NEW voices are coming to the RSC.
Six up-and-coming playwrights – Pamela Carter, James Fritz, Natasha Gordon, Karim Khan, Laura Lomas and Vinay Patel – will take part in the company’s 2026 COHORT programme.
The artist-led playwriting scheme offers playwrights the opportunity to be commissioned by the company as part of a nine-month programme of peer-to-peer support, in-person residencies and creative masterclasses.
Created by RSC Writers in Residence Zoe Cooper and Stewart Pringle and inspired by Sir Peter Hall’s founding vision of a ‘company’ of actors who share life and the experience of Stratford with one another as they work, COHORT brings together six writers engaged in the distinct but shared endeavour of writing six new plays for the RSC’s stages in a mutually supportive, non-competitive and creative environment.
RSC co-artistic directors Tamara Harvey and Daniel Evans said: “From the earliest days of the RSC under the visionary leadership of Sir Peter Hall, new writing has been an essential part of who we are as a company, where thrilling new works from the most exciting storytellers stand shoulder-to-shoulder with bold re-imaginings of classic texts.
“We are delighted to welcome such an inspiring collective of artists to Stratford-upon-Avon in 2026 and look forward to collaborating with each of them as they immerse themselves fully in the creative life of the RSC, expand their knowledge of the theatre-making process and forge meaningful new partnerships along the way.”
Across a series of five-day residences in Stratford, the six writers will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in RSC theatre-making practice.
During residencies, COHORT members will be invited to meet and develop relationships with artists from across the RSC and participate in a range of masterclasses to help expand and enrich their research, planning and writing process.
