This award is for everyone. First-time writers, late starters, people who’ve been sitting on an idea for years. We don’t care about your background or your credentials—we want a great play. If you’re in the UK or Ireland and you’ve got a story burning a hole in your brain, something urgent or funny or devastating that won’t leave you alone, send it to us. Just a brilliant idea, a bold voice, and the guts to put it on the page.
Launched in 1982, the Verity Bargate Award one of the longest-established playwrighting awards in the UK and honours Verity Bargate, Soho’s co-founder who passionately championed new writing during her time at the small but hugely influential fringe theatre company, Soho Poly. In 2022 the Verity Bargate Award celebrated its 40th birthday.
2026 Award
Submissions open on Monday 12 January and close on Monday 13 April.
Throughout the submission window, we’ll travel the length and breadth of the UK and Ireland, delivering new-writing workshops for emerging playwrights. These sessions offer participants tools and inspiration to begin writing a play, encouraging first-time writers to take their first steps into playwriting.
Previous Winners
Eoin McAndrew (Little Brother, 2024), Sam Grabiner (Boys On The Verge Of Tears, 2022), Amanda Wilkin (Shedding A Skin, 2020), Vicky Jones (The One, 2013), Matt Charman (A Night At The Dogs, 2005), Toby Whithouse (Jump Mr Malinoff, Jump, 1998), Diane Samuels (Kindertransport, 1992), and many more.
Our Legacy
Launched in 1982, the Verity Bargate Award is one of the longest-established playwriting prizes in the UK. It honours Verity Bargate, Soho’s co-founder, who passionately championed new writing during her time at the small but hugely influential fringe company, Soho Poly. In 2024, the Award celebrated its 40th birthday. In 2025, recent winner Boys On The Verge Of Tears by Sam Grabiner won the Olivier Award for Best New Play at an Affiliate Venue.
For over 50 years, Soho Theatre has championed new writing – from lunchtime plays in the 1970s to today’s commissions, attachments, Writers’ Labs and awards. Open to new and emerging UK and Irish writers, the Verity Bargate Award uncovers the best new plays and launches the careers of some of Britain’s most celebrated playwrights and screenwriters.
Past Judges
The Award has been judged by some of the most exciting voices in British theatre, including Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Russell T Davies, James Graham, Lolita Chakrabarti, Meera Syal, Emma Rice, Moira Buffini, Self Esteem (Rebecca Lucy Taylor), April De Angelis, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Anupama Chandrasekhar, Ryan Calais Cameron, Anthony Lau, Laura Wade, Sue Townsend, Ikenna Obiekwe, Alan Cumming, Theresa Ikoko, Irving Wardle, and more. The award is chaired by film and television producer, Character 7’s Stephen Garrett.
2024 Award Winner | Eoin McAndrew's LITTLE BROTHER
Playing at Soho Theatre, from 17 October 2025, get tickets here.
We announced the 2024 winner at an event celebrating the five shortlisted playwrights early in November, with Eoin McAndrew’s Little Brother as Award Winner and Martina Laird’s Driftwood as Award runner-up. You can read more about the announcement in our news article alongside our longlist and shortlist announcements.
Max Elton, our Associate Director (Literary) said of this year’s Award: ‘Over the last four months, alongside a fantastic team of dedicated readers, Soho Theatre has had the pleasure of considering scripts from some of the UK and Ireland’s most promising emerging playwrights. Eoin McAndrew’s Little Brother truly stood out as a remarkable play that renders the universal in the particular, tackling big knotty themes with insight and humour. McAndrew is an exciting new voice in British theatre and a thoroughly deserving winner of this year’s award.’
As the 2024 Award winner, Little Brother receives:
- £8,000 for an exclusive option for Soho Theatre to produce the prize-winning play
- A full London run of the play staged at Soho Theatre
- Workshops and rehearsed readings of the play in India and USA
For the first time in the history of the Verity Bargate Award, Soho Theatre partners with leading new-writing venues in India and USA to hold workshops and readings of the prize-winning play. This year’s judging panel consists of playwright Anupama Chandrasekhar (The Father and the Assassin at National Theatre), multi award-winning screen and stage actor Alan Cumming, Olivier Award-winning playwright Moira Buffini (Handbagged at Hampstead Theatre / West End; Dinner at National Theatre / West End), and writer, director and Nouveau Riche artistic director Ryan Calais Cameron (For Black Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Hue Gets Too Heavy at Royal Court Theatre / West End; Typical at Soho Theatre), award-winning musician and actor Rebecca Lucy Taylor AKA Self Esteem (Cabaret at Kit Kat Club) and Anthony Lau (Associate Artistic Director, Sheffield Theatres).
For more information on this year’s award read our news story here.
'Winning changed my life. It gave me the opportunity to do the thing I had always wanted to do: get a play on stage. Long may the Verity Bargate live!'
FAQs
When is the Verity Bargate Award open for submissions?
Submissions open on Monday 12 January at 11am and close on Monday 13 April at 11am. Plays must be submitted via the online portal on this page. Submissions outside this window will not be considered.
Am I eligible?
To enter, you must live in the UK or Ireland and have had fewer than three professional productions. A professional production is typically defined as a run of three weeks or more where the writer is paid WGGB rates.
Do we accept submissions for radio, TV, or film?
No. All submissions must be written for the stage. Prose and poetry are also not eligible.
Can I resubmit a new draft of my play at a later date during the submission window?
No. All submissions are final. Redrafts will not be accepted, so please ensure your script is ready before you submit.
Can I resubmit a new draft of my play if I have previously submitted it for the Verity Bargate Award?
No. Previously submitted plays will not be accepted.
How many plays can I submit?
Only one play per writer is permitted.
How long should my script be?
Plays should run for at least one hour in performance time. As a rough guide, this equates to around 10,000 words. A good way to estimate this is to read your script aloud.
Is there a limit on cast size?
No, though we recommend including a list of characters within your script document.
Are collectives, devised, or co-written plays eligible?
Are musicals eligible?
Yes. Musicals and plays with songs are accepted, but will be judged on text alone.
Are adaptations eligible?
Can I submit a play that has been produced before?
No. Submissions must be unproduced, although up to three rehearsed readings or equivalent development are permitted prior to submission.
Are submissions anonymous?
No. Submissions are not read anonymously. If you would prefer your work to be anonymous, please ensure your name and contact details are removed from the script.
Can I use a pseudonym?
How should I format my submission?
Our preferred file format is PDF.
Do you have any layout guidelines for submitted plays?
Will I receive feedback on my submission?
Unfortunately, due to the high volume of entries, we are unable to provide individual feedback.
Supported by
Our Writers' Lab course
Our Writers’ Lab programme is an entry-level course designed to support new writers to create a play over 9 months, through a three-draft process with one-to-one feedback support, with an opportunity at the end of the process for writers to submit to our annual Tony Craze Award.