Vibrant 2018

Now in its tenth consecutive year, the multi-award-winning Finborough Theatre presents Vibrant 2018 – A Festival of Finborough Playwrights, its annual explosion of new writing, running between 7-25 October 2018.

This year’s highlights include the winner of this year’s RADIUS Playwriting Competition, an award winning new play from New Zealand, and a unique opportunity to watch the birth of a new British musical, in an eclectic and idiosyncratic selection of staged readings.

As part of our ongoing commitment to ensuring diversity and opportunity, particularly in those areas neglected by other UK theatres, this year’s playwrights embraces all age groups, and all of our new British playwrights (except one) are over 40.

Concentrated solely on full length works for the stage, Vibrant 2018 – A Festival of Finborough Playwrights continues to introduce you to some of the fascinating diverse vibrant voices we have discovered, developed and championed.

A unique opportunity to see behind the scenes at one of the UK’s most exciting theatres as we continue to discover and develop tomorrow’s plays today, brought to life by some of the UK’s most talented actors and directors.

Since our first festival in 2009, our Vibrant festivals have included well over one hundred new plays, twenty four of which have gone on to be produced in full productions at the Finborough Theatre including Mirror Teeth by Nick Gill, The Man by James Graham, And I And Silence by Naomi Wallace, Black Jesus by Anders Lustgarten, Carthage by Chris Thompson, Nona Shepphard and Craig Adams’ musical version of Thérèse Raquin, This Heaven by Nakkiah Lui and Booby’s Bay by Henry Darke. Plays that went on to be produced by other theatres have included Bull by Mike Bartlett at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, and The Stock Da’Wa by David Eldridge, and Acceptance by Amy Ng at the Hampstead Theatre Downstairs.

Despite remaining completely unsubsidised, the Finborough Theatre has an unparalleled track record of discovering new playwrights who go on to become leading voices in British theatre. Under Artistic Director Neil McPherson, it has discovered some of the UK’s most exciting new playwrights including Laura Wade, James Graham, Mike Bartlett, Chris Thompson, Jack Thorne, Alexandra Wood, Al Smith, Nicholas de Jongh and Anders Lustgarten; and directors including Blanche McIntyre, Robert Hastie, Kate Wasserberg and Sam Yates.

Vibrant 2018 – A Festival of Finborough Playwrights is again curated by Finborough Theatre Artistic Director Neil McPherson, winner of The Writers’ Guild Award for the Encouragement of New Writing, and twice winner of the OffWestEnd Award for Best Artistic Director.