A haunted dress and a secret boyfriend in a locker are among the subjects tackled in cutting-edge new work from the winners of the Young Playwrights Award 2026.
The Royal Court Theatre has announced the winners of the Young Playwrights Award 2026, championing the voices of the next generation. It is the first cohort of winners since the award expanded from a London pilot to a nationwide programme. The free-to-enter award for 13–18-year-olds received more than 250 submissions from across the UK.
Beth Flintoff, Young Writers Associate, said: “’It has been a privilege to read so many testimonies to the joys and pains of being a teenager in the UK in 2026. We have welcomed and appreciated every single one of the 262 entries, celebrating the effort, the creativity and the passion. The winning plays are genuinely brilliant, covering everything from a haunted dress to a secret boyfriend in a locker, and we can’t wait to share them with an audience.”
The award follows a national programme of free workshops and resources in partnership with writing organisations, schools and youth groups. The Young Playwrights Award combines a national competition with a package of free creative support, challenging the lack of provision in the curriculum for theatre writing.
Teachers and young people can access free educational resources on the Royal Court Theatre’s website, including video masterclasses from leading playwrights such as Ryan Calais Cameron (For Black Boys…) and Nina Segal (Cow | Deer). It builds on the success of the 2025 Awards and the springboard to visibility it provides, which saw winner Godot’s To Do List by Leo Simpe-Asante programmed as a curtain raiser to Krapp’s Last Tape starring Gary Oldman at the Royal Court.
The award aims to champion the voices of the next generation and promote access to creativity for all young people across the country.
The winners of The Young Playwrights Award 2026
The winners of the 13-15 age category
Lucy Edda Leggatt (Fruit.) It’s the 17th Century and best friends Elizabeth and Jane dream of growing old together. But when visions begin to visit Elizabeth, she starts refusing food in a quest for purity – and even Jane can’t make her eat.
Rufus Peaty (You’ll Live). Abbie’s prom dress was a steal at £5.39 from Vinted and according to her best mate Amira, she looks unreal. But ever since it’s been hanging up in her wardrobe everything in life feels overwhelming.
Lucy Varley (A Shadow on the Ocean). After a ferry disaster leaves 17-year-old Ismail stranded at sea, he finds himself trapped in a lifeboat with a strange young girl. As hunger and exhaustion begin to take hold, their conversation drifts towards grief, guilt and finding your way back to the people you love.
The winners of the 16-18 age category
Thomas Mossman (Bus Stop of Strangers). It’s Sunday morning at a bus stop. Chris wants to reconnect with his teenage son, Kenneth. But what begins as awkward small talk soon spirals into a clash over identity, masculinity and anger.
Lucy Nicholas (Build-a-Boyfriend (please don’t leave). Seventeen-year-old May has always had Lottie. But when first love pulls her best friend away, she finds comfort in a boy of her own – devoted, needy and dangerously hungry.
Dhaani Singh (You Can’t Say That) Tanya’s questioning everything – language, politics, identity. Her mum just wants to get it right. But the rules keep changing. A family kitchen becomes a generational battleground.
Where to see the winning plays
The six winning plays will be professionally performed as a festival of rehearsed readings in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs from 9 to 11 July 2026. A company of actors led by Royal Court Trainee Directors Mayann Hapuntantri and Danielle Kassaraté will stage the works, concluding with an award ceremony on 11 July 2026.
Additionally, all six plays will also be published in an anthology by awards partner Nick Hern Books.
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