Exeter Northcott and Exeter Phoenix to Host Second Scratch Night for Artists

Following the huge success of their Scratch Night collaboration during Elevate Festival in October 2025, Exeter Northcott Theatre and Exeter Phoenix are teaming up once again to support South West-based artists through a continued Scratch Night partnership.

The second Scratch Night will take place at Exeter Phoenix Auditorium offering artists the opportunity to showcase work in progress in front of a live audience. The application window for this one-night event will close on Monday 19 January at 10.00am.

Praising the great turnout and the generous feedback during the first collaboration, Exeter Phoenix Scratch Night Co-producer Katy Danbury said: “We want to open our doors and meet as many artists as possible. Scratch Nights are a celebration of local talent and, going forward, they will serve as a declaration from Exeter's two leading performance venues that we are here to support artists from the early ideas stage to the big stage.”

Scratch Nights also give the public a rare insight into the creative process behind new performance work while allowing artists to receive valuable audience feedback that could help shape how the final version of the performance may be presented. Menghan Chen, Yirui Fu and Jia Zhuang, who went on to perform full-length versions of their work at Elevate Festival last year said: "Scratch Night was our very first attempt to step beyond the university context. The audience response strengthened our confidence and encouraged us to envision the piece's next stages."

Successful applicants will receive £150 towards developing their practice, along with access to free rehearsal space at both Exeter Phoenix and the Barnfield Theatre, as well as dramaturgical support from Exeter Northcott Theatre's Artist Development Producer Sam Parker who encourages artists at all stages of their practice to take this opportunity: “It was a joy to pilot our Scratch Night collaboration with Exeter Phoenix as part of Elevate Festival 2025. A great group of artists were supported by a busy audience who shared insightful feedback. Please do come and join us for the next one and see another slate of exciting new work at the very start of its journey.”

Scratch Nights are a vital part of Exeter Northcott and Exeter Phoenix's artist development offer, upholding their commitment to nurturing a thriving creative community. Building on the success of the first collaborative Scratch Night, both organisations will continue their partnership with ongoing Scratch Night opportunities throughout 2026, placing Exeter firmly on the map as a leading city of innovative performance makers.