The Almeida Theatre have announced the writers for their 2021/22 edition of the The Genesis Almeida New Playwrights, Big Plays Programme.
The annual programme supports emerging and mid-career writers to develop new plays for larger stages giving them the space and time to experiment with form and scale. Each writer on the programme is commissioned to develop one new play and will be given dramaturgical support from the Almeida’s Literary Manager and artistic team.
During the year the writers will also attend twelve masterclasses led by established British and international playwrights, directors, designers and other creatives, and be given a five day R&D workshop to develop their commission.
The Genesis Almeida Writers for 2021/22 are Josh Elliott, Eno Mfon, Uma Nada-Rajah, Michael John O’Neill, Ava Pickett, Sid Sagar and Molly Taylor.
The Genesis Foundation was founded by John Studzinski CBE in 2001. Over the past 20 years, the Foundation has donated a total of more than £20 million to the arts. Through its funding and partnership model, it has enabled opportunities for thousands of young artists in theatre and music, building both their experience and their resilience.
The Foundation’s main focus is on partnerships with leading arts organisations such as the Young Vic, National Theatre, Almeida Theatre, LAMDA and The Sixteen, and on training programmes that equip emerging artists for life as a creative professional. In 2020, it launched the COVID-19 Artists Fund, an Emergency response to help freelancers facing hardship, and the £1 million Genesis Kickstart Fund, to create future-facing projects for outstanding freelance talent in the creative sector across the UK.
