The nominations for OffFest 2026 have officially been unveiled, marking the return of the dedicated festival arm of the OffWestEnd Awards (The Offies). While the main Offies focus on year-round London productions, OffFest honors the urgent, innovative work premiering at grassroots festivals across the United Kingdom.
Launched in 2019, OffFest was designed to bridge a gap in the industry, ensuring that productions with shorter runs and tighter budgets receive meaningful recognition. Denholm Spurr, Executive Producer of the Offies, emphasizes that festival theatre is often where the most "urgent ideas emerge." By acknowledging these fleeting performances, OffFest provides a vital career pathway, helping independent shows transition to the West End or national tours.
A Diverse Class of Nominees
The 2026 list of nominees reflects the impressive breadth of the independent sector, ranging from established giants like the National Theatre of Scotland and Handspring Puppet Company to emerging artists at local fringe events. The inclusion of the Voila! Festival is particularly notable, as it allows the awards to recognize multilingual work and productions led by foreign nationals.
Participating festivals for this cycle include:
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival (featuring a massive list of nominees including Faustus in Africa! and Make It Happen)
The Camden Fringe (noting highlights like Spin Cycle and Transient)
Brighton Fringe (with nods for Electra and Duty)
Voila! Festival (featuring Superstar In Therapy and Be Gay, for God’s Sake)
The Grand Finale
The winners will be crowned alongside the main Offies recipients at a star-studded ceremony on March 30th at Central Hall Westminster. Hosted by drag icon Divina de Campo, the event promises live performances and special guests to celebrate the full ecology of British theatre.
By spotlighting work that might otherwise be overlooked, OffFest continues to champion the creative risk-taking that defines the UK's independent theatre scene.
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
