Good news for all playwrights: The prestigious Nagtegaal Text Prize has been revived after 15 years in collaboration with the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees, and there are big prizes up for grabs. The three winners will receive R100 000, R50 000, and R25 000 respectively, making it the largest competition of its kind in the country.
Entries are now open.
In addition to prize money, the overall winner will also receive mentoring and support to bring the script to completion. The Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees reserves the right to perform the piece as part of the 2025 or 2026 festival.
The prize was awarded from 2002 to 2010 and was created by Dirk and the late Reinet Nagtegaal. It was the largest scriptwriting competition and left a significant gap when it was discontinued in 2010. The first winner was Pieter Fourie for Koggelmanderman, and other well-known theatre productions such as Die naaimasjien (Rachelle Greeff) and Draadwerk (Daleen Kruger) were born from this competition.
“We want to attract top writers to submit high-quality scripts that can be developed for the stage and ultimately be performed for an audience,” says Dirk.
“The theatre community is excited about the return of the Nagtegaal Prize,” says Saartjie Botha, director of the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees. “Not only is there an element of excitement and the encouragement of substantial prize money, but there is also prestige and the opportunity to truly refine a script before it is staged.”
What is the Nagtegaal Text Prize looking for?
The Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees is looking for new texts, 60 to 90 minutes in length, that explore theater as a medium for social impact and cohesion, and that challenge and expand traditional views.
Diversity in casting is a requirement and must be written into the text, and not left to the discretion of the director. A strong narrative, moderate stage design, an experimental approach and literary merit are criteria that judges will consider.
With the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees audience in mind, a premium is placed on texts that are at least 50% Afrikaans. However, creative use of multilingualism is strongly recommended. Casts of no more than seven players are not a requirement but will increase the chances of your work being produced.
Terms and conditions
- Only South African citizens may enter.
- Translations, adaptations and reworkings of existing works, as well as musicals and children’s theater scripts, will not be considered.
- Entrants may submit only one script for consideration.
- Writers may work together on a text and share authorship.
- All texts must be typed in a generally acceptable template for play scripts, font size 12. Pages must be numbered.
- Texts longer than 20 000 words will not be considered.
- The Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees will appoint an expert panel to assess texts and appoint the winners.
- Judging is done anonymously. Selection is done strictly anonymously. The author’s name and contact details must be entered on the online entry form, but NOT included in the text. In order to ensure anonymous selection, only the title should appear clearly visible at the top of the text.
- The judges’ decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.
- Commissioned works from other festivals and theaters that are already in process will not be considered.
- The Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees reserves the right to not appoint a winner.
- Employees and family members of the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees are not allowed to participate.
- Entries received after 17:00 on 7 February 2025 will not be eligible.
- Receipt of entry will be confirmed within five working days.
How to apply
- Complete the online application form here.
- Upload the text as part of your application.
