Soho Theatre announces season of back-to-back new writing

Soho Theatre has announced a major new writing season to mark a year that has seen the opening of Soho Theatre Walthamstow and the 25th anniversary of its Dean Street venue.

Rose Abderabbani has been appointed head of theatre programme, leading a restructured team that includes theatre producer Eve Allin, literary associate director Max Elton, creative associates Alessandro Babalola and Pooja Sivaraman, producer Maddie Wilson, and theatre and new writing associate Paul Sirett.

Abderabbani, who has worked at Soho since 2012, steps up from her previous role as theatre programme manager, while David Luff departs after more than a decade, continuing to collaborate as executive producer on several productions including My English Persian Kitchen and the Walthamstow transfer of Age is a Feeling.

The season launches with five back-to-back productions in the Main House. Opening is Eoin McAndrew’s Verity Bargate Award-winning Little Brother (17 October to 22 November), directed by Emma Jordan. Set in Belfast, the play follows the fraught bond between siblings Brigid and Niall as she attempts to save him from a spiral of self-destruction.

David Ireland’s Most Favoured (11 December to 24 January), directed by Max Elton and co-produced with 19th Street Productions and María Inés Olmedo Projects, stars Lauren Lyle and Alexander Arnold. Taking place in a Travelodge bedroom after a chance encounter, the play unpicks hidden truths between a woman and her American lover.

Miriam Battye’s The Virgins (29 January to 7 March), directed by Jaz Woodcock-Stewart, is a feverish look at adolescence and desire. Set over one night with four girls and two boys alone in a house, it captures the awkwardness, intensity, and bravado of teenage years.

Sarah Power’s Welcome to Pemfort (12 March to 18 April), directed by Ed Madden, transports audiences to a crumbling country estate preparing for its first living history event.

The season concludes with Dave Harris’s Tender (23 April to 30 May), directed by Matthew Xia. Set in a failing strip club struggling against slick competition, the play reunites the pair after their acclaimed Tambo and Bones.

Alongside the productions, Soho Theatre has launched Soho ReDraft, a new commissioning initiative supporting playwrights to develop first drafts into production-ready scripts. The first cohort includes Lena Kaur (Vindaloo Nah Nah), Nadya Menuhin (I, Mother), Rianna Simons (White Girls Gang), Eleanor Tindall (What If Orpheus Was Four Sad Women), and Natasha Tripney (Him, Upstairs).

The Verity Bargate Award, the UK’s longest established playwriting prize, will return in 2026 with its biggest prize yet, supported by Character 7. Submissions will open in January. Previous winners include Sam Grabiner’s Boys on the Verge of Tears, which went on to win at both the Stage Debut Awards and the Olivier Awards, and McAndrew’s Little Brother, which will also receive international workshops and readings.