OFFFEST 2026 Nominations Announced As Festival Arm Of OffWestEnd Awards (OFFIES)
OffWestEnd has announced the 2026 OffFest nominations – its festival arm celebrating outstanding theatre made at fringe festivals across the UK. OffWestEnd is the home of independent theatre in London and beyond, established in 2006. The organisation supports the sector through listings, awards, advocacy and sector-wide initiatives, including the OffWestEnd Awards (the Offies).
OffFest, launched in 2019, was created to ensure that work premiering in festival contexts – often with shorter runs and tighter budgets than London productions – receives meaningful recognition within the OffWestEnd ecosystem. While the Offies honour productions staged in London across the year, OffFest acknowledges that some of the most urgent and innovative theatre begins life at festivals. Many OffFest nominees and winners have gone on to transfer to OffWestEnd, the West End and go on tour.
This year’s nominees span Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton Fringe, Camden Fringe and range from National Theatre of Scotland and Handspring Puppet Company to emerging artists presenting new work. 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.
The OffFest winners will be announced alongside the main Offies Awards on 30th March at Central Hall, Westminster. Hosted by drag icon Divina de Campo, the Offies will include special guests, presenters and live performance.
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
