Devon playwright wins local commission

Rose Race takes centre stage

Totnes playwright Rosie Race has been selected from over 100 Southwest writers to create an original play for the Northcott stage.

Rosie was one of 23 playwrights chosen after an open submission window last summer. She then went on to beat out four other finalists to win the commission.

Sam Parker, Artistic Development Producer at Northcott Theatre in Exeter, said, 'Ultimately, Rosie's visual clarity, formal inventiveness, and understanding of her audience set her pitch apart from the rest.

It was so exciting to see the plays sent to us and that there were several Southwest writers creating work at an exceptional level”

Rosie herself says, "I feel incredibly lucky to have been chosen for this opportunity, my first commission through to full production. Working in the arts is so difficult right now for everyone, it feels almost impossible to move into the mid-scale and sometimes even to keep going at all.

We don't know what the commissioned play is going to be called, but it will have a strong link to the Southwest.

“I set out wanting to find a story that ignited something in me, as well as being rooted in the Southwest and the people who live here. I feel so excited to see what we discover together.

I'm interested in exploring the Southwest history and landscape whilst being surprising and meaningful to audiences.”

Race is an associate artist with Theatre Alibi and has also worked with companies like Theatre Royal Plymouth and Middle Child Theatre. She also finds time to teach at the University of Plymouth.

You can see her play performed in the summer of 2026.