Playwrights '73 Awards announce their 2026 cohort of writers
by Best of Theatre Staff on Tuesday 11 August 2026, 12:03 pm in Awards
Cordelia Lynn, Carley Magee, Tolu Okanlawon and AJ Yi have been named the recipients of the 2026 Playwrights '73 bursaries, each receiving £15,000 and an 18-month attachment to a UK theatre.
The recipients of the Playwrights '73 Award have been announced. The scheme places four playwrights with four theatres around the UK for 18 months and funds them to write a new play, and is primarily supported by The Peggy Ramsay Foundation with additional support from The Maria Bjornson Memorial Fund.
Cordelia Lynn, Carley Magee, Tolu Okanlawon and AJ Yi each receive a bursary of £15,000. Cordelia Lynn will work with the Orange Tree Theatre, Carley Magee with Kabosh Theatre, Tolu Okanlawon with the Arcola Theatre and AJ Yi with the Bush Theatre.
Cordelia Lynn said: "It's a gorgeous, intimate space and I can't wait to get stuck into writing a new play for it. With this bursary, Playwrights '73 have given us real freedom and support to develop the work and the relationship, and I'm grateful for their belief in our collaboration."
Tom Littler, artistic director of the Orange Tree Theatre, said: "We've been looking for an excuse to work with Cordelia for some time, so we're delighted that Playwrights '73 has finally given us one. She is one of the most exciting voices out there: a writer of enormous talent, curiosity and originality, whose work we have long admired. We are thrilled to support her as she develops new work during her attachment to our theatre over the next eighteen months."
Carley Magee said: "This opportunity is a vital next step in my career as a writer, not only receiving support for a fully commissioned piece of work but to extensively collaborate with Kabosh; a company whose work I have admired."
Mehmet Ergen, executive artistic director of the Arcola Theatre, said: "We are incredibly proud to have been selected for the Playwrights '73 Award and to be partnering with Tolu Okanlawon, whom we consider one of the most exciting voices emerging in theatre today. This award is a vital source of support for our industry, giving us the opportunity to not only collaborate with a brilliant new writer, but helping to lay the foundations for what we hope will be a long and enduring creative relationship."
AJ Yi, who returns to the Bush Theatre following a debut commission there with A Playlist For The Revolution, said they were "over the moon" to be working with the theatre again.