Papatango Young Playwrights' Award 2026 Winners Announced
THE WALL IN WALTHAMSTOW, YUM, and STATEMENT OF (REDACTED) REGARDING SINISTER HAPPENINGS win at Park Theatre.
Papatango has announced the winners of the 2026 Papatango Young Playwrights' Award: The Wall in Walthamstow by Simra of Eden Girls' School, Yum by Lorenzo of Harris Lowe Academy Willesden, and Statement of (Redacted) Regarding Sinister Happenings by Maia of the Pavilion Study Centre Meadway
For the second consecutive year, the Papatango Young Playwrights' Award culminated in a professional showcase on the main stage at London's Park Theatre, held on 15 July 2026. The event showed the scriptwriting achievements of nine young people, shortlisted for their exceptional talent from 482 participants of Papatango's 2025-26 GoWrite Programme. The ceremony was hosted by actor Josh Finan, a BAFTA nominee best known for his work in The Responder, Baby Reindeer and most recently, How To Get To Heaven From Belfast. Finan starred in the world premiere of Papatango Theatre Company's Shook at Southwark Playhouse, the 2019 Papatango New Writing Prize Winner from Samuel Bailey.
GoWrite is Papatango Theatre Company's creative learning programme, which won Outstanding Drama Initiative at the 2026 Music and Drama Education Awards. The programme empowers young people in state schools, Pupil Referral Units, SEN settings and community groups for young refugees, young people with disabilities or care experience in London and the South West to write their own monologues, which Papatango perform and publish. GoWrite is entirely free to all partners and participants.
Kate Ereira, Papatango's Creative Learning & Engagement Producer, said, “Huge congratulations to all of our shortlisted writers and especially to the three winners. To be picked from 482 eligible scripts written, produced and published over the past year through GoWrite is a huge achievement. We are very grateful to Park Theatre for their generosity in allowing these young writers see their work presented on their main stage, sharing the same space as our last professional world premiere. We hope that GoWrite will be the beginning of similarly exciting journeys in theatre for these talented young people.”
Papatango discover and champion new playwrights through free opportunities open to anyone in the UK and Ireland. Our motto is simple: all you need is a story.
Debut playwrights launched by Papatango have won BAFTAs, Olivier, Critics' Circle, OffWestEnd, Alfred Fagon, Sky Arts, Susan Smith Blackburn and Royal National Theatre Foundation awards, premiering in 33 countries and the West End. Equally, over 22,000 grassroots writers and community participants have joined our free, accessible programmes and become produced and published. We empower unknown playwrights to embark on truly outstanding careers, while ensuring everyone's voice is heard.
The pathways we offer people otherwise excluded from professional opportunities include:
- the Papatango New Writing Prize, which drew over 1,900 entries in 2026 and guarantees two writers productions, publication and commissions, as well as developmental support for the shortlist and feedback for all – an unmatched investment in new writing for the whole nation.
- touring productions with accessible performances and community partnerships.
- digital platforms to develop artists' careers, which bring free workshops, 1-2-1 mentoring, industry databases of scripts, creative networking and open lottery funding to over 3,000 people a year, nurturing the UK's largest playwriting cohort.
- GoWrite, a playwriting programme transforming vulnerable young people in state schools, PRUs, SEND centres and refugee, disability or care charities into published and produced writers.
- the Young Playwrights' Award, which puts brilliant young voices on professional stages.
All these projects are delivered without a penny of Arts Council England subsidy or any private donors. Our success has been scrapped for, which drives our determination to open pathways for others.
Papatango's first book, Being A Playwright: A Career Guide for Writers, was published by Nick Hern Books. It topped Amazon's best-seller list in the playwriting category and has been described as a “phenomenon for playwriting good…a bible for playwrights” by Steve Waters and “enlightening…an excellent tool for playwrights” by Indhu Rubasingham.
GoWrite was named Outstanding Drama Initiative at the 2026 Music and Drama Education Awards, while Papatango's executive team – George Turvey and Chris Foxon – were named in The Stage 25. George Turvey was also awarded the Genesis Foundation Prize in 2022.
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