The 2026 Running Order
This is what took place and when at the
2026 National Drama Festival at ARTRIX Bromsgrove
The Running Order includes
the Plays, Studio Spotlights and Feedback Forums.
Studio Spotlights and Feedback Forums are included in the ticket price
Simply purchase a ticket for at least one of the Play Sessions (£15 per session or £60 for all 6) and come along to all of the other activities taking place, including any Studio Spotlights and Feedback Forums.
THURSDAY 30TH JULY
~ THURSDAY EVENING PLAY SESSION ~
7.00pm – 9.45pm (approx finishing time)
The Aviary by Jamie Lakritz
One-act play performed by BRIGHTLIGHT THEATRE, Frimley, ENGLAND
Winner of the Henley Festival
Runner Up of the Welwyn Festival
Read the play description
Brothers by Kerry Drumm
One-act play performed by DRUM MACHINE THEATRE, GUERNSEY
Runner Up of the Guernsey One Act Festival
Read the play description
Mop & Bucket by Ben Keyser
One-act play performed by BROADLY SPEAKING PRODUCTIONS, ENGLAND
WINNER of the Lighthorne Festival of One Act Plays
Read the play description
Each play was followed immediately by a 10 minute public assessment (by GoDA Adjudicator, Jan Palmer Sayer, and openly discussed with us all in the Feedback Forum at 9:45 the following morning.
FRIDAY 31ST JULY
9.45 am – 10.15 am
FEEDBACK FORUM (in the Studio)
We were all invited to get together with Jan Palmer Sayer and the groups who performed the day before. We had a free-flowing but monitored discussion to explore exactly what worked and what didn’t, using real-life examples from the performances.
10.30 am – 11.15 am
STUDIO SPOTLIGHT (in the Studio)
Finding the perfect play for YOU to perform – and how to secure the rights
with
Tamara von Werthern from Nick Hern Books
11.30 am – 1.00 pm
STUDIO SPOTLIGHT (in the Studio)
Grab, slap and punch effectively and convincingly on stage
with Stage Combat Instructor, Dan Gough
~ FRIDAY AFTERNOON PLAY SESSION ~
2.00pm – 4.45pm (approx finishing time)
A Murder of Crows by Mike Kenny
One-act play performed by IMPACT, Tamworth, ENGLAND
Winner of the BFAME Festival
Open Festival Winner of the Hastilow Festival
Winner of the AETF CENTRAL AREA QUARTER FINAL
CENTRAL AREA Semi Finalist.
Read the play description
Love in a Glass Jar by Nancy Harris
One-act play performed by THE IRISH THEATRE GROUP (ITG), Brussels, BELGIUM
Runner up of the Festival of European Anglophone Theatrical Societies (FEATS)
Read the play description
The House with the Lights Still On by Pete Watt
One-act play performed by COMPTON PLAYERS, Berkshire, ENGLAND
Top scorer at the Oxford Drama Network FESTIVAL
Read the play description
Each play was followed immediately by a 10 minute public assessment (by GoDA Adjudicator, Jan Palmer Sayer, and openly discussed with us all in the Feedback Forum at 9:45 the following morning.
~ FRIDAY EVENING PLAY SESSION ~
7.00pm – 9.30pm (approx finishing time)
Another Moon Called Earth by Tom Stoppard
One-act play performed by THE SEMI-CIRCLE BASEL, SWITZERLAND
Top scorer at the Festival of European Anglophone Theatrical Societies (FEATS)
Read the play description
The Weight of Small Things by Tilly Lane
One-act play performed by TACT, Tamworth, ENGLAND
Winner of the Hastilow Festival
Winner of the AETF Central Area Quarter Final
Winner of the AETF Central Area Semi Final
Winner of the AETF Final
Winner of the British Final
Read the play description
Each play was followed immediately by a 10 minute public assessment (by GoDA Adjudicator, Jan Palmer Sayer, and openly discussed with us all in the Feedback Forum at 9:45 the following morning.
SATURDAY 1ST AUGUST
9.45 am – 10.45 am
FEEDBACK FORUM (in the Studio)
We were all invited to get together with Jan Palmer Sayer and the groups who performed the day before. We had a free-flowing but monitored discussion to explore exactly what worked and what didn’t, using real-life examples from the performances.
11.00 am – 12.30 pm
STUDIO SPOTLIGHT (in the Studio)
How to recognise and deliver effective theatre
with West End Director and OLIVIER, TONY and BAFTA nominee, Bob Tomson
~ SATURDAY AFTERNOON PLAY SESSION ~
2.00pm – 4.45pm (approx finishing time)
Tigers by Brian Hutchinson
One-act play performed by RED ONION, Liverpool, ENGLAND
Runner Up of the Cheshire Festival,
Winner of the AETF Northern Semi Final, and AETF Finalist
Read the play description
A Handbag by Anthony Horowitz
One-act play performed by BANBURY CROSS PLAYERS, Banbury, ENGLAND
Winner of the ODN Festival and
Runner Up of the Lighthorne Festival of One Act Plays
Read the play description
I Dream Before I Take The Stand by Arlene Dutton
One-act play performed by BROADSWORD THEATRE, Edinburgh, SCOTLAND
Winner of the SCDA Edinburgh District Festival, Winner of the SCDA Eastern Divisional Final and SCDA Finalist.
Read the play description
Each play was followed immediately by a 10 minute public assessment (by GoDA Adjudicator, Jan Palmer Sayer, and openly discussed with us all in the Feedback Forum at 9:45 the following morning.
~ SATURDAY EVENING PLAY SESSION ~
7.00pm – 9.30pm (approx finishing time)
Bull by Mike Bartlett
One-act play performed by NANTWICH PLAYERS,
Nantwich, ENGLAND
Winner of the Cheshire Drama Festival
Read the play description
A Hundred Words for Snow by Tatty Hennessy
adapted by Natalie Bonavia
One-act play performed by GIBRALTAR ACADEMY OF MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS, GIBRALTAR
Winner of the Gibraltar International Play Festival
Read the play description
Each play was followed immediately by a 10 minute public assessment (by GoDA Adjudicator, Jan Palmer Sayer, and openly discussed with us all in the Feedback Forum at 9:45 the following morning.
Let’s Celebrate!
With the one-act competition over, the teams could relax!
Thanks for having joined us in the bar after the last play on Saturday evening for a glass of something bubbly to celebrate another fantastic year of excellent amateur theatre.
SUNDAY 2ND AUGUST
9.45 am – 10.45 am
FEEDBACK FORUM (in the Studio)
We were all invited to get together with Jan Palmer Sayer and the groups who performed the day before. We had a free-flowing but monitored discussion to explore exactly what worked and what didn’t, using real-life examples from the performances.
11.00 am – 12.00 pm
STUDIO SPOTLIGHT (in the Studio)
Getting under the skin of
‘Killing Time’ by Ste Mc
(the 2026 Derek Jacobi Playwriting award winner)
with
Ste Mc and Sue Doherty
~ SUNDAY AFTERNOON PLAY SESSION ~
2.00pm – 4.20pm (with a 20 minute break – approx finishing time)
Underdog: The Other Other Brontë by Sarah Gordon
A Full Length (two and a half hours with a 15 minute internal) play performed by Harlequin Players, Cheshire, ENGLAND