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Our weekly Friday round-up of opportunities and news…
London Playwrights’ Latest News
ANNOUNCEMENT! London Playwrights Festival 2021 coming to the Lion & Unicorn Theatre this December!
London Playwrights Social Gathering! Don’t Send Flowers by Emily Garside at the White Bear
LPW: Tips for Staying Inspired This Summer
Advice from the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain – Writing Competition or Cut Price Commission?
Learn with London Playwrights -a new series of resources on theatre: first two sessions on ANGELS IN AMERICA and RENT available now!
Play Club 2021 (our online book club)
London Playwrights joins the Lion & Unicorn Theatre as an Associate Company
LPW Play Club 2020: The Selections – watch the 
stream of our virtual play readings now!
London Playwrights’ Latest Zoom Workshops
Click on the images to learn more or find out more about the full programme of workshops here.
Featured Blog Posts
Fizzy Sherbet Podcast: showcasing plays by women writers
TYPE! Q&A with the creators of new bookmark magazine
Updated! Digital Theatre Listings – great things to watch from your sofa!
PODCAST: Making It with Temi Wilkey – London Playwrights’ Collaboration with the Bush Theatre & One Fine Play
Latest Members Content
Click here to join up and get access to this content and much more! It costs just £3.63 per month!
WrAP2021! All resources still available for members (write a play in a month)
Full 8 sessions available now! Online Course: Mastering Dramatic Structure
The LPW Guide to Formatting your Stage Play – Available to download
Digital Listings
Click the images for details of digital resources, online streams, podcasts, and more!
Opportunities – Pick of the Week: London Horror Festival Playwriting Competition: Call out for spooky writers!
Opportunities Listings
Digital & Audio Opportunities
We’ve listed digital opportunities divided into those with deadlines, rolling deadlines, , and online workshops. Scroll down for live performance opportunities and in person workshops.
With deadlines:
The Festival of Fleeting Words – Writing Opportunity (paid) – Deadline: various
Shoot the Company – Writing Opportunity (paid) – Deadline: 13 August 2021
Hidden Beast Awards – Writing Opportunity (paid) – Deadline: 20 August 2021
Act Bedford – Script Submission (unpaid) – Deadline: 22 August 2021
BBC Children’s Animation – Ignite (paid) – Deadline: 1 September 2021
The Literal Challenge: Scriptly Writing – open for registration (pay what you can) – Deadline: 7 October 2021
Bitter Pill Theatre – The Painkiller Project – next window opens 6 September! (£200 prize) – Deadline: 9 September 2021 (window opens on 6 September 2021)
BBC Writersroom – TV Drama Writers’ Programme (paid) – Deadline: 13 September 2021
‘Owdyado Theatre ‘Twisted Christmas’ Writing Competition (£500 prize) – Deadline: 19 September 2021
That Sketch Show – Topical Comedy Opportunity (paid) – Deadline: 30 September 2021
Rolling deadlines:
Cooped Up Creatives recruiting new contributors for poetry and art project (unpaid) – Deadline: rolling
Frequency Theatre Open to Unsolicited Script Submissions (Audio Plays Only) (unpaid) – Deadline: rolling
New writing project for Heckington Living Radio (unpaid) – Deadline: none posted
TYPE! Accepting submissions for bookmark magazine (unpaid) – Deadline: rolling
Add Your Shows and Theatre Resources to Thespie (unpaid)- Deadline: rolling
Online Courses and Workshops
Playwright and former Space Theatre script reader Scott Younger is offering free feedback on all plays 10 pages and under in length – Deadline: not specified
Big Fish Productions writing group – Dates: Every Friday
Part of the Main: Part of the Grid back with new online workshops – Dates: various
Squint’s GET WRITING & KEEP WRITING workshops – bookings for 2021 now open – Dates: various in 2021
Underscore Studios Screenwriting Workshop with Jon Barton – Date: 15 August 2021 (50% discount for LPW readers)
Proud Haddock Workshops – Getting Your Play Commissioned: Workshop with National Theatre Dramaturg Stewart Pringle – Date: 25 August 2021
Down Stage Write: Workshop for Devon & Cornwall Writers – Writing for Bigger Stages with Mike Bartlett – Date: 26 August 2021
LPW Online Workshops: Monologue Writing – Date: 7 September 2021
LPW Online Workshops: Writing Historic Drama – Date: 11 September 2021
LPW Online Workshops: An Introduction to Musical Theatre Writing-Style and Structure – Date: 12 September 2021
LPW Online Workshops: Writing an Adaptation – Date: 14 September 2021
LPW Online Workshops: An Introduction to Musical Theatre Writing- Starting Writing! – Date: 19 September 2021
LPW Online Workshops: Playwrighting for Everyone (A 6 Week Course) – Date: starts 23 September 2021
LPW Online Workshops: LGBTQ+ Theatre – Date: 26 September 2021
LPW Online Workshops: Writing Horror for Stage! – Date: starts 4 October 2021
LPW Online Workshops: Pitching Your Play (with confidence!) – Date: 9 October 2021
LPW Online Workshops: The Redrafting Programme 2021 – Date: starts 16 October 2021
An Introduction to Screenwriting: free online course with FutureLearn & Uni. of East Anglia
LPW Members Online Course: Mastering Dramatic Structure – Available now
LPW Summer Sessions: Overcoming writers’ block (online workshop) – Available now
LPW Summer Sessions: How to write a monologue (online workshop) – Available now
LPW Summer Sessions: Promoting yourself as a writer (online workshops) – Available now
LPW: The Redrafting Toolkit – Available now
LPW Members: Online Course – Writing in Dialect: How to Listen, What to Write – Available now
LPW Members: Online Course – The Submissions Checklist – Available now
Live playwriting Opportunities
Listed in order of deadline, followed those with deadlines, and workshops & events.
With deadlines:
Oxford Playhouse’s professional Writers’ Attachment Programme – Writing Opportunity (free) – Deadline: 13 August 2021
Yale Drama Series 2022 open for entries from 1 June 2021 (paid) Deadline: 15 August 2021
BBC New Comedy Awards 2021 – Deadline: 15 August 2021
Nancy Dean Lesbian Playwright Award ($5000 prize) – Deadline: 21 August 2021
World Productions, BBC Writersroom and BBC Drama Commissioning – World Productions Writers’ Award – 2021 – 23 August 2021
The University of Southampton: Green Stories Writing Competition (paid) – Deadline: 26 August 2021
London Horror Festival Playwriting Competition: Call out for spooky writers! (unpaid) – Deadline: 31 August 2021 at the stroke of midnight
Callout: Tamasha Playwrights 2021/22 (mentoring and £500 bursary) – Deadline: 31 August 2021
Independent International Award for Improper Dramaturgy «Neem-2021. Turquoise edition» (paid) – Deadline: 5 September 2021
Owdyado Theatre – Writing Opportunity (£500 prizes) – Deadline: 19 September 2021
Stephen Joseph Theatre – Script Submissions Window now open (paid if commissioned) – Deadline: 30 September 2021
The 2022 Lancaster Playwriting Prize open for North West LGBTQAI+ writers age 16-30 (£1500 prize) – Deadline: 11 October 2021
Rolling & Unspecified deadlines:
Fifth Word – Submit your Play (paid if produced) – Deadline: not specified
The Hope Theatre seeking plays for new programme (profit share) – Deadline: not specified
Think Shorts – Free Short film listing (unpaid) – Deadline: rolling
Fearless: Danse Macabre Productions Free Script Reading for Horror Scripts (unpaid) – Deadline: rolling
BBC Comedy Association plans unveiled – Deadline: not applicable
Calling members of the Neurodivergent Theatre Community – Deadline: not applicable
The Swiss Church London offering subsided space for artists – Deadline: not applicable
London Pub Theatres seeking new reviewers (unpaid) – Deadline: none posted
The New Works Playhouse accepting submissions (unpaid) – Deadline: rolling
Work-in-Development Submissions for the John Thaw Studio at The Actors Centre (profit share) – Deadline: ongoing
Concord Theatricals are accepting unsolicited submissions (paid) – Deadline: ongoing
The BCG Pro Video Contest is looking for 2 minute scripted video sketches (prize £100) – Deadline: until further notice
The Royal Court now accepting online submissions – Deadline: rolling
John Byrne Award monthly competition for creative work (prize £250) – Deadline: monthly
Brush Stroke Order now offering bursaries for script reading services – Deadline: rolling
Hampstead Theatre announces year round submission window
Peggy Ramsay Foundation: Grant for writers – Deadline: rolling
Tutti Creative Space: cheap rehearsal space – Deadline: not applicable
Newsthump looking for spoof news writers (paid) – Deadline: ongoing
Arvon Grants available for writing courses – Deadline: none posted/ various
Live events and in person workshops:
The Story Pilgrim: Free Storytelling Event at the Canal Cafe Theatre – Date: 19 July 2021
Bush Theatre Masterclasses – Dates: various (available both in person and online)
Oxford Playwriting with John Retallack: Applications open for 2021/22 courses – Dates: courses start October 2021
BBC & NFTS – BBC Scholarships – Dates: various