The Jerwood Foundation has supported Jerwood New Playwrights at the Royal Court since 1994. Upon its establishment in 1999, the Jerwood Charitable Foundation took over responsibility for this crucial programme, which is rooted in the Royal Court’s desire to create a more sustainable culture for new writers. Over the years, Jerwood New Playwrights has been instrumental in discovering and supporting some of the most important playwrights of our time, from Sarah Kane to David Greig and Mark Ravenhill to Ayub Khan Din. To date the programme has supported 67 new productions to the stage.

Each year, Jerwood New Playwrights supports the production of three new works by emerging writers, all of whom are in the first 10 years of their career. The Royal Court carefully identifies playwrights whose careers would benefit from the challenge and profile of being fully produced either in the Jerwood Downstairs or Jerwood Upstairs Theatres at the Royal Court. The programme has produced a collection of challenging and outspoken works which explore a variety of new forms and voices, and stimulate a huge amount of press and public interest.