EnglandA One Act Play Festival open to any Amateur group in England.
The 6 month long competition is organised regionally and, after a series of preliminary, quarter and semi-final rounds across the country, culminates in a Grand Final in which the four 'Area' Champions compete for the title of 'English Champions'.
Contact: via our website or social media |
Ireland
BallybunionThe Ballybunion Arts Festival will host a diverse programme of Theatre, Poetry, Performance Art, Music, Visual Art & workshops for artists and audiences.
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
Bedfordshire, EnglandThe Bedfordshire Festival of Music, Speech and Drama was founded in 1921 and provides a showcase for the wealth of talent in the amateur performing arts in Bedfordshire and the surrounding area. The Festival offers a wide range of classes for all ages covering most musical genres including Classical, Musical Theatre, Jazz and Asian music, as well as many varied Speech and Drama classes including Verse Speaking, Acting, Mime and Improvisation. It features categories for school groups, Special School groups, orchestras, wind bands, junior and senior choirs and group creative performance.
Run by a Committee of volunteers and a part-time Secretary, the Festival is a charity. The organisers are extremely grateful to the Festival's supporters, its Individual and Corporate Friends, for their financial support, without which the Festival would not take place.
The Festival takes place at the Bedford Corn Exchange during the first week of March each year.
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
Sheffield, Yorkshire, EnglandChildren's Literature and Arts festival
Contact: info@betweenthelinesfestival.com or via website or social media |
UK
BMCF, 39 Christchurch Road, Bournemouth, England BH1 3NSTo celebrate excellence and promote community participation in the performing arts by presenting an annual festival, enhanced by competition and professional adjudication
Contact: 01202 556023 or bmthfestival@gmail.com or via our website or social media |
BristolThe Bristol One Act Drama Festival is a preliminary round of the All England
Theatre Festival showcasing some of the finest amateur performances in and around the Bristol area.
Contact: via our website |
UK
BristolBristol Shakespeare Festival is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to bringing the most exciting, energetic and original productions of Shakespeare to the beautiful city of Bristol.
Contact: info@bristolshakespeare.org.uk or via our website or social media |
UK
London, EnglandA yearly arts festival in Brockley, Ladywell and Crofton Park in south-east London, which aims to inspire people of all ages to use and explore their creative talents, and to help knit the community more closely together.
Brockley Max is run by Max Media Arts - a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to creating original and enjoyable community events
Contact: via our website or social media |
Caithness Scottish Community Drama Assocation
UK
ScotlandCommunity Drama.
Caithness Annual Drama Festivals
Contact: via social media |
UK
CambridgeAn annual drama festival, showcasing the best theatre in Cambridge and the surrounding area. As well as our website we are also on Twitter as @CamDramFest - follow us for the latest news!
Contact: admin@camdramfest.org.uk or via our website or social media |
Cheshire One Act Drama Festival 
UK
Cheshire, EnglandCheshire One Act Drama Festival as part of the All England Theatre Festival
Contact: via social media |
Elmbridge, Surrey, EnglandThe Elmbridge Drama Festival is one of the first round knock-out stages of the annual All England Theatre Festival
Contact: via our website or social media |
Ireland
Fresh Film Festival, No. 1 John’s Square, Limerick CityFresh Film Festival provides an opportunity to young filmmakers to create work and to screen work that otherwise may not be possible. Fresh Film Festival also mentor, encourage and engage with children, we recognise and support their talent.
Fresh Film Festival is a National Youth Film Festival held in Limerick every March. Its main event is Irelands Young Filmmaker of the Year.
Young Filmmakers between the age of 7- 18yrs can enter their work for screening.
Contact: info@freshfilmfestival.net or via our website or social media |
The Market Theatre, Market Street HR8 2AQ LedburyThe Hereford County Drama Festival is an annual one-act drama festival. Drama groups from in and around the county compete head-to-head. It is also one of the first rounds of the All England Theatre Festival (AETF)
The Festival is run by volunteers and is a non-profit initiative to promote amateur theatre.
Each Spring, one-act plays are performed in front of an esteemed professional adjudicator and a live audience.
The plays are between 20 and 55 minutes long, ranging from comedies to thrillers to highly-emotional dramas.
Each production is critiqued by the adjudicator in front of the audience as soon as it has finished. Marks are awarded for acting, direction, stage presentation and dramatic achievement.
The winners are announced on Saturday (after the session has finished), with the Overall Winner and Runner Up going through to the Quarter Final of the All England Theatre Festival!
Audiences can come along and watch all of the plays or just a few.
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
Herne Hill, London, EnglandTaking place in October each year, the Herne Hill Music Festival will feature local community, professional and internationally renowned artists against the backdrop of Brockwell Park and other well-loved landmarks of Herne Hill.
Contact: via our website or social media |
Kerry Drama Festival
Ireland
Ivyleaf Arts Centre, CastleislandUNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE AMATEUR DRAMA COUNCIL OF IRELAND
Contact: via social media |
UK
The Little Theatre, Leicester, EnglandThe Leicestershire and Rutland Drama Festival is an annual competition which showcases the talents of amateur dramatic groups within the Leicestershire & Rutland area. We invite all local groups to enter a ‘One Act Play’ in the festival and these are showcased to the public over the course of several nights, culminating in a awards ceremony on the final night. The event also doubles up as a preliminary round of the AETF (All-England Theatre Festival) for those groups seeking to progress further.
Contact: lrdfestival@outlook.com or via our website or social media |
UK
County Armagh, Northern IrelandLislea Drama Festival is an annual event - 7 nights of drama
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
LiverpoolAn annual theatre festival which takes place in Liverpool City Centre
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
Milton Keynes, Bucks, EnglandA vibrant fringe arts festival showcasing outdoor arts, theatre, visual arts, performance, comedy, music & dance.
MKFF is a biennial event which complements the Milton Keynes International Festival.
Contact: via our website or social media |
Ireland
Monkstown, Co DublinAnnual Festival
Contact: via our website or social media |
UKThe National Drama Festivals Association (NDFA) is an association of more than 37 Independent Drama Festivals drawn from across the UK running Full length, One Act and Youth Festivals.
Membership of NDFA is open to all Drama Festival Organisations and also to Theatre groups and individuals who are interested in taking part and supporting drama festivals throughout UK.
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
Harrogate, Yorkshire, EnglandNidderdale and District One-Act Drama Festival which is held annually in March and is organised by the Nidderdale and District Drama Association (NDDA).
The NDDA Festival is affiliated to the prestigious All-England Theatre Festival (AETF) of which it is a preliminary round and the NDDA festival winner is eligible to progress to the next round of the AETF.
Participation is open to any amateur drama group in the Nidderdale area. Groups from outside the area may be allowed to participate if the NDDA is their nearest AETF-affiliated event.
Contact: via our website |
UK
Woolyard, 54 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3UD, EnglandNational Student Drama Festival is a celebration of young talent & an introduction to the profession
Contact: Tel: 020 7036 9027
Email: info@nsdf.org.uk
or via website or social media |
UK
Tring, Herts, EnglandAn amateur open-air Shakespeare Festival that takes place every summer in the beautiful grounds of the Pendley Manor, Cow Lane, Tring, Hertfordshire.
In 1949, Dorian Williams founded the Pendley Shakespeare Festival amid the Victorian finery of his magnificent ancestral home. 64 years later, it remains our privilege to bring Shakespeare to new audiences in the grounds of this stunning Manor.
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
The Studio @The Petersfield School, Cranford Road, Petersfield, Hampshire GU32 3LUA Fun Friendly Dance Festival taking place in Petersfield. Novice & Open Sections available to enter.
Full member of the British & International Federation of Festivals & now an All England Qualifying Festival!
Contact: via our website or info@petersfielddancefestival.co.uk |
UK
SalisburyAnnual new writing festival in Salisbury UK & monthly Scratch Nights. Bite-size plays. All events free. Patron Christopher Biggins
Contact: salisburyfringe@icloud.com or via our website or social media |
UK
EssexShort+Sweet is a global festival brand, presenting highly successful Theatre, Dance, Cabaret, and Song Festivals around the world. We provide audiences with exciting and contemporary works that challenge and entertain. Short+Sweet’s mission is to build theatre-going audiences around the world.
Beginning as a small festival of 10 minute plays in Sydney, Australia, we have grown into a global organisation. Short+Sweet has made a huge impact on the Australian theatre scene through developing new, original work with emerging artists and providing a platform for established artists to showcase their talents.
Our vision is simple – a more creative world 10 minutes at a time!
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
Festivals House, 198 Park Lane, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 6UD, EnglandFor nearly 100 years, we have been supporting amateur performing arts festivals to provide performance opportunities in their local communities.
We have nearly 250 member Festivals across the UK and abroad and together they provide millions of performance opportunities for children, young people and adults. With a focus on music, dance and speech & drama, our member Festivals offer a wide range of classes to encourage participation in the performing arts. Our member Festivals have a strong education emphasis and provide a platform to perform in front of a live audience and receive feedback from a professional adjudicator.
Contact: info@federationoffestivals.org.uk or via our website or social media |
UK
Gravesend, Kent, EnglandThe festival will bring together artists from across Kent in a celebration of arts and culture, giving our talented performers a platform to showcase their work and share their talents with the local community. We’re still on the lookout for more people to join the festival, so if you think it’s something you might be interested in, please email: guildfringefestival@gmail.com for a full information pack and application form.
Contact: via our website or social media |
The Leverhulme Drama Festival
UK
Gladstone Theatre Port Sunlight Wirral, EnglandThe Leverhulme DRAMA festival takes place every year at the Gladstone Theatre Port Sunlight Wirral - Local groups perform one act plays.
Contact: via social media |
Kenya
Nairobi, Nakuru, MombasaThe Kenya International Theatre Festival
Contact: Theatrefestivalke@gmail.com or via our website or social media |
UK
Hanger Farm Arts Centre, Totton, Southampton, Hampshire, England UKThe Totton Festival of Drama is a Round One of the All England Theatre Festival. We hold an annual one act play Drama Festival every March for amateur drama groups across the south.
Contact: info@tottondrama.co.uk or via our website or social media |
UK
Sheffield, YorkshireUnShut is a festival of experimental and radical new work.
Contact: unshutfestival@gmail.com or via our website or social media |
UK
Forest Community Centre, Walthamstow, London, EnglandAnnual competitive festival of one-act plays based in the London borough of Waltham Forest. Part of the All-England Theatre Festival.
The Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre is the only drama festival held in East and North London run under AETF rules.
We also welcome entries from groups in neighbouring parts of Essex and Hertfordshire.
The Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre is a week long festival of plays and performances by local drama and youth groups. Anybody can take part, regardless of age, race, gender, ability or experience.
During the course of the festival, amateur companies from East and North London and neighbouring parts of Essex and Hertfordshire stage short, scripted plays which may include music, dance, mime and and other skills that the participants enjoy performing. Most performances take place during evening sessions, comprising two or three plays, and there might also be matinee sessions on a Saturday afternoon. At the end of each session, a qualified adjudicator gives a critical review of each play. At the end of the week, the adjudicator assign the various awards to entire production teams and casts, individual actors, writers and directors as appropriate.
Teams can volunteer for selection to represent Waltham Forest in the All England Theatre Festival. This exists to "give amateur theatre groups the opportunity to take part in a progression of festivals, starting in their own local area and possibly ending at the English final. The benefits of competitive drama are in raising standards; to allow people to compare the standard of their work with that of other companies and to learn how to improve."
The Waltham Forest Festival of Theatre is the only one in London which offers a whole week of drama. Some of the participating groups return year because they appreciate "the spirit of harmony and co-operation" and every year new groups, who are taking part for the first time, are welcomed and supported.
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
Welwyn Garden City, Herts, EnglandMuch-loved, long-running, competitive one-act drama festival, held in May at the Barn Theatre
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
Woking, Surrey, EnglandThe Woking Drama Association or the WDA was founded shortly after local drama groups in the Woking area held their first drama festival back in 1959. Over fifty years later the WDA has a strong membership comprising of 15 local drama, light operatic, musical, dance and youth theatre groups.
The WDA’s main purpose is to stage Woking’s annual one act drama festival in October each year. This is one of the largest amateur festivals of its type in England running over two weeks and regularly attracting over twenty competitive performances. Each evening the plays are adjudicated by a member of the Guild of Drama Adjudicators who will give constructive and concise commentary on the plays they have seen. At the end of the fortnight the adjudicator will recall three plays that in their view will present an entertaining and balanced evening of theatre at the end of which they, the adjudicator, will announce the winners.
Contact: via our website or social media |
UK
Worcestershire, EnglandThe Worcestershire Theatre Festival is a one-act drama festival that takes place every year, in which drama groups from the area compete head-to-head.
Every Spring, one-act plays are performed in front of an esteemed professional adjudicator and you - the audience.
The plays are between 25 and 55 minutes long, ranging from comedies to thrillers to highly-emotional dramas.
Each one is critiqued by the adjudicator in front of the audience as soon as it has finished. Marks are then awarded for acting, direction, stage presentation and dramatic achievement.
The winners are announced on Sunday (after the session has finished), with the Overall Winner and Running Up going through to the Quarter Final of the All England Theatre Festival!
Contact: via our website or social media |
