Dramaturgy Papers
Dramaturgy Papers
Dramaturgy Papers
Established Dramaturg Award 2026
To kick off our 25th anniversary year, we are inviting nominations for the Established Dramaturg Award, to be awarded to one recipient in recognition of committed and generous practice, and an outstanding contribution to the field of dramaturgy.
The recipient will::
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Be selected by a panel of industry professionals and artistic leaders (see below)
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Recieve a £500 grant
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Receive a complimentary annual d’n membership
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Be supported to collaborate with the d'n on a live in-person event in Spring 2026 - open to members and non-members - to celebrate their achievement and foreground an aspect of their practice.
Details about the judging panel, rules for nomination and FAQs outlining the award criteria can be found below.
The Established Dramaturg Award builds on the success of the Kenneth Tynan Award, previously won by Gail Babb, Suzanne Bell and Ruth Little - among others. It is intended to raise awareness of the work carried out by dramaturgs in the UK – often overlooked or undervalued – and to inspire emerging dramaturgs with an expansive sense of possibility and creative courage.
In keeping with the collaborative nature of dramaturgical practice, we do not invite self-nominations. Theatre professionals engaged in any aspect of the theatre-making process are invited to nominate dramaturgs - such as colleagues, collaborators or those whose work they admire on-and-off stage - enhancing the atmosphere of peer recognition and cross-industry respect for the award-winner’s work.
The award will be judged by a panel of industry experts, alongside members of the d’n board.
Robert Awosusi is a director, writer, dramaturg and theatre maker creating work about people who are often unheard. His practice centres on performance exploring socio-political issues, with a focus on Blackness, queerness, capitalism and climate change. As a dramaturg, he has developed new work for companies such as Bullyache and Talawa and is a former Resident Director at the Almeida.
Sudha Bhuchar is an actor, playwright and founder of Bhuchar Boulevard, and co-founder of Tamasha. As a dramaturg, Sudha has supported artists including Tuyen Do, Nyla Levy and Dorcas Seb, and mentored artists including Julia Samuels and Imrana Mahmood. She is Artist in Residence at Theatre in the Mill and a trustee of Actors Touring Company, and has received multiple awards for her contribution to theatre, film and television.
Réjane Collard-Walker is a dramaturg, new-work producer and former Literary Manager with Royal Shakespeare Company. As a dramaturg, she has developed many RSC productions including Falkland Sound (2023), The Magicians Elephant (2021-22) and Tartuffe (2019). With a background in theatre translation and producing, Réjane has held positions at the Lyric Hammersmith and Old Vic Theatre, and now oversees new work contracting at the RSC.
Frey Kwa-Hawking is a dramaturg and critic who writes for Exeunt Magazine, The Stage, and WhatsOnStage. He has worked for the Unicorn Theatre, Young Vic, and the Royal Court. He was a writer and dramaturg on PaperGang Theatre’s Asian Pirate Musical, a queer science-fiction musical that had a concert performance at the Pleasance Theatre in 2024. He loves rehearsal rooms, new writing (especially queer work), and theatre that scares him or shakes his assumptions.
Rules for Nomination
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The opening date for nominations is 12 PM on Monday 26 January 2026.
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The closing date for nominations is 5 PM on Friday 27 February 2026.
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The person you nominate must be a literary, movement or process-oriented dramaturg, working in any performance discipline, and residing in the UK.
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We define 'process-oriented' dramaturgy as any combination of the following:
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Collaborating with artists, companies and theatres to develop and document creative methods and processes.
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Supporting individual artists in the development of new work on either a freelance basis or within an organisation.
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Working closely with artistic leaders and creative teams to shape programmes, define artistic vision, and develop approaches for artist-development and audience engagement.
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Fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration that connects academic research with performance practice and advances theatre scholarship and pedagogical approaches.
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The person you nominate must have been practising for a minimum of 12 years.
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Nominations can be made by a theatre practitioner only (anyone working paid or unpaid in live performance in the UK).
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You can nominate one person only (not yourself).
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Nominations can be made online via the google form.
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Alternatively, nominations can also be submitted in audio or video format. If you opt for this approach, please ensure you include the following information:
- Your name and contact details
- Name of the nominee
- Description of a work that exemplifies the nominee's practice.
- Description of their broader contribution to dramaturgy and why they deserves this award.
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Nominations via audio or video should not be longer than four minutes.
Click here to nominate someone for the Established Dramaturgs Award 2026
If you wish to submit your answers in a different format (e.g. Word document attachment with email), you can request a copy of the questions and email us your answers by getting in touch at info@dramaturgy.com.
Awarding panel
FAQs
Can I nominate myself? A. In the spirit of collaborative working and increasing the visibility of dramaturgy, we would like to encourage many different theatre makers to think about the value of dramaturgy, therefore we invite peer nominations. We will not consider self nominations.
Can I nominate someone who isn’t working in new writing? Yes. You can nominate a process-oriented dramaturg, movement dramaturg or a literary dramaturg. What we mean by process dramaturgy is dramaturgy for collaborative performance making and in the rehearsal room.
Are movement dramaturgs, and dramaturgs working in other genres included? A. Yes. Dramaturgs working in any genre or type of performance are included. This includes: New writing, Devised performance, Musicals, Dance, Physical theatre, Visual theatre, Circus, Storytelling, Puppetry. Clowning and more.
When will the shortlist be announced? The shortlist will be announced in early March (date tbc).
Can I nominate someone using a different format from text? Yes. You may nominate via a minute video or audio file. Send this to info@dramaturg.co.uk with subject tite 'EDA 2026 nomination'. Please ensure the video or audio application is no longer than 4 minutes total in length.
I work with someone who has been a dramaturg for less than ten years, can I nominate them? This award is specifically for dramaturgs who have been working professionally, for a minimum of 12 years. Later in 2026 we will open nominations for the emerging/mid-career Fellowship Award and invite you to nominate for less experienced dramaturgs then.
I’ve only worked with the dramaturg once: is that enough to be able to nominate them? Yes! As long as you can give an impression of how, in your experience, they meet the criteria of committed and generous practice and an outstanding contribution to the field of dramaturgy.
Do I need to be a member of the Dramaturgs Network to nominate someone? No. We welcome nominations from across theatre and movement work, from playwrights, directors, designers, etc.
Does the dramaturg I’d like to nominate have to be a member of Dramaturgs Network? No – but we hope they will consider joining!
The dramaturg I’d like to nominate works outside the UK, is that OK? This award is for dramaturgs who do the majority of their work in the UK. You can tell us us in the nomination form what the approximate ratio of the dramaturg’s work inside and outside the UK is. There is flexibility on this question for dramaturgs who work across the island of Ireland.
Can I nominate more than one dramaturg? We ask that you nominate just one dramaturg for this award.
Will the number of times a dramaturg is nominated affect the outcome? No. A dramaturg may be nominated by numerous people or just once. All nominees will be considered equally, and repeated nominations for the same individual will not affect the outcome either way.
Will there be a shortlist Yes. We will select and announce a shortlist of up to 5 nominnees, in addition to the selected winner.
The Established Dramaturg Award is currently the only award in the United Kingdom that is given to a dramaturg.
In recognition of the central role of dramaturgy to theatre and performance activity in the UK, we invite donations to help cover the costs of the award and the live event. We welcome donations big and small!