The National Playwright Competition has been designed to spark new voices in South African theatre and nurture the completion of scripts; the lifeblood of vibrant, relevant theatre. 

The competition calls for entries of new scripts in any South African language. From these entries a group of finalists is drawn, each one winning prize money of R5000, and entering into a mentorship with an experienced writer or theatre maker who will assist them in completing a script ready for stage. One winner is drawn from this pool of finalists, winning R 20 000 and the opportunity to have their play produced at the National Arts Festival. 

Founded by Distell as a competition to honour social activists Adam and Rosalie Small, it was originally known as the Adam and Rosalie Small Award for Debutant/Debutante Writers, this award was won by Chase Rhys in 2015. 

In 2018, Distell partnered with the National Arts Festival who became the facilitators of the competition and production partners in the staging of the winning play. Previous winners include Koleka Putuma (2019), Amy Louise Wilson (2020) and Sibongakonke Mama (2024). 

In 2023, Distell became HEINEKEN Beverages following an acquisition and has continued to support the 2025 National Playwright Competition.