Awards (Offies) Announce 2026 Nominations OffWestEnd

The OffWestEnd Awards (Offies), established to celebrate independent theatre across the Off-West End, today announce the 2026 nominations, continuing their mission to recognise exceptional work across the sector.

Following the introduction of a streamlined awards framework last year for the ceremony, the Offies underwent their first full year operating using this evolved model. The structure has continued to bed in and develop, offering a clearer, more flexible way of recognising excellence across the wide range of forms, scales, and practices that define independent theatre today.

To raise the standard of Offies nomination, this year the awards bring together what were previously separate Finalist and rolling Nominee announcements into a single, unified list. The change establishes a shared philosophy of excellence across all nominations, while removing the rigid quotas of the former category model. In doing so, it both strengthens what it means to be nominated and opens up the ceremony itself — allowing a broader range of work, voices and scales of production to be recognised.

The Offies have a history of spotlighting groundbreaking theatre before it reaches mainstream acclaim, with past winners including Baby Reindeer, Fleabag and Operation Mincemeat. This year’s nominees reflect the breadth of the Off-West End sector, bringing together emerging grassroots talent and well-known performers from stage and screen who consistently return to independent venues to create new work.The 2026 Offies will take place on 30th March at Central Hall, Westminster and is hosted by drag sensation Divina De Campo. Tickets are on sale now. 

Awards Structure

Since 2025 The Offies have operated a streamlined awards model that moves away from traditional fixed categories. Instead, work is recognised across a set of broad and flexible Areas of Exceptional Contribution, allowing the awards to respond more accurately to how theatre is made and experienced across the independent sector.

The current Areas of Exceptional Contribution are:

• Production

• Staging

• Performance

• Design

• Sound & Music

• Creation

• Innovation

• Industry & Inclusion

Throughout the year, Offies assessors reviewed thousands of potential nominees across over 500 productions at over 100 venues. With a three-tier, rigorous assessment process narrowing the field to under 200 nominees is a monumental task. This is a reduction in overall nominees by more than 50% versus last year but an increase in the overall number invited to the ceremony (so-called Finalists).

Aside from raising the bar on nomination and increasing ceremony accessibility, the new system sets out to achieve:

• Reflects how theatre is actually madeMoves away from rigid, siloed categories and recognises collaborative, hybrid, and evolving creative roles that dominate the independent sector.

• Ends category gaming and box-tickingWork is assessed on its impact and contribution, not on how cleverly it fits a predefined label.

• Reduces nomination bloatEliminates the inflation caused by 50+ micro-categories, restoring meaning, selectivity, and credibility to recognition.

• Improves parity between art formsTYA, opera, cabaret, performance piece, immersive and digital work are assessed on equal footing to mainstream forms rather than sidelined into niche or marginal categories.

• Fair recognition, whatever the scaleNo artificial cap on nominees or winners per Area, enabling genuine stand-out work to be recognised without forcing false competition because of mismatched venue sizes and budgets.

• Creates space for collective and non-hierarchical practiceSupports companies, ensembles, co-creators, and shared authorship without forcing a single “lead” where one doesn’t exist.

• Encourages risk, experimentation, and innovationRecognises form-breaking and emergent practice that traditional category systems routinely exclude through new Innovation and Industry & Inclusion Areas.

• Makes the process fairer and more transparentBroad Areas allow assessors to apply consistent criteria across diverse work, reducing arbitrary edge-case decisions.

• A shorter, stronger ceremonyFewer, more meaningful moments of recognition within an entertainment-led event—less endurance, more impact, and a clearer and stronger place within the awards-season calendar.

• Future-proofs the awardsThe system can absorb new forms of theatre-making instantly rather than waiting reactively for new categories to catch up with innovation.

2026 Nominations

This year’s nominations reflect the extraordinary range and ambition of work produced across Off-West End venues over the past year, spanning emerging artists, established practitioners choosing to work independently, and productions that have gone on to reach wider audiences.

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

Together, these nominations reflect the breadth of contemporary independent theatre - from high-profile productions to grassroots, community-led work - and celebrate a sector defined by creativity, accessibility, and ambition.

Denholm Spurr, Executive Producer of the Offies Awards, said: “For sixteen years, the Offies have championed independent theatre, ensuring its work is seen, valued, and taken seriously. As the wider OffWestEnd organisation enters its twentieth year, this is a moment to reflect on what has been built—and to shape what comes next.

Independent theatre remains one of the most inventive and resilient parts of our cultural ecosystem, but the conditions in which it is made have changed. In response, the Offies have made radical changes to how recognition works, reshaping the awards to reflect how theatre is made and experienced today, while building a system fit for the next twenty years.This awards model allows us to better recognise the grassroots talent that defines Off-West End, while also celebrating the scale, diversity, and innovation of work being made across the sector. The ceremony is not just about naming winners, but about creating a shared moment that reflects the energy, imagination, and collective strength of independent theatre.”

To all this year’s nominees: congratulations on the work you’ve made and the recognition you’ve earned. Whatever the outcome, your work has been seen, discussed, and valued—and that matters.

OffWestEnd Awards (Offies)

OffWestEnd was founded in 2006 with the aim of recognising and supporting the independent

theatre sector in London, giving it a unified identity to rival Off-Broadway. The OffWestEnd

Awards (Offies) has been recognising outstanding work in London’s off-West End theatres since 2010. The awards aim to provide a platform for independent theatre that may otherwise go unrecognised in more mainstream awards systems. Celebrating the best of independent

theatre, the Offies promotes inclusivity, creativity, and excellence within the theatre

Community.

The awards this year will be presented by OffWestEnd alongside co-producers Tarento Productions.The awards will take place on 30th March at Central Hall, Westminster. You can buy tickets HERE - https://www.todaytix.com/london/shows/46173