Sarah Grochala wins Women's Prize for Playwriting

Keel called the script "powerful, original, expansive, ambitious – all the things that audiences hope for and deserve when they book to see a new play".

She went on: "Sarah’s writing is witty and luminescent, vividly bringing to life her detailed research into the story of a fascinating and overlooked scientist and computing pioneer, Ada Lovelace, whose struggle to be recognised and fulfil her full potential sadly is, or has been, shared by so many women throughout history.

"It feels particularly poignant for the Women’s Prize for Playwriting to be awarding the prize to Intelligence in the building next door to Ada’s London home for many years, 12 St James’s Square."

Katie Posner, Charlotte Bennett and Debo Adebayo, joint artistic directors and deputy artistic director of Paines Plough, said they were "thrilled to be celebrating the finalists and the winner of this incredible prize".

They added: "Sarah is an outstanding writer, and we are looking forward to working with her to produce and platform this play."

The fellow finalists celebrated at the January 19 awards presentation were Daisy Hall (for Bellringers), Emma Gibson (for LUMIN), Shaan Sahota (for The Angels Were Worms) and Sonali Bhattacharyya, for her play King Troll (The Fawn).

Judged by Kenyon and Dumezweni alongside playwrights April De Angelis and Chris Bush, journalist Samira Ahmed, critic Anya Ryan, Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner and the National Theatre’s head of play development Nina Steiger, the prize recognises full-length plays written in English.

Sponsored by Samuel French Ltd, a Concord Theatricals Company, and by commercial theatre producers Fiery Angel, the prize’s founding sponsor is recruitment agency PER.