: "I was taken aback by the breadth of subject matter and inspired by the tenacity of the writing to reach for new ways to reflect our audiences and communities. 

“St Ives was one of the plays that myself and the team kept coming back to and in the end it felt that the quality of the writing combined with the themes were ripe for a rehearsed reading and to develop further.” 

In awarding the main prize of £1500 and the rehearsed reading to St Ives, the judges also singled out four plays to be supported in development: 

Lifeline by Ashton Corbin, from Weymouth 

The Paper Doesn’t Rot by Frankie Golding, from Bridport 

The Modern Shelleys by Rohan Prescott- Hedley from Poole 

Can You See Me Now by Rowan Headley, from Weymouth 

Each received £150 with a further £350 to be spent on dramaturge advice and mentoring. 

Natasha added: “The fact that this competition will also develop four other writers in the area is brilliant. Yes, it is a competition and there is a winner, but really this competition is about beginning relationships with artists in and around the South West to nurture their talent and bring their work to audiences. I’m delighted to be a part of it.” 

Lighthouse Producer: Artist Development, Paula Hammond commented: "Not only was the standard of entries received for the first Lighthouse Playwriting Prize absolutely phenomenal, but our wonderful readers did a fantastic job of providing feedback for every entry.” 

Lighthouse Playwriting Prize was funded by Garfield Weston Foundation. 

Lighthouse wants its commissioned artists and writers to reflect our audiences and communities and encourages applications from people who are under-represented in the arts, including people who experience racism, identify as working class, have disabilities, are from the LGBTQ+ community, are care experienced or are discriminated against.