The Windrush Prize for British Caribbean Playwrights is the brain-child of Orísun founder and CEO, Shereener Browne. Named after the generation of pioneering men and women who laid the foundation for others who later settled in Britain, the Windrush Prize is launched in part, with seed funding from an award made to Shereener’s father, from the Windrush Compensation Scheme.
Black writing in the UK has become more visible, but British Caribbean playwrights remain significantly underrepresented in major playwriting awards, commissions, and production pathways. The Windrush Prize exists to address this gap; to encourage the next generation of playwrights from the Caribbean diaspora to tell the stories of their community in their way. It is the first award of its kind in over 30 years and the only prize in the UK aimed solely at British Caribbean playwrights. With major partners Methuen Drama publishing the selected play and Arcola Theatre co-producing and presenting a production of the first winning play at the Arcola in 2027, the Windrush Prize will address the historical loss of plays from this community and, crucially, build legacy.
The Windrush Prize will open for submissions on 2 October 2026.
Shereener Browne (Founder)
Shereener Browne is an award-winning barrister-turned actor who started her acting career in 2017. She has played a number of roles in fringe theatre and also at the National and Chichester Festival Theatres. Shereener’s screen credits include co-lead in Dead on the Vine, winning Best Actress at the Unrestricted View Film Festival and Candles, co-starring with Paterson Joseph and winning Best Actress at the Real Time International Film Festival, and Best Romance Short at the London Independent Film Festival. Shereener co-produced Candles and is Executive Producer of short film The Backway.
In 2018 Shereener founded Orísun Productions with the aim of amplifying underrepresented voices. The company has been nominated a number of times for its work and has produced performances garnering four and five star reviews as well as being enthusiastically received by the Black community.
The Windrush Prize is a deeply personal initiative. It is inspired by Shereener’s first hand experiences as a Black actor, but also by her fight for justice for her Nevisian father, Myron, who died before seeing that justice fully realised. With the compensation awarded to her father, Shereener has started this Prize to honour him and his generation, and to support the artistic aspirations of future generations of British Caribbean writing talent.
Shereener is former chair of trustees at Besson Street Trust, founding chair of Friends of Eckington Gardens and a former member of the Steering Board for the Goldsmith University’s Equity Awards. A former trustee of The Albany, and now trustee at The Somerville, Shereener is a fearless advocate for equality and change. She is married with three children and lives in South London.
Arthur Torrington CBE (Patron)
“The Windrush Prize for Caribbean Playwriting is a powerful way to honour the resilience and creativity of the Windrush generation and their descendants. By encouraging stories from the Caribbean community to be told on stage, the Prize helps preserve our shared artistic legacy and reminds Britain of the vital contributions made by Caribbean people to its cultural and social life.”
Arthur Torrington CBE
Founded in 1995 by Arthur Torrington CBE and the late Sam King MBE, Windrush Foundation provides heritage education services to the public that celebrate the passengers who arrived at Tilbury Docks, Essex, on June 22, 1948, having travelled on Empire Windrush. The services include promoting African and Caribbean contributions to World War I and II, also to the arts, public services, commerce, and other areas of socio-economic and cultural life in Britain and the Commonwealth. The organisation also works to preserve the history and heritage of the Windrush generation who helped to rebuild Britain after WWII.
Arcola Theatre (Theatre Partner)
Arcola Theatre produces daring, high-quality theatre in London and beyond. We commission and premiere exciting, original works alongside rare gems of world drama and bold new productions of classics. We work with creatives from across the globe, acting as a platform for emerging and established artists, providing them space to grow, explore and refine their craft. Our socially engaged programme champions diversity, challenges the status quo, and stages trailblazing productions for everyone. Grimeborn, our annual summer opera festival, sees a selection of new interpretations and forgotten operas – all in an intimate, up close setting.
As part of our commitment to supporting diversity, every year, we offer 26 weeks of free rehearsal space to culturally diverse and refugee artists; and our Participation department creates thousands of creative opportunities for the people of Hackney and beyond. Our community companies include Mental Health Community Company, 50+ Group, Queer Collective and New Arrivals – our refugee and migrant community company. Arcola Participation runs an Academy for 18 – 25 year old emerging creatives and Youth Theatre. Our pioneering environmental initiatives are award-winning and aim to make Arcola the world’s first carbon-neutral theatre.
Arcola has won awards including the UK Theatre Award for Promotion of Diversity, The Stage Award for Sustainability, the Off West End Award for Special Achievement, and the Peter Brook Empty Space Award.
Methuen Drama
Methuen Drama is an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, a global independent publisher across trade, specialist, professional, school and higher education markets with a growing portfolio of digital resources including the award-winning Drama Online. Methuen Drama have been publishing plays for over 100 years by authors including Sarah Kane, Katori Hall, Arthur Miller, Kwame Kwei-Armah, James Graham, Edward Bond, Lucy Prebble, Mark Ravenhill and Caryl Churchill. As well as playtexts, Methuen Drama publishes books on theatre scholarship, performance and backstage guides for theatre-goers, students, scholars, practitioners, actors and those pursuing a career in the theatre industry.
Orísun Productions
Orísun Productions is a theatre production company founded in 2018 by actors Shereener Browne and Seun Shote. It is a platform for African and Caribbean creatives to grow, experiment and take risks in a nurturing and safe environment. Since 2018, Orísun has developed a reputation for producing theatre and establishing initiatives that challenges the status quo, promotes diversity and encourages the telling of stories from the Black British diaspora. The company has been the recipient of three Arts Council England awards, was a finalist in Lewisham’s 2021 business awards and was nominated for a Black British Theatre award in 2023. Also in 2023, Orísun’s first full length production, PlayFight was met with critical acclaim, collecting a slew of 4 and 5 star reviews. The Windrush Prize is the latest Orísun initiative in the battle to level the playing field for British Caribbean creatives.
Afridiziak Theatre News
Afridiziak Theatre News is an online publication dedicated to celebrating African-Caribbean theatre in the UK. Afridiziak is the one-stop guide to black theatre shows in the UK, covering news, reviews, listings, interviews, ticket offers and meet-ups. It was founded by journalist and editor Sophia A Jackson in 2008.