THE NORTH EAST PLAYWRITING AWARD 2026

North East Playwriting Award 2026

 Applications open soon for Live Theatre’s  North East Playwriting Award 2026, open to all writers over the age of 16 who are from, living or working in the North East of England.

Playwrights of all levels, new to established, are invited to submit their plays between Fri 1 Aug 2025 until 5pm on Fri 31 2025.  

We accept full-length original plays, not sketches, screenplays or adaptations. If a full play has not yet been written, treatments will be considered provided they offer a clear sense of 
a) full story outline with characters 
b) a description of the play’s world and style and 
c) sample scene from the proposed play

The winning play will receive a full commission with view to a production on Live Theatre’s stage.

In addition there will be a special Young Person’s Award (aged 16 - 25 years) selected from the main submissions offering a package of R and D support.

FAQS

I submitted my play for last year’s award. Can I resubmit?
If your play was submitted for last year’s award it cannot be resubmitted.

How many cast numbers are allowed?
We don’t want to prescribe cast sizes as we would rather you write the play you wanted to write.  Live Theatre has a limited capacity (150 seats) and earning potential making large casts costly.

What kind of plays are you looking for?
We never have a formula of what we want to see on our stage. We want to be surprised. But here are three considerations that might be useful to consider:

• Be specific: We love work with a strong sense of place or purpose
• Be bold: Push the art form, the story and the conversation forward  
• Be generous: Explore big ideas, write great parts, reward the audience

At the end of the day what’s most important is that you write the play you want to write!

Will I receive feedback on my play?
Due to the volume of submissions we will only be able to send feedback to the final shortlist. This is not because we don’t value your work but because promising everyone feedback goes beyond our capacity and can lead to disappointment.

I am a brand new playwright. Can I submit?
Of course! (We will be adding some tips over the coming months, but also sign up for the Great North Write here!)

Does my play have to be perfect to send in?
We imagine that the winning play will always need more development time so we understand that what you send probably won’t be the work in its best state. However we will need to get a strong sense of the play’s potential from the draft you send in.

I am a playwright with an existing relationship to Live Theatre. Can I still submit?
Of course! Plays will be read anonymously.

I’m not from the North East but I spent some significant time living there. Can I submit?
Yes. If you have a genuine connection to the region, either now or historically, you are eligible.

Will the winning play definitely be programmed at Live Theatre?
It is always our hope that this is the case and we will offer dramaturgical support to work towards it. Financial constraints mean we can never guarantee a full production or when it will happen, but it will be our intention to bring it to life.