The OffWestEnd Awards (Offies)Announce 2026 Nominations

The OffWestEnd Awards (Offies), established to celebrate independent theatre across the Off-West End, have announced the full list of nominations for 2026, continuing their mission to champion exceptional independent theatre across London’s Off-West End.

The 2026 Offies ceremony will take place on 30 March at Central Hall, Westminster, hosted by Divina De Campo. Tickets are now on sale via TodayTix: https://www.todaytix.com/london/shows/46173

This year marks the first complete cycle of the Offies’ streamlined awards model, introduced in 2025 to replace rigid categories with broad Areas of Exceptional Contribution. The shift brings all nominations into a single unified list, raising the bar for recognition while opening the door to a wider range of work, voices, and scales of production. The 2026 nominations reflect the breadth of the sector once again—from emerging grassroots artists to established stage and screen performers returning to independent venues to create new work.

Throughout the year, Offies assessors reviewed thousands of potential nominees across more than 500 productions in over 100 venues. A rigorous three‑tier assessment process narrowed the field to under 200 nominees—a reduction of more than 50% from last year—while increasing the number of artists invited to the ceremony. The Areas of Exceptional Contribution are: Production, Staging, Performance, Design, Sound & Music, Creation, Innovation, and Industry and Inclusion

The updated system aims to:

• Reflect contemporary theatre-making by moving away from siloed categories and recognising collaborative, hybrid, and evolving creative roles.

• End category gaming by assessing work on its impact rather than its fit within a predefined label.

• Reduce nomination inflation caused by dozens of micro-categories, restoring clarity and credibility.

• Improve parity between art forms, placing TYA, opera, cabaret, immersive work, and digital performance on equal footing with mainstream forms.

• Ensure fair recognition across scales, removing artificial caps that disadvantage smaller venues or budgets.

• Support collective and non-hierarchical practice, allowing ensembles and co-creators to be recognised without forcing a single “lead.”

• Encourage risk and innovation, with new Areas dedicated to emergent and form-breaking work.

• Increase fairness and transparency, enabling assessors to apply consistent criteria across diverse practices.

• Strengthen the ceremony, creating a shorter, more focused event with fewer but more meaningful moments of recognition.

• Future‑proof the awards, allowing new forms of theatre to be recognised without waiting for new categories to be invented.

Below is the full list of the 2026 nominees, recognising outstanding work across the Off-West End sector.

Production

(the) Woman / New Perspectives / Park Theatre
Alice In Wonderland / Dem Productions / Marylebone Theatre
Animal Farm / Stratford East, Leeds Playhouse, Nottingham Playhouse / Stratford East
Brixton Calling / Kick It Anywhere / Southwark Playhouse
Candy / Gaia House Productions / White Bear Theatre
Cry-Baby, The Musical / Arcola Theatre / Arcola Theatre
Dick Whittington and His Catford Cat / Joy Productions / Broadway Theatre (Catford)
Insane Asylum Seekers / Bush Theatre, Camille Koosyial / Bush Theatre
Jonny Woo: Suburbia / Jonny Woo / Soho Theatre
KENREX / Aria Entertainment / Southwark Playhouse
L’Elisir d’Amore / St Paul’s Opera / St. Paul’s Church, SW4
L’incirinazione di Poppea / Hgo / Jacksons Lane
Letters From Max / Hampstead Theatre / Hampstead Theatre
Mama Goose / Stratford East / Stratford East
Monster / Veritas Theatre Company / Seven Dials Playhouse
Mr Jones / Wilmas Productions / Finborough Theatre
My Mother’s Funeral / Paines Plough, Belgrade Theatre Coventry, Mercury Theatre Colchester / The Yard Theatre
One Man Musical / Flo & Joan And Avalon / Underbelly Boulevard
Play On! / Lyric Hammersmith, Talawa Theatre Company, Belgrade Theatre, Birmingham Hippodrome, Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse, Wiltshire Creative, J Clare Productions, Chuchu Nwagu Productions, Willette And Manny Klausner / Lyric Hammersmith
Salty Brine: He’s So Unusual (The Cyndi Lauper show) / The Living Record Collection And Soho Theatre / Soho Theatre
Scenes from the Climate Era / Gate Theatre / Playground Theatre
Small Forward / Ks6 / Barbican
The Billionaire Inside Your Head / Hampstead Theatre / Hampstead Theatre
The Double Act / Arcola Theatre / Arcola Theatre
The Firework Maker’s Daughter / Polka Theatre, Kate Bradshaw / Polka Theatre
The Flowers of Srebrenica / Legal Aliens Theatre / Jacksons Lane
The Grim / Medium Rare Productions, Pither Productions / Old Red Lion Theatre
The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights / Park Theatre Productions, Papatango Theatre Company / Park Theatre
The Mikado / Forbear! Theatre / Drayton Arms Theatre
The Mystery of Irma Vep – a Penny Dreadful / Jack Studio Theatre / Jack Studio Theatre
The Pitchfork Disney / Lidless Theatre / King’s Head Theatre
The Rivals / Orange Tree Theatre / Orange Tree Theatre
Tones – A Hip-Hop Opera / Brixton House, Wound Up Theatre / Brixton House
UPROOTED / Ephemeral Ensemble / New Diorama
When the World Turns / Oily Cart / Southbank Centre

Performance

Jamie-Rose Monk / (the) Woman / Park Theatre
The Cast / After Sunday / Bush Theatre
Caroline Gruber, Zoe Goriely / As Long As We Are Breathing / Arcola Theatre
Shiloh Coke, Sam Bampoe-parry / Belly of the Beast / Finborough Theatre
Samuel Barnett, Victoria Yeates / Ben and Imo / Orange Tree Theatre
Rochelle Rose / Black Power Desk / Brixton House
Max Runham, Tendai Humphrey Sitima / Brixton Calling / Southwark Playhouse
Paul Keating / Clive / Arcola Theatre
Alejandro Postigo / Copla: A Spanish Cabaret / The Other Palace (Studio)
Charles Dance, Nicholas Farrell, Geraldine James / Creditors / Orange Tree Theatre
Meghan Tyler, Rachael Rooney / Crocodile Fever / Arcola Theatre
The Cast / Cry-Baby, The Musical / Arcola Theatre
The Cast / Dear Martin / Arcola Theatre
Ben J Packer / Dick Whittington Pantomime / Harrow Arts Centre
Tony Marshall, Nick Denning-read / Eh Up, Me Old Flowers! / White Bear Theatre
Joseph Aldous / Get Happy / Omnibus
Jenny Galloway, Faline England / Heisenberg / Arcola Theatre
Jonny Woo / Jonny Woo: Suburbia / Soho Theatre
Jack Holden / KENREX / Southwark Playhouse
Fiona Hymns, Martin Smaukstelis / L’Elisir d’Amore / St. Paul’s Church, SW4
Theano Papadaki / L’incirinazione di Poppea / Jacksons Lane
Myrna Tennant / La Cenerentola / Jacksons Lane
Tanya-loretta Dee / Loop / Theatre503
Beren Fidan / Lucia di Lammermoor / Arcola Theatre
Duane Gooden, Ellie Seaton / Mama Goose / Stratford East
Diveen Henry, Michael Ahomka-lindsay / Miss Myrtle’s Garden / Bush Theatre
Mabli Gwynne, Liam Holmes / Mr Jones / Finborough Theatre
Debra Baker / My Mother’s Funeral / The Yard Theatre
George Fouracres, Nicola Dempsey, Rosie Dempsey / One Man Musical / Underbelly Boulevard
Eleanor Hill / OVERSHARE / Greenwich Theatre
Sharif Afifi / Paradise Lost (lies unopened beside me) / Battersea Arts Centre
Elizabeth Green, Tanvi Virmani, Rani Moorthy / Period Parrrty / Soho Theatre
Anthony Spargo, Louise Cielecki / Peter Pan: A Pantomime Adventure / Greenwich Theatre
Tsemaye Bob-egbe, Koko Alexandra, Cameron Bernard Jones / Play On! / Lyric Hammersmith
Anushka Chakravarti / Poor Clare / Orange Tree Theatre
Kelly Gough, Jo Herbert / Run Sister Run / Arcola Theatre
Salty Brine / Salty Brine: These Are the Contents of My Head (The Annie Lennox Show) / Soho Theatre
Nikesh Patel / Speed / Bush Theatre
Georgie Henley / Tarantula / Arcola Theatre
Janna Fox / The Daughter of Time / Charing Cross Theatre
Nigel Betts, Nigel Cooke, Edward Hogg / The Double Act / Arcola Theatre
The Cast / The Firework Maker’s Daughter / Polka Theatre
Alan Cox / The Gang of Three / King’s Head Theatre
Joanne Pearce, Richard Stirling / The Gathered Leaves / Park Theatre
The Cast / The Habits / Hampstead Theatre
The Cast / The Liar, The Bitch and the Wardrobe / Union Theatre
Malcolm Jeffries, Ronay Poole / The Lost Library of Leake Street / The Glitch
The Cast / The Magic Flute / Wilton’s Music Hall
The Cast / The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights / Park Theatre
James Keningale Andjoe Newton / The Mystery of Irma Vep – a Penny Dreadful / Jack Studio Theatre
Robert Neumark Jones / The Passenger / Finborough Theatre
The Cast / The Pitchfork Disney / King’s Head Theatre
The Cast / The Rivals / Orange Tree Theatre
Rachael Bellis / The Sea Horse by Edward J. Moore / Golden Goose
Ed Coleman / The White Chip / Southwark Playhouse
Julia Mcdermott / Weather Girl / Soho Theatre

Design

Georgie White / A Midsummer Night’s Dream / Southwark Playhouse
Hayley Grindle, Jai Morjaria / Animal Farm / Stratford East
David Shields / Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Story / Charing Cross Theatre
Derek Anderson / Brixton Calling / Southwark Playhouse
Mike Britton / Clive / Arcola Theatre
Robert Innes Hopkins, David Howe, Defne Özdoğan / Cry-Baby, The Musical / Arcola Theatre
Isabella Van Braeckel / Die Rheinnixen / Battersea Arts Centre
Joshua Pharo, Anish Fields / KENREX / Southwark Playhouse
Dick Bird / Letters From Max / Hampstead Theatre
Mydd Pharo, Cheng Keng / Loop / Theatre503
Stewart J Charlesworth / Mama Goose / Stratford East
Design Creative Team / Not A Word / Barbican
Eika Shimbo / Our Cosmic Dust / Park Theatre
Oliver Huymans, Dan Southwell / Overheard in a Towerblock / Little Angel Theatre
Emily Bestow / Parlour Song / Greenwich Theatre
Katie Scott, Eve Oakley / Period Parrrty / Soho Theatre
Chris Smyth / Poor Clare / Orange Tree Theatre
Tomás Palmer / Speed / Bush Theatre
Janet Bird / The Billionaire Inside Your Head / Hampstead Theatre
Oli Savage / The Lost Library of Leake Street / The Glitch
Mona Camille / The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights / Park Theatre
Karl Swinyard, Kate Bannister / The Mystery of Irma Vep – a Penny Dreadful / Jack Studio Theatre
Mattis Larsen / The Passenger / Finborough Theatre
Josephine Tremelling / UPROOTED / New Diorama

Sound & Music

Matthew James Hinchcliffe / As Long As We Are Breathing / Arcola Theatre
Max Pappenheim, Tendai Humphrey Sitma, Max Runham / Brixton Calling / Southwark Playhouse
The Band & Ashton Moore / Cry-Baby, The Musical / Arcola Theatre
Abh Beatbox (Alexander Belgarion Hackett) / Dracapella / Park Theatre
John Patrick Elliott, Gile Thomas / KENREX / Southwark Playhouse
Adrian Salinero / L’Elisir d’Amore / St. Paul’s Church, SW4
Oliver John Ruthven And The Band / L’incirinazione di Poppea / Jacksons Lane
Jonathan Darbourne And The Band / La Cenerentola / Jacksons Lane
Estelle Charlier, Martin Kaspar Orkestar / La Manékine / Barbican
Laurence Panter / Lucia di Lammermoor / Arcola Theatre
Robert Hyman / Mama Goose / Stratford East
Dan Balfour / Miss Myrtle’s Garden / Bush Theatre
Nicola & Rosie Dempsey / One Man Musical / Underbelly Boulevard
Salty Brine / Salty Brine: These Are the Contents of My Head (The Annie Lennox Show) / Soho Theatre
Jae Alexander / Stilleto / Charing Cross Theatre
Leo Geyer / The Elixir of Love (Re-imagined) / Arcola Theatre
Suzan-lori Parks, Jimmy Cliff / The Harder They Come / Stratford East
Anna Drubich / The Wanderers / Marylebone Theatre
Gerel Falconer / Tones – A Hip-Hop Opera / Brixton House
Alex Paton / UPROOTED / New Diorama

Staging

Rowan Armitt-brewster / A Brief Case of Crazy / Riverside Studios
Jack Sain, Charlie Martin / Four Play / King’s Head Theatre
Eloise Lally / L’Elisir d’Amore / St. Paul’s Church, SW4
Ashley Pearson / L’incirinazione di Poppea / Jacksons Lane
Blanche Mcintyre / Letters From Max / Hampstead Theatre
Marlie Haco / Run Sister Run / Arcola Theatre
Lara Parmiani, Becka Mcfadden / The Flowers of Srebrenica / Jacksons Lane
Jamie Hale, Marcella Rick, Claire Beerjeraz / Transpose Pit Party: SUBVERSE / Barbican

Creation

Jane Upton / (the) Woman / Park Theatre
Sophia Griffin / After Sunday / Bush Theatre
Diane Samuels, Titania Krimpas / As Long As We Are Breathing / Arcola Theatre
David Javerbaum, Adam Schlessinger / Cry-Baby, The Musical / Arcola Theatre
Laith Elzubadi / Insane Asylum Seekers / Bush Theatre
Jack Holden, Ed Stambollouian / KENREX / Southwark Playhouse
Emmanuel Akwafo / Limp Wrist & The Iron Fist / Brixton House
Liam Holmes / Mr Jones / Finborough Theatre
Kelly Jones / My Mother’s Funeral / The Yard Theatre
Megan Prescott / Really Good Exposure / Soho Theatre
Nick Cassenbaum, Emma Jude Harris / REVENGE: After The Levoyah / The Yard Theatre
Katsiaryna Snytsina / Small Forward / Barbican
Phillip Ridley / Tarantula / Arcola Theatre
Joanna Turner / The Elixir of Love (Re-imagined) / Arcola Theatre
Anastasiia Kosodii, Josephine Burton / The Reckoning / Arcola Theatre
Gerel Falconer / Tones – A Hip-Hop Opera / Brixton House
Anna Farriol, Mireia Fernàndez, Txell Felip, Júlia Santacana / Univers / Barbican

Innovation

Khadija Raza, Malakaï Sargeant / …blackbird hour / Bush Theatre
Open Bar Theatre / A Midsummer Night’s Dream / Southwark Playhouse
Prologue Opera Company / Becoming Tosca / Arcola Theatre
Bryony Kimmings / Bog Witch / Soho Theatre Walthamstow
Claire Leith / Igloos Don’t Melt / Camden People’s Theatre
Eleanor Hill / OVERSHARE / Greenwich Theatre
Oli Savage / The Lost Library of Leake Street / The Glitch
Virtually Opera / The Uncanny Things Trilogy — Come Bargain / COLAB Tower
Oily Cart / When the World Turns / Southbank Centre

Industry & Inclusion

Alexandra O’neill / Too Many Books / Upstairs at the Gatehouse-newcomer
Arsema Thomas / Poor Clare / Orange Tree Theatre- newcomer
Audrey Thayer / / Drayton Arms Theatre- organisational leader
Ava Pickett (after Austen) / EMMA / Rose Theatre Kingston- newcomer
Azuka Oforka / The Women of Llanrumney / Stratford East- playwright
Eoin Sweeney / Derry Boys / Theatre503- newcomer
Ensemble Cast / The Boline Inn / Hope Theatre- company / collective
Futures Theatre / Argos Archives / Omnibus- company / collective
Hunia Chawla / Permission / Tara Theatre- newcomer
Jodie Campbell / B*TCH BOXER / Watford Palace Theatre- newcomer
Joanna Turner / The Elixir of Love (Re-imagined) / Arcola Theatre- artistic director
Liam Holmes / Mr Jones / Finborough Theatre- newcomer
Niall Mccarthy / Derry Boys / Theatre503-newcomer
Oily Cart / When the World Turns / Southbank Centre- company / collective
Sean Daniels, Danielle Tarento, Annaleigh Ashford / The White Chip / Southwark Playhouse- producer / producing team
Tanya-loretta Dee / Loop / Theatre503- newcomer
Tolia Ulawaka / Dick Whittington Pantomime / Harrow Arts Centre- newcomer
Tommy Sim’aan / Insane Asylum Seekers / Bush Theatre- newcomer
Tricia Ninian, St Paul’s Opera / L’Elisir d’Amore / St. Paul’s Church, SW4- community engagement practitioner
Georgia Brenchley, Louis Edwards, Alex Marshall, Giada Rocca / Peter Pan: A Pantomime Adventure / Greenwich Theatre- newcomer