Two playwrights, Hannah Doran and Ro Reddick, have been awarded the 2026 Blackburn Prize for their respective plays, “Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights” and “Cold War Choir Practice,” the Theatre Communications Group announced this week.
Both playwrights will receive the full Blackburn Prize, including a cash award and a print by artist Robert de Kooning, according to the TCG. The awards recognize exceptional new American plays by women, non-binary, and trans playwrights.
Reddick’s “Cold War Choir Practice” is set in Syracuse, New York, and Doran’s “Meat Kings!” unfolds in Brooklyn. Despite their differing settings and styles, both plays center on workplaces—a butcher shop and a roller-skating rink—that are also struggling family businesses, and are viewed through the lens of young women.
Rob Weinert-Kendt, editor-in-chief of American Theatre, spoke with both playwrights about their work. He noted that Reddick’s play, while set in the present, explores themes resonant with the Reagan era, a period Reddick experienced as a child.
Reddick explained that the play was inspired by her childhood participation in a children’s choir that sang songs about nuclear war, and peace. “I didn’t want to license those songs, so I was like, I’ll try to produce my own version,” she told Weinert-Kendt. A song in “Cold War Choir Practice,” titled “Lay Down Your Arms,” directly references the lyrics of songs she sang as a child, urging then-Presidents Reagan and Gorbachev to disarm.
Reddick also discussed the play’s exploration of surveillance, noting that it reflects both historical realities of the 1980s and contemporary anxieties. “I think it’s two things,” she said. “It was looking back…and then also the feeling I have now—a lot of Here’s me processing current-day feelings through ’80s-me experiences.”
Doran’s “Meat Kings!” originated from her own experience working in a Brooklyn butcher shop while pursuing a playwriting degree at NYU. “I was this 5’ 3” British woman flung into this world with these big Queens boys,” she told Weinert-Kendt. The play evolved from her initial observations to explore power dynamics within a male-dominated workplace led by a queer, butch woman, and the intersectionality of discrimination.
The play features a character who is a DACA recipient, adding another layer to its exploration of disenfranchisement in America. Doran noted that the production in London staged the play in the round, and faced logistical challenges in creating realistic-looking meat props.
Both playwrights emphasized the importance of collaboration with directors in bringing their visions to life. Reddick prioritizes finding directors with a strong visual sense, while Doran acknowledged that staging the play’s visceral elements—particularly the meat—was a challenge for the production team.
Weinert-Kendt drew parallels between Doran’s play and other works exploring similar themes, such as “Clyde’s” and “Glengarry Glen Ross.”
Both Doran and Reddick expressed gratitude for the recognition afforded by the Blackburn Prize, describing it as a validation of their work and a source of encouragement. Doran, whose “Meat Kings!” is her debut play, said the prize was “a really nice affirmation” that she was “on the right track.” Reddick, whose play also marks her debut, described winning as “bananas.”
