Open Submissions Festival 2026
About Open Submissions Festival 2026
A first look at the future of contemporary theatre.
The Royal Court receives and reads thousands of new plays every year, with every one considered for development or programming.
Twice a year, our Open Submissions Festival brings together the most exciting new scripts we've read for a week-long programme of staged readings - offering theatre-makers and audiences a first look at the future of contemporary theatre.
Presented in partnership with Character 7.
Line up:
Mon 14 Sep, 7.45pm | Aunties in the USSR by Rebecca Banatvala
Directed by Mayaan Haputantri.
'We came here to scatter Rustam's ashes in Red Square and that is what we are going to do.'
It's 1985. Ratti and her best friend Bachi are proud members of the Zoroastrian Ladies Committee for Socialist Justice. After a bruising election defeat, Ratti drags Bachi from Leytonstone to the USSR to scatter her late husband's ashes.
When their pilgrimage goes spectacularly off course, the two aunties find themselves tangled up with caviar smugglers, dancing bears and the KGB.
A joyful new comedy from Rebecca Banatvala.
Tue 15 Sep, 7.45pm | The Nine of Swords by Eoghan Quinn
Directed by Aaliyah McKay.
"Like not to be obvious Sean, but if you do this, you're going to have a sword on your face until you die."
A solar eclipse descends over Dublin, but it's just another day at the tattoo studio for artists Nika and Sean, and receptionist Clo.
But as the light fades, the three co-workers find themselves confronting the lives they've built and their futures. By the time darkness falls, some choices will be made that cannot be undone.
A darkly comic, unsettling new play from Eoghan Quinn.
Wed 16 Sep, 7.45pm | The Honour Table by Selorm Adonu
Directed by Aneesha Srinivasan.
'For once I just want to choose something for me'
Three years after their father's death, the Frimpong siblings gather for their annual memorial dinner.
This year, Godwin arrives with an offer that will divide the family but secure the future of The Root, the organisation their father founded. An MBE. Together, they must decide whether the price is worth paying.
The Honour Table is a new play by Selorm Adonu.
Thu 17 Sep, 7.45pm | My Son, the Guillotine by Sam Ward
Directed by Danielle Kassaraté.
‘We are so fucked. We are so completely, totally, utterly fucked. We are on the brink of total societal collapse. The world is really, truly, falling apart.’
Ben hasn't been home in three years.
When he arrives unannounced at his parents' door late one night, his politician mother wants to know why.
By morning, it becomes clear he's not there for a friendly visit.
Sam Ward’s My Son, the Guillotine, is a gripping new play about history, disillusionment and what it takes to really change the world.
Fri 18 Sep, 7.45pm | Theertham by Nayantara Nayar
Directed by Nico Rao Pimparé.
‘The water?! That sound- that- it’s… marvellous. Can’t you hear it?’
As drought tightens its grip on a community, a diviner discovers an extraordinary source of water beneath a widow's garden.
But as people exploit it for profit, ghosts of the past begin to rise to the surface.
Moving between two generations of women, Theertham is a new play by Nayantara Nayar.
