SCRIPTS: Ireland’s Playwriting Festival is delighted to announce Liza Costello as the 2026 winner for her debut play “In The Garden”.  Liza worked alongside Liam McCarthy (Mam and Love and Woo) and Elaine Maguire O'Connor (Lay Your Hands on Me) for a week-long residency with mentor Eugene O'Brien in the lead up to the showcase performance which was judged by playwright Mark O’Rowe (Howie the Rookie, Terminus, Normal People) and Selina O’Reilly, Literary and New Work Assistant at The Abbey Theatre.​​​​

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All three plays were brought to life in rehearsed reading by actors Aisling O’Sullivan, Tiernan Messitt Greene, Niamh Fennessy and Cathal Ryan, under the direction of Jim Nolan and with music by Morgan Cooke. The audience cheered, laughed and were visibly moved throughout the event, in a response that confirmed the exceptional quality of this year’s selected works.

 

The 2026 festival attracted a record 183 script submissions from writers in ten countries: the most competitive open call in the festival’s twelve-year history.