Winsome Pinnock is Bristol Old Vic’s First Legacy Writer

Award-winning writer for stage, radio, film and television – Winsome Pinnock – has been announced by Bristol Old Vic as its first Legacy Writer.

Earlier this year, the Bristol theatre announced a flagship Five Year Commitment residency programme to support writers at difference stages of their career.

One would be a legacy writer, one mid-career and one an early-career writer.

The programme is inspired by residencies in other theatres world-wide, such as the Signature Theatre in New York.

The three writers will have the time and space to hone their craft at the theatre, working across all departments for the next five years.

Bristol Old Vic wanted to use the Legacy Writer position to ‘amplify’ the work of a current celebrated and produced modern dramatist at this moment in time.

Winsome has won awards over the years for her work, including most recently, a Windham Campbell Prize in 2022.

Her work has been produced internationally and on the British stage since 1985. She was also the first Black female writer to have a play produced by the Royal National Theatre.

Artistic Director at Bristol Old Vic, Nancy Medina said: “It is a deep joy to welcome Winsome as our inaugural Legacy Writer. Winsome is somebody whose work we believe should be firmly enshrined in the canon of British playwriting excellence and we are delighted to be able to say that she has accepted our offer and will be collaborating with us across the next five years. From our first meeting Winsome has brought generosity, warmth and deep thinking around the potential of this long-term support; we can’t wait to see what we create together.”

“It is an honour to join this groundbreaking initiative at a time when the landscape for new writing is particularly complex,” Winsome Pinnock said.

“Bristol Old Vic’s commitment to investing in writers over a five-year period is both inspiring and necessary, recognising that the creation of new plays requires time, trust, and nurturance. I look forward to having the space to explore and develop my work within such a supportive community and to contribute to the theatre’s legacy of innovation and storytelling.”

Bristol Old Vic is now in the process of finding its Early and Mid-Career writer to join them over the next five years.

Expressions of interest are welcome up to the 25 October 2024.

For more information, visit: https://bristololdvic.org.uk/for-artists/literary-programme#FiveYear 

Feature Image: Matt Roberts

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