SCRIPT SUBMISSIONS AND PROGRAMMING POLICY

“At Theatre503 we aim to offer encouragement and support to the broadest possible emerging writing community, building relationships that continue until, we hope, writers get programmed. We want and need you to engage with us, and we aim to offer the best possible bespoke experience we can, but we also need you to make sure that Theatre503 is the right theatre for your work.”

Steve Harper, Literary Manager

Theatre503 is the national theatre for debut plays. A 64-seat theatre above a pub, our work is dedicated to supporting new and emerging writers who have not had a 4 week production or a published full length play. 

From 2026 we are launching a new programming model. This will see us produce:

• Four in-house shows, working with leading commercial production companies
• Two co-productions, working in association with emerging companies
• At least four Rapid Write Response programmes

Alongside this, we will stage occasional work-in-progress and short run seasons.

All plays considered for any of the above will go through the Unsolicited Script System. 

All plays must be submitted through the Script Submission Form.

Please note that although the unsolicited script form is now open continually, we have limited reading capacity and can only now read work considered of interest to Theatre503.

If you have a producer and are interested in approaching Theatre503 for a programming slot, please submit your play via the Script Submission Form,  but please check the information on the Programming webpage before you do so. 

Please see a guide to all our activities below. 

As a writer, you can engage with Theatre503 in numerous ways:

LITERARY DEPARTMENT

Script Submissions    

Writers’ Mailing List  

Writers’ Nights                    

Rapid Write Response    

503Five

International Playwriting Award

Wandsworth Writes

WRITERS’ PROGRAMME

Masterclasses

Courses

1-2-1 Dramaturgy

PROGRAMMING

Short Runs

Full Length Runs

LITERARY DEPARTMENT SCRIPT SUBMISSIONS CRITERIA

We are only interested in reading unproduced scripts from debut and emerging writers who meet the criteria detailed below:

WRITER ELIGIBILITY

Theatre503 is dedicated to writers who …

• have NOT had a four week production of a show that runs for more than 65 minutes, anywhere in the world.
• have limited international credits, where longer runs are not a part of another country’s theatre ecology.
• have limited screen credits in TV/Film
• have not been published

SCRIPT ELIGIBILITY

• We are interested in contemporary focused plays
• We do NOT accept or read adaptations, musicals, biographical/historical plays without a clear contemporary aspect.
• We can ONLY accept scripts from UK based writers, outside of the biennial International Playwriting Award.

 SUBMITTING A SCRIPT 

• You can ONLY submit a script to Theatre503 via our online portal
• You can ONLY submit one script at a time
• We may ONLY be able to read your play once, so please ensure it is ready for sharing
• You can ONLY submit redrafts of plays if agreed with Literary Deptartment

SCRIPT CATEGORIES 

• Unsolicited scripts (open for submissions continually but we can only now read your play if it seems suitable)
• Theatre503 International Playwriting Award (Currently Closed)
• Rapid Write Response (Open for RWR to specific shows)
• 503Five (Currently Closed)

AGENTS

We welcome enquiries, communication with and submissions from agents. These plays should also be sent using the script submission form, selecting the ‘Unsolicited’ drop down option.

For further enquiries please email literary@theatre503.com 

AFTER SUBMISSION

All plays go through a triage process to assess suitability to be read by Theatre503. This is done by the core Literary team.

Plays suitable for reading will be sent to two readers and we aim to read the play in two months. Please note any backlog or additional reading demands could mean this process is delayed.

Plays will be discussed at a monthly readers’ meeting. 

Writers will then be contacted and plays processed in a way suitable to the script’s reception.

We regret that we are unable to offer feedback as standard on all plays. However, we aim to communicate the outcome of the process concerning all submissions to writers, and some feedback, or ongoing communication may be embarked upon at the theatre’s discretion.