Young Playwrights Award Current & Past Winners
Young Playwrights Award 2026:
This year, the award went national and we received over 260 plays from writers aged 13-18 from all over the UK. Congratulations to the 21 shortlisted writers, whose outstanding plays have intrigued and moved us, surprised us and made us laugh.
We're delighted to announce the 6 winners of the 2026 Young Playwrights Award are...
13 - 15 age category:
You’ll Live by Rufus Peaty
Fruit. by Lucy Edda Leggatt
A Shadow on the Ocean by Lucy Varley
16 - 18 age category:
Bus Stop of Strangers by Thomas Mossman
You Can’t Say That by Dhaani Singh
Build-a-Boyfriend (please don’t leave) by Lucy Nicholas
The winning plays will be performed as staged readings in our Theatre Upstairs from 9 – 11 July, and published in an anthology by Nick Hern Books. Congratulations to our winners and shortlist and a HUGE thank you to everyone who entered!
13-15 category shortlist 2026:
- Blurred Lines by Albie Atherton
- Club Fair by Alice Duffy
- Counting in Fours by May Gibbons-Hughes
- the silent script by Ella Gunn
- Cake it till' you make it, Abigail! by Ava Hogan
- Fruit by Lucy Edda Leggatt
- Mangrove by Mercy Ndongala
- You'll Live by Rufus Peaty
- A Shadow on the Ocean by Lucy Varley
16-18 category shortlist 2026:
- Skin and Blister by Marguerite Bell
- Alone Together by Kai Dorovko
- Phoebe by Anna Foster
- Bus Stop of Strangers by Thomas Mossman
- Build-a-Boyfriend (please don't leave) by Lucy Nicholas
- The Worst Part by David Okodeh
- Eyes on Me by Emily Peters
- Fireworks by Yeva Pukas
- Signs that someone may not be OK by Dominic Roberts
- For the Record by Nina Isabel Romano
- You Can’t Say That by Dhaani Singh
- Pecking Order by Joseph Wang and Arthur Tudgey
The 2025 Young Playwrights Award winners were:
Ages 16-18
Bad Hair Day by Sapphire Naggie
Fox Hunt by George McAree
Godot’s To-Do List by Leo Simpe-Asante
Ages 13-15
Happily Haunted by Aasiya Nsubuga
Hello, My Name Is… by Marcos Byrne
Library of the Imagination by Leon Chin-Kemp
The plays were presented in a festival of professional, staged readings from 10-12 July at the Royal Court Theatre, London. You can read all the winning plays in the free, special edition e-book published by Nick Hern Books, available here.
For 2025, the shortlisted writers were: Henry Gill, Harry Jones, Noble Laturia, Lily Knott, Salma Jaama, Charlie Swann, Jessica Obace, Keturah Peirson, Tobi Sulemon, Asia Pshenychna, Ben Hickey, Naima Onitolo, Noah Dryden, Holly Hellman and Joelthomas Coleallison.
'The Young Playwrights Award gave life to my passion, one I had no idea I could take so far. It is simply an unmissable opportunity if you love writing and one that could soon become unforgettable.' Marcos Byrne, 2025 Winner
