Write With… is an on-line communal work session to nurture creativity, carve out time to be a playwright and hold yourself accountable to your goals as a professional playwright.
You can join us at home, on the train, in a café – anywhere that you might carve out time to be a writer.
These sessions are not an opportunity to share work, receive feedback on your work or pitch ideas to either Sherman Theatre or Theatr Clwyd – it is to focus on the process of writing, build community and find support with fellow playwrights.
Sponsored by Character 7, the Verity Bargate Award is Soho Theatre’s flagship new writing award, with the winning play produced in a full production on its stages.
On the award, Soho Theatre says:
“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 is 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.”
Submissions for the 2026 Award open on Monday 12 January and close on Monday 13 April.
Join Soho Theatre for a new writing workshop for emerging playwrights. This session offers participants tools and inspiration to begin writing a play and encourages first time writers to take their first steps into playwrighting.
What to expect
Gain an understanding of Soho Theatre’s current programmes, its theatre spaces and its distinctive approach to storytelling and theatricality.
In the first part of the workshop, learn about the Verity Bargate Award and Soho Theatre’s heritage of new writing.
In the second part, explore the merits and potential limitations of dramatic conventions, discovering how they shape narrative and engage audiences.
Finally, participants will look at script samples from plays that have been programmed by Soho Theatre and gain insight into the techniques used by playwrights to captivate audiences and enrich their own writing practice.
