Finegan Kruckemeyer wins BBC World Service audio drama prize
Congratulations to Finegan Kruckemeyer, who has won the English as a First Language category at the 2026 BBC World Service International Audio Drama Competition.
The Irish-born Australian playwright received the award for Here, on a High Hill, a moving and poetic audio drama about four teenagers passing time and reflecting on life in a graveyard in south-west Ireland.
Kruckemeyer’s script was selected from more than 800 entries from 87 countries, with the winning work now set to be produced by the BBC for broadcast on BBC World Service platforms.
The award marks another major international achievement for one of Australia’s most widely performed playwrights. Kruckemeyer has written more than 100 commissioned plays, with work performed on six continents and translated into eight languages.
The 2026 competition winners were announced at a special event hosted by Fiona Shaw CBE at the Commonwealth Foundation in London.
Pictured above, L-R: Idi Nasiru, Fiona Shaw and Finegan Kruckemeyer. © Image: Anna Gordon.