Alfred Fagon Award Writing Workshop – Saturday, 8th November 2025
The Alfred Fagon Award is offering a one-day writing workshop for ten new and emerging Black British playwrights based in West Yorkshire.
We encourage all playwrights no matter their experience, age (18+), or background to apply.
10 writers will be invited to attend a day’s workshop at Leeds Playhouse on Saturday, 8th November 2025.
This will be free to attend, and we’ll pay for your rail/bus travel to the venue.
What you will get from the workshop (10am – 6pm)
The workshop will be led by Oladipo Agboluaje. He will cover – narrative, structure and plot; characterisation and character development, writing effective dialogue; and visualisation, imagery and setting.
You’ll meet one of the past winners of the Alfred Fagon Award for a Q&A.
You’ll leave inspired to write your draft within 4 months.
Festival of Staged Readings
Opportunity for 3/4 writers to have extracts of their plays showcased at the Alfred Fagon Festival of Staged Readings in 2026 to celebrate 30 years of the Alfred Fagon Award.
The festival will be filmed, and writers will receive an edit of their play reading to use when pitching their plays to theatres.
Additional opportunities
All eligible scripts will be entered in the 2026 Alfred Fagon Award.
What we’d like from you
Bring your passion for theatre and storytelling.
A commitment from you to produce a draft within 4 months of attending the workshop.
A commitment from you to work with a dramaturg if your script is selected for the Festival of Staged Readings.
We want to hear from you by Friday, 17th October 2025. Please complete this short application form.
When we’ll let you know
Successful applicants will be notified by Monday, 27th October by email.
About Oladipo Agboluaje
Oladipo Agboluaje is the author of several plays, including Early Morning, The Christ of Coldharbour Lane, New Nigerians and The Estate. He is a winner of the prestigious Alfred Fagon Award for playwriting. He was an International Research Fellow of Freie University and the Royal Literary Fund. He has taught creative writing and post-colonial dramas at several universities. He is the course co-ordinator of the Black British Theatre and Performance programme at the British American Drama Academy in London. His new play, Crown of Blood, A Yoruba adaptation of Macbeth, for Utopia Theatre, will premiere at the Crucible in Sheffield in February 2025.
