(c) Matt Roberts

As part of a revitalised Literary Department within the theatre, in May Bristol Old Vic announced a flagship Five Year Commitment residency programme to support three writers at different stages of their careers: one legacy, one mid-career, and an early-career writer. 

Bristol Old Vic today announced Winsome Pinnock is to become the inaugural Legacy writer to be supported by the initiative. The Legacy Writer position aims to amplify the work of a British writer who is a celebrated, published and produced contemporary modern dramatist and somebody whose influence and talent Bristol Old Vic want to particularly honour in this moment.  

Nancy Medina said:
“It is a deep joy to welcome Winsome as our inaugural Legacy Writer. Winsome is somebody whose work we believe should be firmly enshrined in the canon of British playwriting excellence and we are delighted to be able to say that she has accepted our offer and will be collaborating with us across the next five years. From our first meeting Winsome has brought generosity, warmth and deep thinking around the potential of this long-term support; we can’t wait to see what we create together.”  

Winsome Pinnock is an award-winning writer for stage, radio, film and television, described as “the godmother of Black British writing” (Guardian, 2003). Her work has been produced on the British stage and internationally since 1985. She was the first black British female writer to have a play produced by the Royal National Theatre. Her phenomenal body of work includes Leave Taking (Bush Theatre, Liverpool Playhouse, National Theatre), Rockets and Blue Lights (National Theatre, Manchester Royal Exchange & BBC Radio3), Mules (Royal Court and Internationally) and many more. 

Speaking today, Winsome Pinnock said:
“It is an honour to join this groundbreaking initiative at a time when the landscape for new writing is particularly complex. Bristol Old Vic’s commitment to investing in writers over a five-year period is both inspiring and necessary, recognising that the creation of new plays requires time, trust, and nurturance. I look forward to having the space to explore and develop my work within such a supportive community and to contribute to the theatre’s legacy of innovation and storytelling.”

Winsome joins Bristol Old Vic as the theatre begins the process of finding the two writers –  Early and Mid-Career – to make up the three writers who will be working with Bristol Old Vic for the next five years. These writers will be confirmed by December 2024 ready to begin the residency in January 2025.  

Expressions of interest are welcome from 26 Sep – 25 Oct. Full details of application guidance can be found on Bristol Old Vic website. (https://bristololdvic.org.uk/for-artists/literary-programme#FiveYear ) 

Inspired by the long-term commitments made by residencies in theatres such as the Signature in New York, The Five Year Commitment will give three writers the time and space to build their craft through the commission, development and presentation of new work. In addition, the theatre will use its programme resources over those five years to support the space between those commissions; connecting them with each other and ensuring they feel embedded and at home at Bristol Old Vic. 

All writers will be offered space and time, and invited to engage with Bristol Old Vic’s programme across all departments of the building and to be a part of the working life of the organisation, and to consider the building as their home across all five years. This offer will be responsive and bespoke to the wants and needs of each individual writer. 

The Five Year Commitment:  

• We will commission the Legacy Writer to write one new play and produce one revival of an existing play within their repertoire across the residency. 

• We will commission the Early and Mid-Career Writers to write two new plays across the residency. 

• All three writers will be supported to go on an annual week-long residential together, facilitated by the Bristol Old Vic Literary team, with space created to think together and consider some of the bigger questions around their work and practice. 

• All three writers will have access to a small yearly budget separate to any commissioning offers. The writers will have the agency to decide how to apportion this budget, but it can be used for anything from R&D experiments to research aims or training opportunities.  

• The Early and Mid-Career Writers will also be awarded a small monthly stipend across all five years. This is in recognition of the instability and inconsistency of writing work, particularly at early and mid-career points, and aims to give these two writers a guaranteed small income floor that can support their time to practice and write outside of the specific parameters of a commission. 

In its first year, this commitment is made possible thanks to the £25,000 Genesis Foundation Prize, awarded to Nancy Medina this year. It is the only prize to subsidise outstanding mentoring of artistic talent and, through its prize funding, to give winners the means to invest further in their work. 

John Studzinski, Founder & Chairman of the Genesis Foundation, said:
“We were delighted to reward Nancy with the Genesis Foundation Prize in 2024. We first recognised Nancy’s talent as a director in 2017 when she received the Young Vic’s Genesis Future Directors Award: this continued support shows our belief in Nancy’s work and in her value as a mentor to other artists. We were impressed with her ambitious plans for The Five Year Commitment at Bristol Old Vic and hope this programme will show how vital it is, perhaps now more than ever, for the creative industries to hold space for writers, to nurture them and invest in their long-term literary development. We are delighted that the Genesis Foundation Prize is funding the pilot year of the Five Year Commitment.”