Draft:Edinburgh Fringe First Awards
Annual theatre award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
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The Scotsman Fringe First Awards, commonly known as the Fringe Firsts, are annual theatre awards presented by The Scotsman for outstanding new writing premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Established in 1973, they are the oldest and longest-running awards at the Fringe.[1][2]
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DescriptionOutstanding new writing premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
LocationEdinburgh
CountryScotland
Presented byThe Scotsman
| Scotsman Fringe First Awards | |
|---|---|
| Description | Outstanding new writing premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe |
| Location | Edinburgh |
| Country | Scotland |
| Presented by | The Scotsman |
| Established | 1973 |
History
The awards were established in 1973 by Scotsman arts editor Allen Wright (journalist) and Edinburgh Festival Fringe administrator John Milligan. They were created to encourage and recognise new writing at the Fringe.[3]
The awards are presented in multiple rounds during the festival rather than as a single annual prize. Over time, Fringe First winners have included writers and performers who later became prominent in British theatre and comedy.[4]
Format and eligibility
The awards are given to works of new writing premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. According to the Fringe's published criteria, eligible shows must be listed in the theatre, dance and physical theatre, musicals and opera, or children's shows sections of the programme; shows in cabaret may be considered on a case-by-case basis.[5]
To be eligible, a show must run for at least eight days. The work must be dramatic in form, with a significant element of narrative or character exploration. Abstract dance and movement works are not eligible. The awards are intended for new writing premiered in Edinburgh rather than previously reviewed or extensively staged work.[6]
Sponsorship
The awards have had a number of sponsors. In 2024 they were jointly sponsored by Edinburgh Napier University and Queen Margaret University.[7] In 2025 they were sponsored by Queen Margaret University and Stagecoach.[8]
Notable recipients
Past recipients have included Phoebe Waller-Bridge for Fleabag in 2013 and Richard Gadd for Baby Reindeer in 2019.[9][10]
Other Fringe First-winning works include Black Watch in 2006, and Orphans in 2009.[11]
Winners by year
2015
| Work | Writer(s) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| The Christians[12] | Gate Theatre | |
| A Gambler's Guide to Dying[12] | Gary McNair | |
| Going Viral[12] | Daniel Bye | Dan Bye |
| The History of the World Through Banalities[12] | Kopergietery | |
| Jennifer Tremblay Trilogy Part III – The Deliverance[12] | Stellar Quines Theatre Company | |
| Swallow[12] | Traverse Theatre Company | |
| Underneath[12] | Fishamble | |
| Citizen Puppet[12] | Blind Summit Theatre | |
| The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy[12] | Theater aan Zee & Richard Jordan | |
| Labels[12] | Joe Sellman-Leava | Worklight Theatre |
| Light Boxes[12] | Grid Iron | |
| Raz[12] | Assembly Festival and Riverside Studios | |
| Tar Baby[12] | Desiree Burch and Platt Productions | |
| Trans Scripts[12] | Paul Lucas Productions | |
| A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing[12] | Corn Exchange, Dublin | |
| Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour[12] | NTS & Live Theatre, Newcastle | |
| Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer[12] | Penny Arcade | |
| A Reason to Talk[12] | KunstZ, Big in Belgium and Richard Jordan | |
| What I Learned from Johnny Bevan[12] | Luke Wright |
2016
| Work | Writer(s) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Angel[13] | Henry Naylor | Pipeline Productions |
| Counting Sheep[13] | Lemon Bucket Orkestra in association with Aurora Nova | |
| Expensive Shit[13] | Adura Onashile | Scottish Theatre Producers in association with Traverse Theatre |
| Heads Up[13] | Kieran Hurley with Show And Tell | |
| The Interference[13] | Pepperdine University (USA) | |
| World Without Us[13] | Ontroerend Goed, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Vooruit, Richard Jordan Productions, Summerhall | |
| Daffodils (A Play With Songs)[13] | Bullet Heart Club | |
| Fabric[13] | Robin Rayner, TREMers & The Marlowe Theatre | |
| Faslane[13] | Jenna Watt in association with Showroom and Contact | |
| Mark Thomas: The Red Shed[13] | Lakin McCarthy in association with West Yorkshire Playhouse | |
| Tank[13] | Breach | |
| Two Man Show[13] | RashDash | |
| Us / Them[13] | BRONKS, Big in Belgium, Richard Jordan, Theatre Royal Plymouth | |
| One Hundred Homes[13] | Yinka Kuitenbrouwer, Big in Belgium, Richard Jordan, Theatre Royal Plymouth | |
| Letters to Windsor House[13] | Sh!t Theatre with Show and Tell | |
| JOAN[13] | Milk Presents, in association with Derby Theatre and Underbelly Untapped | |
| Growth[13] | Paines Plough | |
| The Duke[13] | Hoipolloi, PBJ Management, Theatre Royal Plymouth with Save The Children | |
| Scorch[13] | Prime Cut Productions |
2017
| Work | Writer(s) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Nassim[14] | Bush Theatre | |
| Flesh and Bone[14] | Unpolished Theatre | |
| Letters to Morrissey[14] | Traverse Theatre in association with Tron Theatre | |
| Enterprise[14] | Americana Absurdum Productions | |
| The Believers Are But Brothers[14] | Javaad Alipoor | Javaad Alipoor |
| A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad)[14] | Silent Uproar in association with LittleMighty | |
| The Shape of the Pain[14] | China Plate, Rachel Bagshaw and Chris Thorpe | |
| How to Act[14] | National Theatre of Scotland | |
| Borders[14] | Henry Naylor | Gilded Balloon and RedBeard Theatre |
| £¥€$ (LIES)[14] | Big in Belgium, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Vooruit, Richard Jordan Productions | |
| Adam[14] | National Theatre of Scotland | |
| Education, Education, Education[14] | The Wardrobe Ensemble | |
| Fag/Stag[14] | Underbelly and The Last Great Hunt | |
| Foreign Radical[14] | Theatre Conspiracy with Aurora Nova | |
| (More) Moira Monologues[14] | Kyle / Bissett Productions | |
| Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story[14] | 2b theatre company with Aurora Nova | |
| Stand By[14] | Utter |
2018
| Work | Writer(s) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Angry Alan[15] | Penelope Skinner | Francesca Moody with Underbelly |
| The Basement Tapes[15] | Stella Reid, Jane Yonge, Thomas Lambert and Oliver Morse | Zanetti Productions |
| Class[15] | Iseult Golden and David Horan | Abbey Theatre, Dublin |
| First Snow/Premiere Neige[15] | Davey Anderson, Philippe Ducros and Linda McLean | National Theatre of Scotland, Theatre PÀP and Hotel-Motel |
| Status[15] | Chris Thorpe | Chris Thorpe, Rachel Chavkin, China Plate and Staatstheater Mainz |
| Ulster American[15] | David Ireland (playwright) | Traverse Theatre |
| What Girls Are Made Of[15] | Cora Bissett | Traverse Theatre Company and Raw Material with Regular Music |
| Dressed[15] | Josie Dale-Jones, Lydia Higginson, Nobahar Mahdavi and Olivia Norris | This Egg, MadeMyWardrobe, Untapped Underbelly and New Diorama |
| DUPed[15] | John McCann | Ambergris |
| Mark Thomas – Check Up: Our NHS at 70[15] | Mark Thomas | Lakin McCarthy |
| My Left Right Foot – The Musical[15] | Robert Softley Gale, Scott Gilmour, Claire McKenzie, and Richard Thomas | Birds of Paradise and the National Theatre of Scotland |
| On the Exhale[15] | Martin Zimmerman | China Plate and Audible |
| Square Go[15] | Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair | Francesca Moody |
| Underground Railroad Game[15] | Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard | Soho Theatre and Ars Nova of New York |
| Archive of Educated Hearts[15] | Casey Jay Andrews | Lion House Theatre |
| It's True It's True It's True[15] | Breach Theatre | Breach Theatre, Untapped by Underbelly and New Diorama |
| Power Play: Funeral Flowers[15] | Emma Dennis-Edwards | Power Play |
| Trojan Horse[15] | Helen Monks and Matt Woodhead | Lung & West Yorkshire Playhouse |
| Unsung[15] | Valentijn Dhaenens | Skagen/KVS, Big In Belgium, Richard Jordan, TRP and Summerhall |
| Valerie[15] | Robin Kelly, Cherie Moore and Tom Broome | Last Tapes Theatre Co |
2019
| Work | Writer(s) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Arthur[16] | Daniel Bye | Daniel Bye, One Tenth Human, and ARC, Stockton |
| Enough[16] | Stef Smith (playwright) | Traverse Theatre |
| How Not to Drown[16] | Nicola McCartney and Dritan Kastrati | ThickSkin with Traverse Theatre, Tron Theatre and Lawrence Batley Theatre Huddersfield |
| Mustard[16] | Eva O'Connor | Eva O'Connor |
| Raven[16] | Still Hungry Collective (Berlin) | Chamaleon Theatre and Aurora Nova |
| Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Teheran[16] | Javaad Alipoor | Javaad Alipoor and HOME Manchester in association with Traverse Theatre |
| Are We Not Drawn Onward To New Era[16] | Ontroerend Goed | Ontroerend Goed, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Vooruit and Richard Jordan Productions in association with Zoo |
| Bobby & Amy[16] | Emily Jenkins | Emma Blackman Productions and Emily Jenkins |
| Everything I See I Swallow[16] | Mary Taylor and Tamsin Shasha | Shasha and Taylor Productions |
| Lipsync[16] | Kirsty Young with Jenna Watt | Cumbernauld Theatre |
| The Patient Gloria[16] | Gina Moxley | Gina Moxley and Abbey Theatre with Pan Pan Theatre Company |
| Sh!t Theatre Drink Rum with Expats[16] | Sh!t Theatre | Soho Theatre in association with Show and Tell |
| Subject Mater[16] | Nadia Cavalera | Woven Voices |
| Until the Flood[16] | Dael Orlandersmith | Arcola Theatre Production Company |
| The Afflicted[16] | Jake Jeppson and Groupwork | Groupwork |
| Baby Reindeer[16] | Richard Gadd | Francesca Moody Productions |
| The Desk[16] | Reetta Honkakoski | Reetta Honkakoski Company in association with Start To Finnish |
| Dispatches on the Red Dress[16] | Rowan Rheingans | Rowan Rheingans |
| E8[16] | Marika McKennell | The North Wall, Oxford in association with the Pleasance |
2020
The 2020 Edinburgh Festival Fringe was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and no Fringe First awards were presented.[17]
2022
| Work | Writer(s) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Happy Meal[18] | Tabby Lamb | |
| Breathless[18] | Laura Horton | |
| And Then The Rodeo Burned Down[18] | Chloe Rice and Natasha Roland | |
| The Beatles Were a Boyband[18] | Rachel O'Regan | |
| Masterclass[18] | Feidlim Cannon, Gary Keegan & Adrienne Truscott | Brokentalkers |
| The Last Return[18] | Sonya Kelly | Druid |
| Ode To Joy[19] | James Ley | |
| You're Safe Til 2024: Deep History[19] | David Finnigan | |
| Brown Boys Swim[19] | Karim Khan | |
| Manic Street Creature[19] | Maimuna Memon | |
| Truth's A Dog Must To Kennel[19] | Tim Crouch | |
| Aberdeen[19] | Cassie Workman | |
| Age Is A Feeling[20] | Haley McGee | |
| Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen[20] | Marcelo Dos Santos | |
| This Is Memorial Device[20] | Graham Eatough | |
| Silkworm[20] | Vlad Butucea | Pearlfisher |
| This Is Not A Show About Hong Kong[20] | Max Percy |
2023
| Work | Writer(s) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Lorenzo[21] | Ben Target | |
| Strategic Love Play[21] | Miriam Battye | Paines Plough |
| Beasts (Why Girls Shouldn't Fear the Dark)[21] | Mandi Chivasa | |
| The Insider[21] | Anna Skov Jensen | Teater Katapult |
| What If They Ate the Baby?[21] | Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland | |
| Gunter[21] | Dirty Hare | Dirty Hare |
| Club Life[21] | Fred Deakin | Davie Miller / Fred Deakin |
| Blue[21] | June Carryl | |
| The Last of the Soviets[21] | Spitfire | Spitfire |
| Choo Choo![21] | StammerMouth | StammerMouth |
| Everything Under the Sun[21] | Jack MacGregor | |
| Square Peg[21] | Simeon Morris | |
| The Grand Old Opera House Hotel[21] | Isobel McArthur | Traverse Theatre |
| Heaven[21] | Eugene O'Brien | Fishamble |
| England and Son[21] | Ed Edwards and Mark Thomas | Mark Thomas |
| Funeral[21] | Ontroerend Goed | Ontroerend Goed |
| JM Coetzee's Life and Times of Michael K[21] | Lara Foot (adapted from J. M. Coetzee) | Baxter Theatre |
| A Funeral for My Friend Who Is Still Alive[21][22] | Kasen Tsui | Kasen Tsui x Cathy Lam |
2024
| Work | Writer(s) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Batshit[23] | Leah Shelton | |
| The Border[23] | Studio Wachowicz-Fret | Studio Wachowicz-Fret |
| Cyrano[23] | Virginia Gay | |
| A History of Paper[23] | Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams | Traverse Theatre |
| June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music And Me[23] | Charlene Boyd | |
| So Young[23] | Douglas Maxwell | Traverse Theatre |
| VL[24] | Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair | Francesca Moody |
| Weather Girl[24] | Brian Watkins | |
| Son of a Bitch[24] | Anna Morris | |
| Mairi Campbell: Living Stone[24] | Mairi Campbell | |
| A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First[24] | Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland | |
| Comala, Comala[24] | Pulpo Arts | Pulpo Arts |
| My Mother's Funeral: The Show[25] | Kelly Jones | Paines Plough |
| A Knock on the Roof[25] | Khawla Ibraheem | |
| Instructions[25] | Nathan Ellis | |
| Revenge: After the Levoyah[25] | Nick Cassenbaum | |
| A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here[25] | Josie Dale-Jones |
2025
| Work | Writer(s) | Company |
|---|---|---|
| Eat The Rich (but maybe not me mates x)[26] | Jade Franks | |
| Kanpur: 1857[26] | Niall Moorjani | |
| Monstering the Rocketman[26] | Henry Naylor | Henry Naylor |
| Red Like Fruit[26] | Hannah Moscovitch | 2b theatre |
| She's Behind You[26] | Johnny McKnight | Traverse Theatre |
| Ordinary Decent Criminal[26] | Ed Edwards and Mark Thomas | Lakin McCarthy |
| Lost Lear[26] | Dan Colley | Riverbank Productions |
| Rift[26] | Gabriel Jason Dean | Luna Stage |
| NIUSIA[26] | Beth Paterson | Beth Paterson |
| The Horse of Jenin[26] | Alaa Shehada | |
| Youth in Flames[26] | Mimi Martin | |
| Ohio[26] | Abigail and Shaun Bengson | Bengsons |
| #CHARLOTTESVILLE - The Play That Trump Does Not Want You To See![26] | Priyanka Shetty | |
| Hot Mess[26] | Ellie Coote and Jack Godfrey | |
| Philosophy of the World[26] | Nora Alexander, Kat Cory and Dora Lynn | In Bed With My Brother |