The Royal Court is dedicated to finding the most exciting new plays, underpinned by the history of their open submissions policy: the year-round promise that anyone writing in English around the world can send a play that will be read and responded to.
The main way to send a play is through the online portal (information and guidance below). They’re unable to receive hard copy submissions. However, if you have any access needs which mean that this submissions system is a barrier, please contact literary@royalcourttheatre.com
IS MY SCRIPT ELIGIBLE?
- Only scripts sent as a PDF or Word document with a maximum size of 10MB.
- Full length plays only – as a guide, this would be a minimum of around 50 pages or 25-30 pages for a monologue.
- No more than one submission from a writer at any one time.
- No screenplays, novels, poetry collections, radio plays or adaptations.
- Historical/biographical plays are not accepted (plays that contain real people or a narrative in which real people are depicted, but not ‘the life story / biography of…’ are accepted however)
- Scripts for original musicals that fit these criteria are eligible but scores or soundtracks cannot be accepted as part of the submission.
- Resubmissions or new drafts of plays which have already been read and responded to are not eligible.
WHEN WILL I HEAR BACK?
You will receive an automatic acknowledgement of receipt of your script by email.
Enquiries about your script should be sent via this email address: literary@royalcourttheatre.com
There is currently a backlog of unsolicited submissions, which means responses are taking longer than usual. The team currently aim to respond to each play submitted within six months.