Clybourne Park writer Bruce Norris wins Pulitzer Prize

Sophie Thompson (l) and Lorna Brown (r) were both in the original cast at the Royal Court

Playwright Bruce Norris has won the Pulitzer Prize for drama for his latest work, Clybourne Park.

The racial satire, which recently won the Olivier prize for best new play, looks at a changing community in Chicago over a period of 50 years.

The winner of the Pulitzer was chosen by a jury made up of playwrights and critics.

Clybourne Park premiered in the UK at the Royal Court in August 2010, before transferring to London's West End.

Prior to that, it enjoyed a successful run in New York.

Prize money

The Pulitzer prize for drama is awarded "for a distinguished play by an American author, preferably original in its source and dealing with American life," according to the Pulitzer website.

The recipient is awarded $10,000 (£6,132).

The other nominations were Detroit by Lisa D'Amour, another play about tensions in suburbia, and John Guare's A Free Man of Color, set in New Orleans in 1801.

The jury described Norris's play as "a powerful work whose memorable characters speak in witty and perceptive ways to America's sometimes toxic struggle with race and class consciousness."

Norris, 50, finds himself in illustrious company - Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams are all past winners of the drama prize.

The West End production is directed by Dominic Cooke and stars Sophie Thompson and Sam Spruell.

Founded in 1917 and named after newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, the Pulitzer Prize annually awards excellence in journalism and the arts in 21 different categories.