Ava Pickett on taking risks in theatre and an update on the 1536 TV adaptation

Ava Pickett picked up another Stage Debut Award, her second in consecutive years.

The piece of work being awarded? 1536 – the hit play that topped our chief critic Sarah Crompton’s lists of shows to see and end-of-year round-ups, following its promising premiere at the Almeida and subsequent West End transfer.

Pickett’s debut script won her the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and the award for Best Writer at the Stage Debut Awards in 2025. She was also singled out as one of WhatsOnStage’s theatre faces to watch in 2026.

In her 2026 acceptance speech for Best Creative West End Debut, Pickett said that, in the theatre world, the word “risk” is rarely seen positively as a thing to try. But she thanked the team involved in the play, saying: “They made risk feel like a reason to do it, and that is an incredible thing and an important thing.”

Set in 16th-century rural England during the events surrounding Henry VIII’s arrest of Anne Boleyn, the story follows three young women, Anna, Mariella and Jane, living in an Essex village as news of the Queen’s arrest reaches them and begins to affect their lives.

The play has recently been picked up by the BBC to be adapted into an eight-part series.

Catching up in the winners room, Pickett shared that she is currently writing the scripts. “I think TV kind of eats story a bit more, so you have to think about driving momentum and the plot forward, and we’re opening it out a little bit – not too much, but a little bit. You can explore more about the form and how you tell the story and the order of events.”

She continued that the television adaptation will play with time and the order of events, alongside memory and rumour.

The writer, who has premiered two new shows this year – The Manningtree Witches at Mercury Theatre in Colchester and Bloodsport: After Helen of Troy at Stratford East – says she has found a home in the world of theatre.

“I feel so supported and welcomed into the community and very encouraged and championed. I’ve had such a wonderful time and feel so lucky to have even been remotely included in the conversations.”

On the film side, she’s also cooking up a big-screen version based on the life of Joan of Arc with Baz Luhrmann.