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18th November 2025
We’re excited to announce a brand new bursary opportunity available to prospective students applying to the MA Drama Writing course for September 2026 entry. Thanks to continued support from the Tanagra Foundation, we are going to be able to offer three students a £5,000 bursary towards their tuition fees.
David Lane, Head of the MA Drama Writing course said this:
“We believe in the power of stories to change lives and change the world. But the voices that inspire change must be as rich, varied and diverse as the communities that inhabit those worlds. Many still do not see themselves represented. The work of our writing graduates travels to national and international stages and screens, and it is upon those platforms that diversity of representation must be increased. These bursaries are a small but vital part of inspiring systemic change in the industry, and reflect our passion for identifying and nurturing great talent from all who come through our doors.”
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is always looking for new funding opportunities to support our students with the cost of training at our world leading institution. We know that the cost of tuition fees, coupled with accommodation and living costs can be hugely prohibitive to potential students applying or even completing their training once they’ve started.
We do so much to find financial support in a number of ways, from bursaries and scholarships, to on-going hardship funds. And it isn’t every day that a fantastic opportunity like this one from the Tanagra Foundation comes to fruition and we’re so happy to be able to provide this assistance and hopefully encourage a broader reach of future trainee Drama Writers on this MA course.
Stuart Harvey, School Principal added this comment:
“Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is committed to broadening the reach and diversity of our student body, and is continually looking at ways to build on this work and enable the School’s professional training to be more equitably accessible.
We are therefore delighted to have been given the opportunity to offer three students on the MA Drama Writing Course for September 2026 entry a £5,000 bursary towards their tuition fee costs.
Our huge thanks goes to the Tanagra Foundation, who are providing this financial support, building on their partnership with Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.”
If you are considering applying to study MA Drama Writing at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, but have been apprehensive about meeting the financial costs of tuition fees, we hope that this news will bring you encouragement and the push needed to submit your application for next year’s course.
We are particularly keen to receive applications from people from the Global Majority, those from the LGBTQ+ community, disabled applicants, and applicants from other financially or structurally under-represented groups.