Theatre503 International Playwriting Award

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Deadline: Jan 31, 2027 at midnight

SUBMISISON FORM

We are delighted that the Theatre503 International Playwriting Award is returning

Supported by Philip Carne MBE & Christine Carne and Concord Theatricals

The Theatre503 International Playwriting Award opens for submission on Nov 1st 2026.

We are seeking the best new plays and the most talented early career playwrights from around the world. We are the home of new writers and the artists who bring their words to life. We stage the work of more debut writers than any other theatre in the world, and we launched modern classics including The Mountaintop and Rotterdam.

The winning playwright will receive the £6,000 Carne Prize, including an advance towards a guaranteed production at Theatre503 and publication by Samuel French Ltd, a Concord Theatricals company.

Previous winners are And Then Come The Nightjars by Bea Roberts and Valhalla by Paul Murphy (2014), In Event of Moone Disaster by Andrew Thompson (2016), Out of Sorts by Danusia Samuel (2018), Moreno by Pravin Wilkins (2020), A Woman Walks Into a Bank by Roxy Cook (2023) and Donbas by Olga Braga (2025).

Please read our Award criteria carefully, as we will be unable to consider any play or writer that does not meet what we have set out below. If you are a translator or collaborating with a translator, there is further information at the bottom of the page to take into account.

The 2027 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award aims to identify and champion debut/early career playwrights.

You are an eligible writer if you have NOT already had a full-length play of more than 65 minutes produced for 4 weeks or more in any theatre, or a two week run or more in a major subsidised theatre/organisation including a national tour.

You only have limited international credits where longer runs are not part of a country’s ecology and/or limited screen credits

Work must be submitted by the writer or the translator and not through a third party/agent

The reading process is anonymous. Please do not include your name or contact details anywhere in the text of your script. Your personal information will be held separately

The online portal will be open for submissions from 9am (GMT) Nov 1st until 12pm (midnight) Jan 31st 2027. Any entries received after this time will not be eligible

Only entries submitted online though theatre503.com/writers/submissions will be accepted.

Please do not submit any material by any other means. E.g. on paper, email, CDs, digital media
Please do not submit or include any other material, or include images in your script

Plays must not have a cast of more than 6

Adaptations or musicals are NOT eligible

Plays must be written/translated into the English Language

Plays (including translations) must never have been professionally optioned, produced or published at the point of submission

Only one script may be submitted by each writer

Co-written scripts can be accepted, provided both writers are eligible under our Award criteria – prize money will be shared in the eventuality of a co-written play

Theatre503 must be informed immediately should you wish to withdraw your play at any point

For Translators

While we are very keen to encourage first time translators, we are aware that a degree of experience may also help the realisation of the original writer’s script, so we are open to a wider pool of translation experience.

Please ensure permission of the original writer has been secured before submitting the translation (and vice versa)

Should a translated play win the award, the prize money and advance shall be split equally between both parties

Both parties shall also be credited as winning writer and translator (or as finalists) in all subsequent award information and publicity

More than one translation can be submitted but each must have a different original writer

By submitting a script for consideration you agree that:Y

ou are over 16 years of age

You have not had a play produced for a 4-week run in any theatre, two weeks or more in a major subsidised theatre/organisation including national tours, limited international credits and/or limited screen credits

The script does not contain any detail of your identity

You are the writer of the play and exclusively own and control all copyright and all other related rights to the play (and the translator owns and controls the rights to the translation)

The play is over 65 minutes in length

The play is an original, unperformed, unpublished work for the stage and has not been produced anywhere in the world. In the case of a translation, this applies to both the English language translation and the work in its original language.

The play is available for production and unattached to any other theatre or company

If you are the winner, you will receive £3,000 in prize money and £3,000 as an advance against 8% of the gross box office, to grant Theatre503 the exclusive license to produce the play for up to 18 months after the announcement of the award

Samuel French Ltd, a Concord Theatricals company, will have the exclusive right to publish the winning play in return for an advance to be negotiated in good faith