In September 2024, a daughter sat down with her mother to talk, for the first time in their relationship, candidly and openly about everything: motherhood, golf, sex, being women, Jaffa Cakes, Sportacus, and their lives.

The daughter and her mother recorded these conversations for posterity. “a difficult but necessary conversation with my mother before I cut her out of my life forever” is an enticing, heartfelt and confronting piece of theatre, one that seeks to explore the relationship between first time mothers and their first-time daughters, hoping to provide solace, hope, and resonance to parents of Trans+ children, and to those Trans+ children themselves.  

At the edge of a volatile ocean, Meredith is the only thing that stands between humanity and the destruction of an endangered species, the innocuous Ringed Plover. When their survival seems hopeless, her adult son Dylan walks back into her life to rekindle their relationship. But as Dylan is in trouble with drug cartels, his need for shelter, and money, force him to stay.

Enlisted to help Meredith’s conservation work, past grievances between them are raked up, straining their tempestuous relationship while the Ringed Plovers struggle to hold on for dear life.   

“There are many ways to kill a man with a knife.”

Ellie has been planning this for years. The knife is in her hand and she’s going to do something. How I Learned to Kill, after Sophocles’ Electra, is the story of a young woman on the precipice. As Ellie prepares for the biggest moment of her life, she will be forced to face the truth about her past, her family- and herself. But Ellie’s motivations are not what they seem, and as she hurtles towards her reckoning, her struggle interrogates the possibility and meaning of justice in an increasingly violent world.    

“I’m telling you that you crawl all over me like this tiny ant and then you— find where the razor nicked me and you get under my skin.”

When fate throws R and J together, they attempt to make a home for themselves. Over three unlikely days they pass their time undoing sex, and want, and power, and pleasure, talking themselves into oblivion.

But as the world bears its teeth around them and knives begin to shine, their star-crossed tumble of need and desire descends into a pit of gendered cruelty.

ACNE ROMEO is the razor sharp and darkly intimate new play from award winning writer-director Sam Smith.  

‘I’d love to say it was Mum’s voice which rallied me on.

But it wasn’t.

It wasn’t even Miley Cyrus’.

It was mine.’

Theo and Nancy are the next generation of a Derbyshire climbing dynasty. When their Mum doesn’t return from an expedition, they must choose how to make the most of their lives – embracing the ordinary, or pursuing adventure.

They tell their story together, but can they agree what makes a legacy?

‘in defence…’ is in-part inspired by Simon’s Mum’s friendship with the mountaineer Alison Hargreaves and unpacks themes of sibling rivalry and the dreams your parents leave you.

Chloe, a French scholar, is visiting China. She has a chance meeting with Mei Yue, a Chinese orphan who never got adopted. A hairpin worn by Mei Yue reveals to Chloe that the orphan is her half-sister. Will she disclose her identity or will she choose to forget her past?

Chloe finds out about her father’s affairs and twenty-three years later in 1958, being now a scholar, she travels for work from France to China, birth country of her father Mr Wu. She has a chance meeting with Mei Yue, a Chinese orphan who never got adopted. A hairpin worn by Mei Yue reveals to Chloe that the orphan is her half-sister. When Chloe reports her document lost, a lead from Officer Li takes them both to the orphanage where they confront Mei Yue and Sister Cecille. Will Chloe disclose her identity or will she choose to forget her past?

Sian, an aspiring Poet, finds and funds her voice by becoming a Professional Catfish. And… it’s completely legit. Hired for her romantic writing style, Sian thrives as a ‘Matchmaker’ — charming women on behalf of rich men. But as Sian engineers other people’s relationships, the foundations of her own begin to erode. How far can Sian bend to satisfy the men in her life? And is it possible to keep up the pretence?

Sian De Bergerac was inspired by a real job advert to become a ghostwriter for men on dating apps, and the one question that kept arising; How is this legal?

Alma is a jazz singer. She just needs to get through this residency. Michael is the young saxophonist in her house band. He makes model houses out of matchsticks.

Thrown together weekly in a shared dressing room, their initial reluctance gives way to mutual curiosity — but can their growing connection last, or will it go up in flames?

Shortlisted for The Bread & Roses Playwriting Award 2024, Fragile House is a modern tragedy exploring the fragility of our relationships and the power that negative labels have to become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Starring Tony Award winner Frances Ruffelle and NYT member Adam Wadge.  

How to Keep Warm in Winter is a contemporary love story set in the 1970’s following an independent go-getter, a depressed drifter, and a newly-appointed landowner; all trying to make something of themselves in London. It spotlights the “Rebel Era”, the new generation of Caribbean young people unwilling to just “get on with it” but rather, dream for more.

However, London is on the verge of a terribly cold winter and impending Three-Day-Week which forces our Jamaican lovers to question the future in their new home. This three-hander contemplates ideas around love within hardship, the synonymity of growth and change, as well as what’s left behind in the process to build something new.  

A sex experiment. A pornography competition. A leaked tape.

Whilst a movie star nds her intimate images deepfaked online, a wife discovers some home videos, and a journalist embarks on a new investigation. Disparate storylines intertwine in this pacy and political play on trauma porn and surveillance.

Join the award-winning theatre company, I AM I AM, for the debut sharing of their new play, ARE YOU WATCHING? Praise for previous work – “Innovation and creativity triumph” “Bold, exciting, and experimental” “Proved their talent once again”  

Childhood friends Ayal and Noah reconnect on a camping trip to Elk Neck State Park, embarking on an adventure filled with humour and emotional depth. As they navigate personal challenges, Ayal’s anxiety about city life and family issues contrasts with Noah’s carefree attitude, even as Noah struggles with body image and family dynamics. Ready to unlock their minds, they prepare to take mushrooms but face logistical issues and emotional baggage, leading to vulnerability and tension. Meeting quirky locals like Nancy, who shares strange yet meaningful advice, Ayal and Noah explore their identities hoping to strengthen their bond along the way.  

“J.O.I.” is a new solo show from award-winning writer Christopher Lieberman. Desperate to raise cash for his gender-affirming surgery, Lieberman finds an unlikely solution when he uncovers a bizarre conspiracy linked to the porn videos he consumes. A budding romance is tested, and the laws of nature are defiled; “J.O.I.” is a tale of other-worldly hilarity that takes in love, loss, and niche porn categories.

“[A] delightful oddity combining smartly put together stand-up comedy and a startlingly original narrative” – Everything Theatre

“A fearless new talent” – London Pub Theatres  

Beyond the land of the living, four souls find themselves trapped in a tavern somewhere between death and wherever we go next. Through dreams and songs they seek to remember who they were when they were alive. Forming the house band of the tavern, they begin to practise their songs, believing the perfect performance will set them free.

But when another soul arrives, their carefully crafted songs are thrown into chaos, leaving them asking, who was I really? Through original folk music, playful humour and storytelling, this story explores our dominion over the natural world and what it means to be sorry for our mistakes.

Cara and Kelly are best friends, soul mates even.

It’s 2013. They’re 14 and in the prime of their lives! – Kelly is smashing it on the netball team. Cara is certain that love is blossoming with her dream crush. Most importantly, they know they’ll be best friends forever. For life.

When things start to go wrong, they know exactly who to blame: a new face who changes everything. But quickly, things that once seemed so certain are no longer quite so clear. Cara and Kelly, who’ve never had to doubt each other before, start to question how far they’re willing to go for their friendship.

During a long summer in a stifling midlands town, local student Ivan has gone missing. Questions and anxieties build, but Ivan’s friend and CCTV operator is convinced he’ll find him. Meanwhile, a skilfully crafted conspiracy surrounding the disappearance proliferates on the web. Hanging over the town is a new star that burns brighter than the rest… bringing with it a haunting sense of unease and uncertainty.

Using fragmented footage and reminiscing over a friendship, our surveillance operator is forced to look in dark places to uncover the truth of what happened to his friend.

We’ve all seen them. 

Thousands of paintings of naked women. 

For thousands of years. 

We know who the artists were. How they lived, loved and died. But what about the women they painted? Who were they? What were the consequences of baring it all for the brush, chisel and lens? 

It’s Johannesburg, South Africa where being a teenage girl can be a little more complicated. Nadine, Lerato, Husnah and Erin are in their final year of high school when the death of student, Uyinene Mrwetyana, takes the country by storm. As the nation unites against gender-based violence, our girls decide to create their own change and combat misogyny with their newspaper.

At the same time, a transfer student from England sparks a romance and finds his place in a new culture. However as the gender divide deepens, the girls move their protests to outside the school and come face to face with things far more dangerous than locker room talk…

A new American Candy store has opened in a rural town. Nobody asked for it. Most just walk by it. But you can’t help but wonder: What is it really for?

American Candy is a witty, fast-paced crime thriller about corruption and distrust. What if the things on your High Street were fronts? Your shops, your jobs, your marriages. What if they were not quite as they appeared?

Anab is in her final year of university and she is struggling. Her younger brother, Ibrahim get to in Somalia for the past 7 months as he wanted to ‘discover himself’ during his gap year. When he returns the house feels like a different home. Anab has become irritable and their mother and sister are constantly trying not to step on her toes. 

 Keep Moving Forward explores how a British-Somali family navigates mental health when one of them is going through depression and anxiety. How can a mother understand her daughter’s depression when she seemingly has everything? An important and heart warming story about faith, healing and belonging. 

Childhood friends Zana and Tai reconnect with each other and the world around them and discover that their past is not what they thought it was. Decades before, Rio embarks on a long journey to find hope in the girl of her visions. This magical realist play explores loneliness and connection and how this dynamic relates to our relationship with our environment. How do we build a better present and future through connection, even when we might feel at our most disconnected and hopeless?  

A special in-person edition of our weekly initiative ‘Wednesday Chats’. Led by our Artistic Director and Programming team, come find out about how to get involved with Omnibus or the industry in general; ask for advice on producing, ACE bidding, dramaturg or marketing, and even get the chance to let us know about your play! This is a great way to shed light on the inner workings of a theatre.

Price: FREE  

A free workshop for writers, led by playwright Dan Rebellato, exploring how to go about Building a Play.
Writers are invited to bring an idea for a play, even the very beginning or spark of an idea. It can be a sentence, image, an event, a topic, literally anything! Dan will share exercises and skills on how to develop that idea, into something writable.
This is a free workshop for writers with any experience.

Price: FREE  

A free workshop for playwrights of all levels, focused on theatrical structure and form. What are all the different ‘containers’ that could exist for telling a specific story? How can we draw from real life to discover the ‘deep structure’ of our plays? How can we play with time and space?

Please bring a notebook, pen or laptop; and a play idea or something you are working on .

Price: FREE