The Abbey Theatre is committed to providing opportunities for playwrights to evolve their craft and expand their practice. We are thrilled to announce our first edition of Next Wave, a year-long artist advancement initiative for early career playwrights.

Each year, the Literary and New Work team read hundreds of script submissions and attend new plays and readings all over the country, engaging with playwrights and their work. From the many interesting, heartfelt, provocative and funny plays we read and saw in the last year, we have selected a group of four early career playwrights of exceptional promise to participate in Next Wave. We are delighted to welcome Pea Dinneen, Peter Hanly, Dee Roycroft, and Samuel Yakura to the Abbey Theatre for this first edition of the initiative. 

In our selection process we looked for work that displayed an individual imagination, a fresh perspective, a facility with language and strong dramatic instinct. We considered the potential of each playwright to write impactful plays that will resonate with, challenge and delight Irish audiences.

Beginning in September 2024, Next Wave is a year-long opportunity for participating playwrights to evolve and deepen their writing practice within a bespoke framework of support at the Abbey Theatre including:

• Craft and skill development workshops from Abbey Theatre staff and Associate Artists
• Masterclasses and mentorship from world class theatre makers.
• Writing time and desk space in the Abbey Theatre Artists’ Studio.
• Dramaturgical support from the Literary & New Work team.
• Invitations to shows and rehearsals.

If you are a playwright and would like to be considered for a future edition of Next Wave, you can send us a script via our script submissions portal or invite us to see your work in performance. See our Artists, Scripts and Ideas page for further information on how to get in touch and share your work: New Work: Artists, Scripts and Ideas – Abbey Theatre.