Shakespeare’s New Contemporaries is a groundbreaking, industry-changing undertaking that is discovering, developing, and producing a new canon of 38 plays that are inspired by and in conversation with Shakespeare’s work. It’s an opportunity for playwrights of every background, perspective, and style to engage with Shakespeare and his stage practices. It’s our chance to bring living writers into the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre: the Blackfriars Playhouse.

Playwrights get: a world premiere production of their play; $25,000 prize; travel and housing for the rehearsal and development process.

We’re looking for: unproduced plays that engage with Shakespeare’s work and embrace Shakespeare’s staging conditions.