WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
Last year, we looked back — uncovering the hidden legacies and untold stories woven into British history. Ahead of Tara Theatre’s 50th year we’re looking forward and asking: what does the next 50 years and beyond look like for South Asian storytelling?
For NOVA 2026/27, we’re inviting writers to explore the future through the lens of futurism. A framework that uses speculative imagination, science fiction and technological advancement – to centre South Asian stories, voices, bodies and futures. Think of this as inspired by Afrofuturism: a creative and political act of dreaming ourselves forward, on our own terms.
This is your invitation to decolonise the timeline. To move beyond the stories we’ve been told we’re allowed to tell. To imagine South Asian life not just as it has been, but as it could be: expansive, electric and entirely our own.
Be bold. Be brave. We have too often had to limit our stories because of structural barriers and financial constraints.
Give us the stories that place us in new frontiers. The ones that help us see ourselves fully. The ones that expand what already exists, and dare to imagine what comes next.
DRAW INSPIRATION FROM THE FOLLOWING
A New Mythology. Based on exploring ancient South Asian myths, pantheon, and epics through a futurist lens. Retell these stories in worlds that haven’t been built yet. Build entirely new lore from the richness of the South Asian canon.
Utopia / Dystopia What does the future look like when it’s recast through a South Asian lens? It can be hopeful. It can be bleak. So long as it’s ours.
Space Odysseys Take us beyond the Earth. Sci-fi stories that place South Asian characters at the frontier; in space, across galaxies, at the edges of what we know.
A Future Built on Eastern Ideals How does technological advancement look when it’s shaped by eastern philosophy? What kind of world, and what kind of ethics, does that produce?
Politics of the Future What challenges will the diaspora face in the years to come? Explore the socio-political landscape of a future we’re already moving toward.
Queer & Feminist Futurism Re-envision gender, fluidity and freedom within South Asian contexts. Amplify LGBTQ+ and feminist voices that have too often been pushed to the margins.
South Asian Solarpunk Stories that imagine climate-conscious futures rooted in indigenous knowledge, communal living and the wisdom already present in South Asian traditions.
Subaltern Futurism Explore the intersection of technology, justice and caste. Whose futures are being built and who gets left behind?
WHAT IS OUR OFFER?
- A commission of £1,500
- Writing Masterclass and dramaturgical support from our in-house artistic team and an acclaimed playwright. Past playwrights include Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti
- Opportunities to speak to our marketing and producing team
- In-kind space at Tara Theatre to write and develop your work
- A period of development for your work from page to stage, culminating in a public performance led by a professional director and actors at Tara Theatre
- Invited industry and facilitated audience feedback for future development of the work
- Networking and producing opportunities
HOW DOES IT WORK?
A window will open for submissions on Thursday 16th July at 12PM for writers to send us their work through an online submission form.
Writers can submit their ideas in the form of either:
- A synopsis
- A pitch
- A script extract (no more than 10 pages long)
Please note: if you are submitting a synopsis or a pitch, please provide an example of your writing no more than 10 pages long.
This should be accompanied with thoughts around the following questions:
- Tell us about yourself. Please briefly include information about your background and your location. (150 words)
- Why is this an unheard story that deserves to be told? (150 words)
- Tara Theatre makes politically charged theatre. How does your play align with this ethos? (150 words)
Your submission can be sent to us as either a written, video or audio submission. (3 minutes maximum).
Please note, if you make a video or audio submission you will still need to include a sample of your writing.
WHAT CAN YOUR IDEAS BE?
Your ideas can be original ideas and adaptations.
SUBMISSION WINDOW
Our script submission window at Tara Theatre opens on Thursday 16 Jul at 12PM and closes on Thursday 13 Aug at 12PM.
Due to current limitations with funding, we aim to use our resources in the best way possible to support writers.
At present we only have capacity to receive scripts during this window. Our team will aim to read every script submitted to us within this window and you will hear back on whether you were successful or not within 8-12 weeks of submission.
If you would like to have an informal chat about NOVA, please email our Associate Director, Gavin Joseph at gavin@taratheatre.com
KEY DATES
Submissions open 12PM on Thu 16 Jul
Submissions close 12PM on Thu 13 Aug
NOVA Longlist announced W/C 15th Sep
NOVA Shortlist announced W/C 29th Sep
NOVA Playwrights announced W/C 27th October
Rehearsals and Showcase W/C 4th May 2026
ACCESS
If you would like to submit your application in a different format such as Large Font or another Accessible Format, we would be happy to accommodate this. Please contact shahreen@taratheatre.com
We actively encourage people from a variety of backgrounds with different experiences, skills and stories to join us and influence and develop our working practice. We are particularly keen to hear from candidates from Global Majority backgrounds and candidates who self-identify as disabled and neurodiverse. All candidates who self-identify as disabled who demonstrate that they meet the essential criteria will be invited for interview. Tara Theatre is committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, caring responsibilities, disability, gender, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, and sexual orientation.
