Teatro das Figuras, ACTA – Companhia de Teatro do Algarve/Teatro Lethes, CIAC – Centro de Investigação em Artes e Comunicação da Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais da Universidade do Algarve, in partnership with Faro City Council and CET – Centro de Estudos de Teatro da Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa, with the sponsorship of Grupo Rolear and Metalofarense and the support of Club Farense and Sociedade Portuguesa de Autores, are launching this year’s José Louro New Dramaturgy Award. The aim of this award is to distinguish the dramatic writing of an unpublished play in Portuguese.

The winning text will be staged at the beginning of 2026, with a premiere at the Teatro das Figuras and later performances at the Lethes Theatre in Faro. It will be directed by Luís Vicente, actor and Artistic Director of ACTA Teatro – A Companhia de Teatro do Algarve.

This award is intended to honour José Luís Louro (Coimbra, 1933 – Faro, 2018), a teacher, playwright and director, one of the most important names in the history of theatre in the Algarve. José Louro was a driving force behind theatre not only in Faro but also in the region. He was the programmer of the Lethes Theatre in 2001 and of the Figuras Theatre between 2006 and 2008, and was also a member of the latter’s Board of Directors. His passion for theatre led him to support the founding of several companies, such as SinCera – Grupo de Teatro Universitário (1990) and ACTA – A Companhia de Teatro do Algarve (1995).

Without forgetting José Louro’s role as a pedagogue, this Award also has an educational component, having been associated with the University of the Algarve’s Free Summer School Course in Theatrical Genetics, which will take place in 2025, and encouraging the creation of a Dramatic Writing Workshop, which will begin in 2026.

The winner of this first edition will receive a prize worth €3,000.00 (three thousand euros). Applications must be submitted using the online form by 31 May 2025.

Link to more information here