2026 OffFest Nominations Revealed

Following the announcement of this year’s Offies nominations, OffFest will return as the festival arm of OffWestEnd, celebrating work not only made in London but also at festivals across the UK.
 
Launched in 2019, OffFest was created to ensure that work premiering at UK festivals - often with shorter runs, tighter budgets and less structural support than London productions - receives meaningful recognition within the OffWestEnd ecosystem. It acknowledges that some of the most urgent and innovative theatre in the UK begins life in festival contexts.

While the Offies honour productions in London across the year, OffFest brings a curated selection of nominated and award-recognised shows back into the spotlight through a dedicated festival platform open to all parts of the UK, extending the life of acclaimed productions, and amplifying the visibility of the entire independent theatre sector. Many OffFest nominees and winners have gone on to transfer to OffWestEnd, the West End and go on tour.

This year’s OffFest nominees range from National Theatre of Scotland and Handspring Puppet Company to emerging artists premiering at Brighton and Camden Fringe. In addition, recognising work at the Voila! Festival allows the Offies to extend to shows made by foreign nationals and in languages other than English.

Rooted in OffWestEnd’s commitment to championing innovation, diversity and creative risk, OffFest serves as a showcase for the breadth of talent working across the UK and beyond. 

Festivals taking part in 2025 were: The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Camden Fringe, Brighton Fringe, Voila! Festival
 

Last month, OffWestEnd announced the full nominees for the main Offies Awards (see here for the full list), the winners of the OffFest will be announced along the main awards at a star-studded award ceremony on March 30th at Central Hall Westminster, hosted by drag icon Divina de Campo and complete with a host of special guests, presenters and live performance.

Denholm Spurr, Executive Producer of the Offies, said: “Festival theatre often runs for days, not weeks. It operates with tighter budgets and fewer safety nets. Yet it is frequently where the most urgent ideas emerge. OffFest ensures that this work is not overlooked simply because it was fleeting.

It is a vital extension of the Offies model - broadening our reach beyond the capital, strengthening career pathways, and ensuring that recognition within the independent sector reflects the full ecology of how theatre is actually made in the UK today.”

The 2026 nominees are:

Brighton Fringe

Duty / Twilight Theatre / The Lantern Theatre
Electra / The Conor Baum Company / BN1 Arts Centre
HOW TO KILL A CHICKEN / Let Luz Productions / The Actors

Camden Fringe

Am I Losing My Mind Or Just My Figure? / Untethered + Hinterland / Etcetera Theatre
Anthropocene / Ben Wendel and Emily Hawkins / Barons Court Theatre
Buds, Revolt! / Stephanie Chu / Hen & Chickens Theatre
Every Great Man / RamPage Theatre / The Cockpit
MISS / Miss Production Team / Lion & Unicorn Theatre
None of Them Will Get Out Alive / Samuel Winner / Hen & Chickens Theatre
Richard II / The Whole Pack Theatre / Libra Theatre Café
Scene with Black Folk / Joy Nesbitt / Camden People’s Theatre
Spin Cycle / Berserk Theatre / Etcetera Theatre
Transient / Until The Next Productions / Bridewell Theatre
WILT / Segments Company / Bridewell Theatre

Edinburgh Fringe

4’s a Crowd (Or What Not to Do When Stuck in a Bunker During the Apocalypse) / The Fiascoholics / theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall
AH-MA / Cathy Lam Arts Collective / theSpace @ Niddry Street
ALTAR / Extraterrestrial; Em Tambree / Underbelly George Square
AN ADEQUATE ABRIDGEMENT OF BOARDING SCHOOL LIFE AS A HOMO / Choir Boys Productions / Underbelly Cowgate
Alright Sunshine / Wonder Fools / Pleasance Dome
An Ode to the Casting Director / Sophie Fisher / Gilded Balloon Patter House
Body Count / White Noise Theatre / Pleasance Courtyard
CADEL: Lungs on Legs / Piper Productions / Underbelly Cowgate
Clean Slate / The Project People / Summerhall
Club NVRLND / RJG Productions / Assembly Checkpoint
Crocodile Tears / Shark Bait Theatre / theSpace @ Venue 45
Disco 2000 / Hedge Maze Theatre / Greenside @ Riddles Court
Do Astronauts Masturbate in Space / Briony Martha & Zak Reay-Barry / Greenside @ Riddles Court
Do You Accept These Charges? / Suzanna Rosenthal Productions / Pleasance Courtyard
Faustus in Africa! / Handspring Puppet Company / Royal Lyceum Theatre
Frozen Love: A Buckingham Nicks Story / ERA Theatrical Productions / theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall
Fuselage / Suzanna Rosenthal Productions / Pleasance Courtyard
Goodness Me / Joan of All Trades / Paradise Green
Hold the Line / Sam Macgregor & Gabriela Chanova / Pleasance Courtyard
Hole! / American Sing-Song / Underbelly Cowgate
Lost Property / Amelia Dunn & Tuia Suter / theSpace @ Venue 45
Make It Happen / National Theatre of Scotland / Festival Theatre
Midnight At The Palace / Midnight At The Palace Ltd / Gilded Balloon Patter House
Nowhere: Fuel / Fuel / Traverse Theatre
Ohio / Francesca Moody Productions / Assembly Roxy
Ordinary Decent Criminal / Paines Plough / Summerhall
Outing / Unseen Theatre / theSpace @ the Mile
PALS / Mirren Wilson / Gilded Balloon
Paldem / Summerhall Arts / Summerhall
Rock of Ages / Bare Productions / St John’s Church
Small Town Boys / Shaper/Caper / Zoo Southside
Squidge / White Noise Theatre / Pleasance Courtyard
Strangers And Revelations / Unshaded Arts / theSpace @ Venue 45
The Other Mozart / Little Matchstick Factory / Assembly George Square
The Pornstar Martini Effect / 52 Theatre Co / theSpace @ Niddry Street
The Queen is Mad / Castile Collective Ltd / Zoo Southside
This Blighted Star / Underbelly / Underbelly George Square
Triptych Redux / Lewis Major Projects / Zoo Southside
WHEN WE WERE YOUNG / Geez a Break Productions / theSpace @ the Mile
Who We Become: One-Acts by Lanford Wilson / Deep Flight Productions / theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall
Woman in the Arena / Jade Studio / Greenside @ George Street
Woody Fu: One Man John Wick / Penguintown Media / Assembly George Square

Voila!

Be Gay, for God’s Sake / Oh My My / Theatre Deli
Comfort / Giannine Tan / Barons Court Theatre
Hansal & Geetal / Two2Mango / Etcetera Theatre
Hecuba: Why Am I In Your Country? / Arwa Omaren with Refuge Media Productions CIC / Theatro Technis
If I Were to Say It in English / Thea Lungu / Etcetera Theatre
Imprints / The Palimpsest Project / The Cockpit
Naran Ja / logica picnic / The Playground Theatre
Superstar In Therapy / Rania Kurdi / Etcetera Theatre
The Uncontainable Nausea of Alec Baldwin / TG WORKS / The Cockpit