503Five Writer’s Residency

Applications are currently closed. Keep an eye on our website and social media for updates on admissions for our next cohort.

The 503Five is an 18-month residency supported by Philip Carne MBE & Christine Carne and the Orseis Trust offering writers the opportunity to find their creative home at Theatre503, develop work and experience being at the heart of a new writing theatre.

The residency offers writers a seed commission of £2,000, a series of masterclass workshops, peer to peer support, industry connections, dramaturgical support, and opportunities for R&D and/or rehearsed readings to support the development of the script.

This scheme is for UK based writers only and is designed for writers who have developed their craft to a high standard but are not yet professionally produced. 

We define ‘professionally produced’ as a full-length play of more than 65 minutes that has been produced professionally for 4 weeks or more.

We are open to writers whose journey into playwriting has come through other disciplines (comedy, drag, devising etc) but all writers submitting will have written a full length play as you need to submit this as part of your application.

On the application form you must also cut and paste a 10-page example of your writing. This can be an extract from the full-length script you are submitting, or from another piece of work.

We urge all writers applying for the 503five to consider Theatre503’s production history, programming policy and the collaborative nature of the scheme.

If you have any questions about the application process or the residency, please email literary@theatre503.com.

Whilst this opportunity is open to writers across the UK and this will be a hybrid scheme, participants will be expected to attend regular sessions in London and are invited to spend as much time with us as they wish. A contribution towards expenses is available for travel to London during the residency and this can be discussed with anyone prior to the final stages of the process. 

The 503Five Alumni are:
Richard Marsh, Rex Obano, Lou Ramsden, Nimer Rashed, Beth Steel
Brad Birch, Jon Brittain, Charlene James, Gemma Langford, Chris Urch
Ella Greenhill, Brian Mullin, Neasa O’Callaghan, Vinay Patel, Chloe Todd-Fordham
Mahad Ali, Christopher Hogg, Yasmin Joseph, Ross Willis, Aisha Zia
Jon Berry, Annie Jenkins, Benedict Lombe, Joel Tan, Zak Zarafshan
Dare Aiyegbeyo, Tabby Lamb, Sorcha McCaffrey, Martha Reed, Kaamil Shah
Melis Aker, Shona Babayemi, Rachel Mae Brady, Asa Haynes, Joe Kerridge