L - R top Rebecca Banatvala, Eoghan Quinn, Selorm Adonu
L - R bottom Sam Ward, Nayantara Nayar
The Royal Court Theatre is celebrating its landmark 70th anniversary season by championing the next generation of playwrights with the return of its Open Submissions Festival. Presented in partnership with Character 7, the third edition of the Festival runs from 14–18 September 2026 and will showcase five of the most distinctive new plays selected from the nearly 4,000 scripts submitted to the theatre each year. Offering an important platform for emerging and established voices from around the world, the Festival reflects the Royal Court’s enduring commitment to discovering bold new writing and shaping the future of contemporary theatre.
Presented in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, the line up includes: Aunties in the USSR by Rebecca Banatvala, directed by Mayaan Haputantri; The Nine of Swords by Eoghan Quinn, directed by Aaliyah McKay; The Honour Table by Selorm Adonu, directed by Aneesha Srinivasan; My Son, the Guillotineby Sam Ward, directed by Danielle Kassaraté; and Theerthamby Nayantara Nayar, directed by Nico Rao Pimparé.
The Open Submissions Festival is central to the promise at the heart of the Royal Court’s 70 year legacy – that anyone, anywhere in the world, can submit a play for consideration and it will be read and responded to by a member of the Artistic Team. Thanks to the generous support from award-winning independent production company Character 7, the producers of The Night Manager, the festival now features in the Royal Court programme twice annually.
As well as offering industry and audiences a first glimpse at work for the most promising playwrights, many plays featured in previous festivals have then been programmed as full productions on the Court’s stages. As part of the Royal Court Theatre’s 70th anniversary season this year, Jack Nicholls‘ The Shitheads, which received an Olivier nomination this year, and Rhys Warrington‘s Monument, which opens in December, both follow successful readings in the first Open Submissions festival in 2025. While other featured plays enjoy productions elsewhere – Noga Flaishon’s Memoriam opens at Southwark Playhouse Borough later this year.
Gillian Greer, Associate Playwright and Senior Dramaturg said: “I am delighted that our Open Submissions Festival continues to go from strength to strength. This is the first time we’ve hosted two festivals in one year, and the discovery of new voices shows no signs of slowing down. Dark, difficult, political, theatrical and funny – this Festival’s programme continues to prove just how much astonishing new writing for the stage is out there, just waiting to be given a platform.”
Character 7’s Executive Chairman, Stephen Garrett added: “Once again the plays selected for this season’s Open Submissions Festival are a potent and timely reminder about why we all need to fight to ensure that new voices can find a platform where spellbinding and transforming stories can be told. It’s as much a pleasure as it is an honour for Character 7 to be able to partner the Royal Court in this oh-so noble and glorious cause.”
The festival runs from Monday 14th September until Friday 18th September 2026, with each performance starting at 7:45pm in the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Upstairs. For more information or to submit a script through the Royal Court’s Open Submissions programme, please visit the Royal Court Theatre’s website
Tickets will cost £8.50 and go on-sale to the public at midday today via the Royal Court website and Box Office. Writers’ Card Members will have exclusive access to 20% off tickets to this event. All tickets will be eligible for a multibuy offer: when buying tickets for more than one performance, there will be a discount of £1.50 per ticket. (Not to be used in conjunction with any other offer)
The Open Submissions Festival is presented in partnership with Character 7, an award-winning independent production company based in London, whose work includes the multi-award-winning global TV hit The Night Manager.
SHOW BY SHOW
Aunties in the USSR by Rebecca Banatvala
Directed by Mayaan Haputantri
Monday 14 September, 7:45pm ‘
‘We came here to scatter Rustam’s ashes in Red Square and that is what we are going to do.
It’s 1985. Ratti and her best friend Bachi are proud members of the Zoroastrian Ladies Committee for Socialist Justice. After a bruising election defeat, Ratti drags Bachi from Leytonstone to the USSR to scatter her late husband’s ashes.When their pilgrimage goes spectacularly off course, the two aunties find themselves tangled up with caviar smugglers, dancing bears and the KGB.A joyful new comedy from Rebecca Banatvala.
The Nine of Swords by Eoghan Quinn
Directed by Aaliyah McKay
Tuesday 15 September, 7:45pm
“Like not to be obvious Sean, but if you do this, you’re going to have a sword on your face until you die.
A solar eclipse descends over Dublin, but it’s just another day at the tattoo studio for artists Nika and Sean, and receptionist Clo.But as the light fades, the three co-workers find themselves confronting the lives they’ve built and their futures. By the time darkness falls, some choices will be made that cannot be undone. A darkly comic, unsettling new play from Eoghan Quinn.
The Honour Table by Selorm Adonu
Directed by Aneesha Srinivasan
Wednesday 16 September, 7:45pm
‘For once I just want to choose something for me’
Three years after their father’s death, the Frimpong siblings gather for their annual memorial dinner.This year, Godwin arrives with an offer that will divide the family but secure the future of The Root, the organisation their father founded. An MBE. Together, they must decide whether the price is worth paying.The Honour Table is a new play by Selorm Adonu.
My Son, the Guillotine by Sam Ward
Directed by Danielle Kassaraté
Thursday 17 September, 7:45pm
‘We are so fucked. We are so completely, totally, utterly fucked. We are on the brink of total societal collapse. The world is really, truly, falling apart.
Ben hasn’t been home in three years.When he arrives unannounced at his parents’ door late one night, his politician mother wants to know why.By morning, it becomes clear he’s not there for a friendly visit.Sam Ward’s My Son, the Guillotine, is a gripping new play about history, disillusionment and what it takes to really change the world.
Theertham by Nayantara Nayar
Directed by Nico Rao Pimparé
Friday 18 September, 7:45pm
‘The water?! That sound- that- it’s… marvellous. Can’t you hear it?’
As drought tightens its grip on a community, a diviner discovers an extraordinary source of water beneath a widow’s garden.But as people exploit it for profit, ghosts of the past begin to rise to the surface.Moving between two generations of women, Theertham is a new play by Nayantara Nayar.
Monday 14 September – Friday 18 September 2026,
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