Olga Braga has been announced as the winner of the 2025 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award for her play Donbas. Olga accepted the Award from Theatre503’s Chair James Dacre and Artistic Director Anthony Simpson-Pike, joint hosts of the Award event which took place at the 503Studio at Nine Elms.
Olga Braga is a London-based Ukrainian playwright and screenwriter. Her play Return to Sender was a finalist for the 2023 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award. Her other plays include Leave to Remain (which had a one-week staging at Brockley Jack as rock paper scissors). She was a winner of the Off-West-End Adopt a Playwright Award and has been shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award, the Phil Fox Award, and the Traverse Theatre New Writing Award, and longlisted for the Bruntwood Prize. She is currently on attachment to the National Theatre and under commission for the RSC.
The world premiere production of Olga’s award-winning play Donbas will be staged at Theatre503 as part of the Award. The prize also includes £6000, a production licence, and publication of the play by Samuel French Ltd, a Concord Theatricals Company.
Donbas is a stark portrait of survival and quiet resistance, suggesting a path beyond despair, while reflecting a frozen conflict and its echoes in a fractured Western world. After serving time, Sashare turns home to his father Seryoga and new girlfriend Marianca in a war-torn Ukrainian town. Their story intertwines with local soldiers Dmitry and Alexei as they navigate a landscape shaped by conflict and twisted by the rise of extremism.
Donbas was selected from 1377 plays from writers from 49 countries. The judging panel was Waleed Akhtar (playwright), Jack Bradley (dramaturg), Tian Brown-Sampson (Director and Theatre503 Board Member), Chris Bush (playwright), Pooja Ghai (Artistic Director, Tamasha),and Pippa Hill (dramaturg and producer). The other finalists were:
Annice, A Slave by Joslyn Housley (Evanston, USA)
Dead Skin by Marie Amélie Giron (Paris, France)
Dog Dog Dog by Terri Jade Donovan (Stockport, UK)
Final Boarding Call by Stefani Kuo (New York, USA)
Olga Braga, Theatre503 International Playwriting Award Winner: “Winning the 2025 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award is such an extraordinary honour. I’m incredibly grateful to Theatre503for believing in this play, and I can’t wait to bring it to life with such a passionate team. I'm so thankful to be welcomed into a community that champions emerging voices and dares to tell stories, especially at a time when live theatre feels more necessary than ever. The work Theatre503 does is so incredibly important - it nurtures growth, fosters new voices, and I feel very lucky to be part of it. Having seen other plays staged at the venue, to now have everything come full circle with this award feels truly special.”
James Dacre, Judging Panel Chair + Theatre503 Chair: "Selected from 1377 debut plays submitted by a truly remarkable range of international playwrights, this year's shortlist hails from all over the English-speaking world and represents an extraordinary diversity of voices, genres and themes.We’re grateful to Theatre503’s literary team and our industry judging panel for committing so wholeheartedly to such a rigorous reading and selection process to help identify the theatrical voices of tomorrow.”
Anthony Simpson-Pike, Theatre503 Artistic Director: “We are delighted that the judging panel have selected Donbas to win our International Playwriting Award. The competition was fierce and all of our finalists are extraordinary writers with fires in their bellies. Olga's winning play is exemplary of the work Theatre503 produces - it's groundbreaking, urgent and boldly theatrical. Donbas speaks to the power of theatre as a unifying force, asking huge, global questions and shining a light on the humanity in all of us. Olga has an incredibly exciting future ahead of her.”
The 2025 Theatre503 International Playwriting Award has been generously supported by Philip Carne MBE & Christine Carne and Samuel French Limited, a Concord Theatricals Company.
