Beyond The Draft
Applications close Wed 3 Dec 2025
17 Jan - 14 Mar 2026
Overview
Beyond the Draft is a free, eight-week programme for six playwrights in Scotland who self-identify as experiencing barriers to access within the theatre sector. These could be early-career playwrights or those with more experience in the arts who feel disadvantaged by a lack of access to creative education or formal training.
- Applications open: Wed 12 Nov 2025
- Applications close: Wed 3 Dec 2025
- Programme dates: Saturday afternoons from Sat 17 of Jan 2026 to Sat 14 Mar 2026 (with a break Sat 28 Feb)
This opportunity isn’t about producing a finished play — it’s about developing your craft, building confidence in your voice, and giving you practical tools to navigate the industry as a professional playwright.
This group was created by early-career playwrights who recognise how hard it can be to find space to learn and grow without the pressure to fit into an existing market, prove yourself to institutions, or produce the 'next big play.' Opportunities like this are rare, especially for artists who experience barriers to access. The focus is creating a space that centres development, not output — where writers can find community, build confidence, and grow their craft on their own terms.
The final sessions will be developed in collaboration with the programme’s workshop leaders and facilitators and tailored to the needs of the group, but will include sessions that explore theatrical structure, developing your voice as a playwright, and decolonised dramaturgy.
Beyond the Draft is part of the Fellowship Programme 2026. Created by the Producing and Dramaturgy Fellows at the National Theatre of Scotland, the programme is a series of free creative opportunities designed for artists who experience barriers to participating fully in Scottish theatre.
The programme sets out to try and combat the gaps and lack of development opportunities that feed future inequality, and to support the growth of artists to work towards their full potential.
Hannah Low (Dramaturgy Fellow) and Leah Byrne (Producing Fellow) said:
“By considering a broad and expansive range of barriers to access when designing this programme, we hope to take a small but meaningful step towards a more inclusive, equitable Scottish theatre sector — one where early to mid-career artists have the chance to develop their craft, gain insight into the industry, and form real connections with artists they might otherwise never have met without feeling tokenised or excluded.
Rooted in our own lived experience as freelance artists, this programme is about giving others space to explore their own creative practice without the pressure of generating new work or the risk of being pigeonholed according to their identity.
More than anything, we are genuinely delighted to have the opportunity to create something we know we would have benefited from.”
The Fellows Programme is supported by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Beyond The Draft Dates & Format
All sessions will take place on Saturdays, 1:30–3:30pm at National Theatre of Scotland, Rockvilla, 125 Craighall Road, Glasgow G49 TL.
As these sessions emphasise peer connection and learning, we expect participants to attend sessions in person.
Schedule
- 17 Jan 2026 – Introduction & Orientation
- 24 Jan 2026 – Workshop 1
- 31 Jan 2026 – Workshop 2
- 7 Feb 2026 – Workshop 3
- 14 Feb 2026 – Workshop 4
- 21 Feb 2026 – Workshop 5
- 28 Feb 2026 – Break Week
- 7 Mar 2026 – Workshop 6
- 14 Mar 2026 – Freelance Toolkit, Funding & Reflection
Tea, coffee, and snacks will be provided at all sessions.
Who It’s For
This programme is for playwrights who self-identify as experiencing barriers to access within theatre in Scotland, including (but not limited to) those who:
- Identify as neurodivergent and/or disabled
- Come from working-class, migrant, or lower socio-economic backgrounds
- Have faced geographical barriers to theatre or arts education
- Experience age, maternity, or caring-related barriers
- Identify as Global Majority, LGBTQIA+, or part of other underrepresented groups
Although it’s aimed at those who have not benefited from traditional training or educational routes, this is not a complete introduction to playwriting. To get the most out of this programme, participants should have some prior experience of making work, such as:
- Work performed at scratch nights or festivals (e.g. the Fringe)
- Writing for another medium (e.g. radio plays, screenwriting)
- Professional experience in another area (acting, directing, theatre-making)
- Funded or produced writing work (e.g. R&Ds, short commissions, small-scale productions)
Applicants should:
- Be over 18 and not in full-time education
- Be committed to developing and furthering their craft as a playwright
- Have had no more than one professional production* where they are credited as a writer.
* By professional production, we mean a production where the full cast, creative team, and crew were paid at least union minimum rates.
You may be less likely to be selected if you’ve recently taken part in similar opportunities (e.g. the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland Playwright Mentoring Programme).
What You will Get
- 8 sessions with professional writers, dramaturgs, directors, and theatre-makers
- Travel bursaries to support attendance
- Access to National Theatre of Scotland dress rehearsals, script library, and hotdesking at Rockvilla (subject to availability)
- Peer and professional networking opportunities
- Practical tools for navigating a freelance writing career
- Teas, coffees, and snacks at all in-person sessions
What We Expect from You
You don’t need to produce new pages or a polished script throughout this process — just have a willingness to experiment, explore, and grow as a writer. However, we anticipate that this group will have a high number of applicants, so we ask that you consider whether you can:
- Commit to attending all eight sessions
- Take part in discussions and workshops — these are interactive sessions, not lectures
- Contribute to a supportive and inclusive learning environment
- Bring openness, curiosity, and respect for your peers and their practice
- Be interested in learning about non-western and alternative models of playwriting
Accessibility & Support
If you have access needs you want to discuss before applying, or require support to make an application please email hannah.low@nationaltheatrescotland.com
An audio flyer can be found here.
Selected participants will be asked to complete a National Theatre of Scotland access rider or send their own to ensure that we can make sessions accessible to everyone involved.
Rockvilla is an accessible building, including:
- Being fully wheelchair accessible.
- Offering two quiet spaces.,
- Offering gender neutral and single occupancy bathroom facilities.
For more detailed information about our access policy click here.
How to Apply
Submit via the online form, which asks for:
- Your name and location.
- A bio of up to 250-words about your writing experience to date alongside any other creative experience relevant to your artistic voice or process.
- Up to 250 words on why you’d benefit from the programme: this could be what you struggle with now, what you’d like to develop over the course of the programme, or what about the structure and set-up of the programme would be most useful to you and why.
- Up to 250 words on how this opportunity might fit into and inform your current writing practice, as well as how you might contribute to the sessions creatively and constructively. A sample of your work (up to 15 pages of a script for theatre).
- Completion of the anonymous Diversity Monitoring Form – this allows us to report information back to the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation around demographic and demand.
NB: we will not be assessing and selecting participants according to the nature or extent of their barriers. We will also not be judging submissions on their use of grammar, spelling, or formatting. See FAQs below for our assesment criteria.
If you would like to apply in another format, email hannah.low@nationaltheatrescotland.com to discuss options.
Applications close Wed 3 Dec 2025 at 5.00pm.
Frequently Asked Questions
How will applications be assessed?
As with all creative work, assessment can be subjective, but we aim to be as transparent and fair as possible in terms of how and why we select participants.
Applications will be assessed according to:
- The quality and potential of the writer’s voice as evidenced in the sample provided.
- How the programme might support your development and how well-matched its resources and your needs are.
- How you might contribute to group discussions, and what qualities you might bring to the room, as we are keen to create a balanced group of writers from across Scotland with varied, styles and experience levels.
Round One – All applications will be read and shortlisted by one of the Fellows or a member of the National Theatre of Scotland Artistic Development team.
Round Two – Shortlisted applications will be cross-read, and the final six participants will be selected by the Fellows.
Will I receive feedback on my application?
We’d love to offer individual feedback, but due to capacity and the Fellows’ part-time working pattern, it is not possible. Instead, we will send a general feedback email highlighting common strengths and areas for improvement within applications alongside tips for applying to similar opportunities.
What is the travel bursary?
Available for those based 25+ miles from Rockvilla:
£20 for 25–50 miles
£40 for 50+ miles
Why am I not being paid for my time?
This is a professional development opportunity — artists often must pay to access similar opportunities. You are only expected to give your time to the eight sessions; you will not be expected to deliver any writing/drafts of plays.
We know not receiving payment can be a barrier, but by offering travel bursaries, access support, and removing the expectation to produce new material, we hope this opportunity is more accessible and supportive than many traditional models.