National Theatre Connections 2026

Sean Buckley is a British-Irish playwright and screenwriter from south London. His first play Matches for Monkeys was winner of the Verity Bargate Award and he was Pearson Writer in Residence with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Other plays include Between Dog and Wolf, Smithereens (both Paines Plough) and audio drama Stone Baby (Radio 3) received a BBC New Writing Award. Alexandra Wood is a playwright from London. Her plays include The Tyler Sisters and The Empty Quarter (Hampstead Theatre); Never Vera Blue (Futures Theatre/Edinburgh Fringe); The Initiate and The Human Ear (Paines Plough); Ages (Old Vic New Voices); a translation of Manfred Karge’s Man to Man (Wales Millennium Centre); Merit (Plymouth Drum); Unbroken (Gate); and The Eleventh Capital (Royal Court).Helen Blakeman is an award-winning writer for stage and screen, winning the George Devine Award for her debut play Caravan and a BAFTA award for her BBC adaptation of Jacqueline Wilson's Dustbin Baby, which also won an International Emmy Award.Afsaneh Gray is a writer for screen, stage and audio. She is the winner of the Brian Way Award with her play for young people, The Border. Her plays have been longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize and Women’s Prize for Playwriting, and shortlisted for the Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Prize.Kirsty Housley is theatre maker working across direction, writing and dramaturgy. Awards include the OSBTT Award and The Stage award for Innovation. She was RSC digital fellow in 2022. Recent writing includes Myth (RSC) and Woman and Machine (Royal Opera House).Florence Espeut-Nickless is an award-winning writer and actor from Wiltshire. Recent writing credits include; Little Red & Other Winter Tales (Bristol Old Vic), Bernadette & Other Teenage Folk Tales (Restoke), The Odyssey (National Theatre & Trowbridge Town Hall), DESTINY (UK tour), Miracle On 34 Seymour Street (Trowbridge Town Hall).Al Smith’s plays include Harrogate (HighTide/Royal Court Theatre), Rare Earth Mettle (Royal Court), Diary of a Madman (Traverse Theatre/Gate Theatre), and Radio (Arcola/Audible).Eve Leigh is an award-winning, internationally recognised writer for performance. Residencies include National Theatre Studio attachment 2024, Royal Court 2019 and 2017, Experimental Stage of the National Theatre of Greece 2017, AIDF Teatr Polski Bydgoszcz 2016. Awards include Berlin Theatertreffen Stueckemarkt selection 2021, Sarah Award for Audio Fiction 2020, Jerwood/Royal Court New Playwright Award 2019 (with Jasmine Lee-Jones), Women’s Prize for Playwriting Finalist 2020, Bruntwood Prize shortlist 2019. Upcoming work includes commissions from Headlong, Unicorn Theatre, and the Javaad Alipoor Company.

• Head of Participation IntroductionConnections Dramaturg IntroductionConnections 2026 SynopsesThe Animals by Sean BuckleyCharacter Plot Main Narrative BeatsWorkshop NotesBritney's Lock by Alexandra WoodCharacter Plot Main Narrative BeatsWorkshop Notes Cloud Busting by Helen Blakeman (based on the novel by Malorie Blackman)Character Plot Main Narrative BeatsWorkshop NotesFishville by Afsaneh GrayCharacter Plot Main Narrative BeatsWorkshop NotesMacbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth Macbeth by Kirsty HousleyCharacter Plot Main Narrative BeatsWorkshop NotesRide or Die by Florence Espeut-NicklessCharacter Plot Main Narrative BeatsWorkshop NotesSycamore Gap by Al SmithCharacter Plot Main Narrative BeatsWorkshop NotesWildfire Road by Eve Leigh Character Plot Main Narrative BeatsWorkshop NotesParticipating CompaniesPartner TheatresNational Theatre Connections TeamPerforming Rights