We’re delighted to announce our Writers’ Collective cohort for 2025-2026: Hassan Abdulrazzak, Azan Ahmed, Martha Watson Allpress, Catherine Dyson, Lucy Phelps, and Ben Weatherill.
For over a decade, the Orange Tree Writers’ Collective has brought together a group of playwrights to spend a year at the OT to share practice, develop new ideas, and become engaged in the work of their theatre throughout the year.
The programme supports mid-career playwrights who have progressed beyond the early stages of their careers and are looking to take the next step. It offers professional development and a peer support network to help writers at a similar stage grow, connect, and thrive.
Selected participants receive monthly masterclasses with industry professionals, dramaturgical support for developing new work, and access to the Orange Tree’s facilities including desk space, a large reference collection of published play texts, and complimentary tickets. The programme also includes a £1,000 tax-free bursary and culminates in a showcase of participants’ work in the main auditorium for industry guests and the public.
For the first time, the cohort also includes a translator, Lucy Phelps, whose place in the Writers’ Collective is in association with the British Centre for Literary Translation (BCLT).
This year, the programme is led by Literary Associate, William Gregory, and Carne Associate Director, Georgia Green, who said today:
“This year, we are very excited to be working with five extraordinary playwrights — and for the first time, a translator — as part of the cohort. Over the coming year, they will develop their writing through a rich programme of masterclasses, talks from leading industry experts, and ongoing dramaturgical support from William and myself. The Writers’ Collective is at the heart of what we do, and we can’t wait to have them in the building this year and see what they create.”
