Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme Launches

News Story

The Royal Court Theatre and Jerwood Foundation today announce the Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme. 

  • Designed to support UK-wide investment and risk in ambitious new playwriting, the Scheme will provide six grants of up to £6,000 each, awarded jointly between a producer and playwright, to underwrite first payments for new play commissions. 
  • The first round of applications will open from 2 December 2025 to 23 January 2026, and the Scheme will then run annually, with full information and guidance now available here. 
  • The Scheme is further supported by the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain, ensuring fair terms for commissioned writers. 

Launching for the Royal Court’s 70th anniversary, the Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme marks a new era for the two organisations’ long-standing partnership, and a major expansion in the Court's approach to playwright support – looking beyond its own stages to share resources nationwide. Separate from the Royal Court’s own productions, the supported commissions will be selected from open-access applications, open for joint submissions between writers and producing theatres or companies across the UK. 

The first of its kind, the Scheme will make six annual awards of up to £6,000 each from 2026, supporting playwrights and producers to initiate original, ambitious new play commissions for stages across the country – investing in a national pipeline of ambitious and risk-taking new theatre. 

The Scheme is supported by the Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) to ensure fair terms on commissioning agreements. WGGB’s own one-off 2022 ‘New Play Commissioning Scheme’, with UK Theatre and ITC, led to 18 commissions and inspired this new annual programme, supporting writers across the country. 

Grants from the Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme will cover the non-recoupable first payments for six new play commissions per year, on at least WGGB minimum rates. By awarding funds at this point, the Scheme will unlock the first step in commissioning and underwrite financial risk, while encouraging theatres and producers to commit future investment towards completing commissions and undertaking full production. 

To read the full press release, click here.