Opportunity: Phelim Donlon Playwright’s Bursary and Residency 2025

Applications are now open for the Phelim Donlon Playwright’s Bursary and Residency 2025 in association with Tyrone Guthrie Centre Annaghmakerrig.

The Phelim Donlon Bursary and Residency provides a playwright with time and resources towards writing a new play. It is named in honour of Phelim Donlon, an independent theatre producer for many years and the Drama Officer at the Arts Council from 1983 to 2001. He was committed to the arts and was a passionate advocate for new and emerging talent. Phelim was also a dedicated member of the first Irish Theatre Institute PLAYOGRAPHY Ireland Advisory Panel. This award, now in its 10th year, is an acknowledgement of his valued contribution to Irish theatre.

The recipient will be announced at an event in Dublin in late March. It comprises of a bursary of €2,000 and a 2 weeks’ fully resourced residency in Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Annaghmakerrig.

Eligibility Criteria

To be considered eligible you must:
• Have an established practice as a playwright – this means that you must have a minimum of one full-length play (where you are a named writer) that has been programmed or produced by an established production company, theatre venue, theatre festival, or independent producer.
• Be resident on the island of Ireland or an Irish National living abroad.
• Be an individual writer, or part of a writing partnership that has a history of working together.
• Be working on a new project (i.e. not a project already begun, or in receipt of other significant support).
• Have a play proposal that is based on an original idea, and not an adaptation or reimagining of an existing work.
• Playwrights who have previously submitted and were not successful are welcome to reapply.

Making Your Application and Timeline

Please complete the application form available at irishtheatreinstitute.ie

Applications open 7 January and will close on 4 February at 12pm. Applicants will be notified by 3 March with a ceremony and recipient announcement in late March.

Selection Process and Assistance for Applicants

Applications will be reviewed by ITI’s team for eligibility and initial review. Reading and selection of the shortlist and recipient are done by an artist peer panel. The panel is selected from a diverse range of artists and playwrights familiar with this residency.

The ITI welcome questions from all potential applicants, but specific access supports, and access costs are also available. These supports are for applicants with disabilities to cover any requirements you may have to remove barriers that might stop you from completing your application. ITI can cover access costs, as defined by the Arts Council. If you’d prefer to meet one of the team to talk through these guidelines or would like to submit your application in another format (like video), please contact them by emailing info@irishtheatreinstitute.ie.

If anyone has any questions, worries, or concerns or before anyone potentially rules themselves out of applying, please contact contact Narod Shahinian at nshahinian@irishtheatreinstitute.ie or call on 01 670 49 06.

For further information and for frequently asked questions, visit irishtheatreinstitute.ie/news