Almeida Theatre

A photo of the current cohort of the Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme. The seven playwrights are stood outside on steps in front of a white building, smiling at the camera.

2021/22 Genesis Almeida Playwrights:
Eno Mfon, Ava Pickett, Sid Sagar, Molly Taylor, Uma Nada-Rajah, Josh Elliott, Michael John O’Neill (c) Ian Hippolyte

Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme

In 2019 the Almeida Theatre, home of the very best new writing under the leadership of Rupert Goold, created a comprehensive programme to support emerging writers, with a particular focus on people from underrepresented or marginalized communities: the Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme.  

The  Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme supports emerging and mid-career writers to develop new plays for larger stages. The aim of the programme is to provide a springboard for writers to expand the scale, scope and ambition of their work and to create plays of wide cultural resonance.  

Each writer on the programme is identified by the Almeida and commissioned to develop a new play, with guidance and dramaturgical support from the Almeida’s Literary Manager and artistic team. Over the year the writers also attend masterclasses led by established British and international playwrights and an extended research and development workshop. 

A photo of Rupert Goold, the Artistic Director of the Almeida Theatre. Rupert is sat on a chair inside a room with a wooden floor and dark grey brick walls. He has medium length curly hair, is wearing a woollen jumper and jeans, smiling at the camera.

“Through masterclasses delivered by a range of brilliant artists, our Genesis Almeida writers have received advice on a variety of different aspects of playwriting, such as form, structure, visualisation, and transitioning from smaller to larger-scale work. These lessons will have directly fed into the plays that they are currently developing for the Almeida.”

Rupert Goold CBE
Artistic Director, Almeida Theatre

The Genesis Almeida writers benefit from:  

• A monthly script club led by the Almeida’s Literary Manager  
• Six direct grants for emerging writers identified by the Almeida  
• Six workshops/readings or equivalent research support to enable emerging writers to develop their work  
• 11 monthly masterclasses with established playwrights, dramaturges and other leading creatives.  

 The Genesis Almeida Playwrights for 2023-25 are:

Georgia Bruce
Shahid Iqbal Khan
Martha Loader 
Nikhil Parmar
Eoghan Quinn
Kirsty Rider

A photo of the 2020 to 2021 Genesis Almeida Playwrights cohort. The playwrights are stood along a metal staircase outside a building with brown brick walls.

2019/20 Genesis Almeida Playwrights:
Kendall Feaver, Sami Ibrahim, Charley Miles, Amy Ng, Iman Qureshi, Sam Steiner and Ross Willis (c) Robin Fisher

Find out more about the Genesis Almeida Programme 

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