The Royal Court Theatre has announced the launch of its inaugural nation-wide Young Playwrights Award, a groundbreaking initiative inviting every teenager in the UK to try their hand at writing a play.
As the home of British new writing, the Royal Court aims to champion the voices of the next generation through this open-access programme, which combines a free national competition for 13–18 year-olds with a robust package of creative support.
Entries for the Young Playwrights Award will open in January 2026. Winning plays will be published by Nick Hern Books and professionally performed in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs during a dedicated festival in July 2026.
To address the lack of curriculum provision for theatre writing, the Royal Court is offering free resources to support young writers. These include teacher and facilitator packs, guidance on setting up Playwriting Clubs, and video masterclasses from acclaimed playwrights such as Ryan Calais-Cameron (For Black Boys…) and Nina Segal (Cow | Deer).
The theatre will also collaborate with writing organisations across the UK to deliver over 30 free workshops led by professional playwrights. Partners include ArtfulScribe, Literature Wales, Literature Works, Moniack Mhor, National Centre for Writing, New Writing North, Writing East Midlands, and Young Identity.
This national rollout follows a successful London pilot in 2025, which attracted over 150 entries. Winners included Marcos Byrne, Leon Chin-Kemp, George McAree, Sapphire Naggie, Aasiya Nsubuga, and Leo Simpe-Asante. Their plays are now available to read online as a free e-book published by Nick Hern Books.
2025 award winner Leon Chin-Kemp shared: “Having your play performed is like going on a very high zipwire – you feel nervous before it happens, but when it starts it feels great! I’m really glad I entered, and I would encourage anyone else to, it was an amazing experience!”
Beth Flintoff, Associate Playwright & Young Writers Associate at the Royal Court, said: “Right now, most people go through school never encouraged to try writing for theatre. With the Young Playwrights Award, we want to change that – and ensure these creative opportunities are available for everyone. We’re calling on every teenager, teacher, parent and playwright to help spread the word and give it a go!”
Listings and ticket information can be found here
