About the Scheme

The Royal Court is the UK institution most responsible for championing new theatre writing. We support and platform playwrights bringing new approaches, ideas and forms to the stage – and expressing themselves with freedom and confidence. At the Royal Court, we articulate this through our artistic values:

1. Freedom. Platforming controversial views, mess and uncertainty, ahead of public and peer consensus.
2. Innovation. Encouraging experimentation and risk, and protecting artists’ right to fail.
3. Dissonance. Finding strength in contradiction and contrast, from our establishment name to sharing our stages with incendiary work and conflicting voices.
4. Ambition. Rigorously and abundantly supporting big imaginations and bold artistic visions, acting as the antidote to a wider culture of creative austerity.

But increasingly, we think if we only focus on plays for our own stages in London, we’re not doing our job.

Through this Scheme, we want to give a more diverse range of nation-wide writers the space to write ambitious, risky, adventurous and challenging new plays – and for those plays to have routes to production at more theatres across the country.

We’re aiming to support proposals that will genuinely thrill and surprise audiences, that have the potential to push forwards conversations in our society and in our artform, and that represent a cost or a risk that otherwise wouldn’t be possible at commissioning stage.

We want plays not just to be commissioned, but produced. That’s why this Scheme is for partnerships between writers and producers, and asks for an initial idea of how and when a full production could be resourced and achieved, if the commission is a success.

We’re looking to fund commissions that contain artistic and producing risk and ambition. We know that risk and ambition can mean different things in different contexts and scales, and we’re open to anything – from pitches for major national stages to independent venues and smaller companies, and from community-based practice to commercial propositions.

We can’t wait to hear from you, to read about your plans and plays, and how our aims and values resonate with the context you’re working in.
 

The Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme (JRCCS) will provide six grants of £4,000-£6,000 each, to support theatre companies and venues commissioning new plays.

Grants will be based on a joint proposal from a company/venue (the Producing Partner) and writer (the Playwright) for an agreed new play (the Play) to be commissioned with the goal of future production.

The JRCCS grant is intended to cover the first (‘Signature’) payment of a full new commission between the Producing Partner and Playwright. If successful, the Producing Partner will then be liable for full payment of the relevant delivery fee to the Playwright, for which no additional funding will be available through this Scheme.

Grants will be paid directly to the Producing Partner, with a brief letter of agreement between the Royal Court, Producing Partner and Playwright, which must be agreed by 31st March 2026. The Producing Partner will be responsible for entering into a direct commissioning agreement with the Playwright, and payments will only be released to the Producing Partner once this agreement is in place and approved by the Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB).

Successful supported commissions, and all rights and options therein, will belong entirely to the Producing Partner and Playwright to be managed independently. Funds are granted to support the wider commissioning of new work across the UK, and are not a commission from the Royal Court, nor with the expectation of production at the Royal Court Theatre or any other control of future rights or decisions.

Grant amounts & commission rates

Grant amounts are designed to cover the full costs of the first (Signature) payment for a full- length play at the relevant minimum rate agreed by the WGGB under UK Theatre, ITC or TNC agreements (or an acceptable equivalent), plus a small additional amount to allow for annual increases in rates and other expenses.

When applying, you must identify which union agreement is applicable, or the equivalent proposed rates if the applicant is not part of UK Theatre, ITC or TNC agreements. The Producing Partner receiving the award will then be bound by, and solely liable for, the applicable rates for the Playwright’s delivery payment and (if undertaking production) acceptance/acquisition and attendance payments, and all wider terms and conditions.

JRCCS grant amounts will be made as follows:

• For ITC and UK Theatre MRSL1 Agreements or equivalent: £6,000.
• For TNC Agreements or equivalent: £5,500.
• For UK Theatre MRSL 2 Agreements or equivalent: £5,000.
• For UK Theatre MRSL 3 Agreements or equivalent: £4,000.

Please note we cannot offer a larger grant amount than those stated, whether for future commissioning payments or any other purpose. If you are commissioning a short play (under 60-70 minutes for the relevant agreement), we will discuss this with you and may reduce the grant amount in relation to the relevant rates.

Identifying the right amount and rates for your commission

If you are unsure which rates and agreements apply or are most suitable, please consult with the WGGB, UK Theatre and/or ITC. You can also review current WGGB minimum fees and agreements here: https://writersguild.org.uk/rates-and-rights/.

If you have your own ‘house’ commissioning agreement or intend another contractual arrangement, please select the rate that most closely aligns. We will ask you to provide more information, as well as for the WGGB to have final approval of any agreed commission before our grant is released. Approval will require, at minimum, terms no less favourable to the playwright than applicable union agreements and in line with industry standard practice, and payments no less than a UK Theatre MRSL 3 WGGB commission.

We also recognise that while these commissioning agreements outline the minimum agreed rates of pay, some organisations may choose to contract at higher discretionary rates. In these circumstances, we will only be able to provide grants as outlined up to a maximum of £6,000, and the Producing Partner will be responsible for making up any additional balance.

Key information and application guidance for applicants is available in written English, audio, large print and BSL. If you are shortlisted, we can also pay costs for BSL interpreters or other adjustments for interviews. Full details of the Scheme and our terms are available in written English only, and all applications must be made in writing via our online portal.

Additionally, our applicant Webinar will have BSL interpretation throughout, with a recording also made available subsequently.

If you have queries or experience additional barriers to applying, you can contact us via email on CommissioningScheme@royalcourttheatre.com. However, we’re not able to provide additional funding for access support, nor accept applications in another format.

If more support is required, we would expect the Producing Partner to provide this. The Producing Partner will also have to provide this support on an ongoing basis, in order for your commission and project to be successful.

The intention of the Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme is to support producers and playwrights initiate new commissions of plays for stages across the UK. It is not designed to replace the Court’s own play commissioning, nor to control future productions of supported Plays, nor with an expectation of those Plays being staged at the Royal Court.

Successful applicants will be notified in March 2026, and will then finalise a letter of agreement between the Royal Court, the Producing Partner and Playwright, by 31st March 2026. Grants will be paid upon completion of an appropriate commissioning agreement directly between the successful Producing Partners and Playwrights. All commissions will remain independent agreements between these parties, and the Royal Court will have no position in such agreements, nor take up any options or other rights in the work.

Requirements for successful grant recipients include:

• approval of commissioning agreements by the WGGB;
• future crediting of support from the Scheme;
• input from recipients into future evaluation; and
• regular updates and invitations around key developments, including opportunities to read (and watch) the commissioned work.

Full terms will be set out in the grant offer letter for successful candidates.

Crediting

Crediting should be provided in reasonable prominence proportionate to other funders in the form of ‘This commission was supported by the Jerwood Royal Court Commissioning Scheme’ (or agreed equivalent phrasing) in website copy, programmes, invitations, free sheets and other appropriate publicity, including wherever any other funder is credited.

Crediting should apply to any promotion of the commission; relevant sharings, industry readings, works-in-progress or similar; and any public premiere production or performances.

Wherever possible, including on websites, flyers, free sheets and programmes, Royal Court and Jerwood logos shall be included alongside any other funders/supporters (available on request).

If the Producing Partner does not produce the Play, but the Play is subsequently acquired for premiere production by another party, the Playwright should make best endeavours to ensure credit as part of any premiere production.

Invitations & tickets

For any industry readings, sharings or ‘work-in-progress’ performances during the development of the Play, the Royal Court must be invited with reasonable advance notice, with up to at least 4 complimentary tickets available for representatives of the Scheme.

In the event of a premiere production of the Play, the Producing Partner will ensure that the Royal Court receives an invitation to attend both previews and press night for said production, with an offer of at least 4 complimentary tickets during previews and 4 complimentary tickets for press night, to be used by representatives of the Scheme.

Updates & evaluation

Successful applicants will be expected to provide regular updates to the Royal Court on progress with the commission and any future premiere production of the Play. This will include confirmation of the delivery stage of the commission, a mutually agreed opportunity to read the commissioned script during its development; and reasonable advance notice of and any decision to proceed with production, including details of production plans, partners, venue(s), promotion and timelines, before these are made public.

Successful applicants may also be asked to take part in follow-up research to support the evaluation and future development of the Scheme.

The JRRCS is a Royal Court programme, managed and delivered by the English Stage Company Ltd, trading as the Royal Court Theatre, supported by funding from Jerwood Foundation

Additional thanks to the Writers Guild of Great Britain (WGGB), working with us to ensure fair terms on commissioning agreements. WGGB’s own one-off 2022 ‘New Play Commissioning Scheme’, in partnership with UK Theatre and ITC, led to eighteen commissions and provided the inspiration for this new annual programme, supporting writers across the country.