Day 1: Thursday 9th April 7:30pm
GOETHE IN ALSACE
poetry plays with theatre
Hunting out folk tales and song in 18th century Alsace, a young Goethe cruelly misleads parson’s daughter Friederike Brion. His thoughtless, self-serving actions will have tragic consequences for her and another of her suitors, the troubled, would-be genius Jakob Lenz. A welcome return to Poetry Plays for queer multidisciplinary arts collective Transit, in this one act historical fragment.
DEUX HOMMES
poetry plays with French song and dance
Changing notions of masculinity explored through the lens of French popular song and its intensely poetic lyrics. Contemporary dancers and chorographers Jan & Bertie compete, collaborate, support and undermine in a constantly evolving pas de deux to the likes of Jacques Brel and Stromae. With surtitle translations.
PLACES I NEVER THINK ABOUT
poetry plays with theatre, storytelling and music
Another chance to see Transit’s stunningly inventive queer reclaiming and retelling of mitteleuropean folklore, after successful runs at the Brighton Festival and Omnibus Theatre. Joyous, dark, playful and profoundly moving work that’s bursting with energy. In Places I Never Think About, Transit show how we can draw on and celebrate tradition and still be inclusive and progressive.
Day 2: friday 10th April 7:30pm
UNFINISHED FINISHED
poetry plays with puppetry, mime and music
A Poetry Plays commission to celebrate the posthumous publication of Kafka's unfinished novel The Castle. Poet and dramatist Charlie Kite steps into the silence imagining possible endings to Kafka's labyrinth. The result is a dark, witty return to a landscape of shifting power and nightmare bureaucracy.
A WALBERSWICK GOODNIGHT STORY
poetry plays with storytelling
A haunting and lyrical one-man performance, A Walberswick Goodnight Story unfolds as a father's late-night tale to his daughter, blending folklore, memory and coastal myth as he recounts the mysterious origin of their family line. Atmospheric and moving, the piece explores inheritance, identity and the pull of the sea. Written by Louis de Bernières
Day 3: saturday 11th April 7:30pm
Poetry Plays Prize Winners
THE LABEL AND ITS ARTEFACT - Winner of our Poetry Plays Prize 26
poetry plays with theatre and object manipulation
Deep in the bowels of a museum, nestled in its finds tray, a mysterious, recently discovered artefact struggles to make itself heard. Metaphysics with a lovely light touch from Alice Foxall.
THE CUCKOOS AND THE PEACOCKS - Runner-up
poetry plays with theatre
A beautifully written, subtle piece of poetry theatre, exploring the tensions between a daughter and her more devout mother around the time of Eid. A runner up in our Poetry Plays Prize 26, written by Z.R. Ghani.
CELEBRATED BRITISH ACTRESS BERYL MERCER ENCOUNTERS HER LOST DAUGHTER DURING AN ATLANTIC CROSSING, 1939 - Runner - up
poetry plays with theatre
Michelle Bitting's haunting and deeply moving study of grief and denial, drawing on her personal family history. A runner up in our Poetry Plays Prize 26.
FIRST THOUGHT BEST THOUGHT
poetry plays with improvisation
Multidisciplinary improvisation around the long table to close our festival, with a mash-ups of jazz, dance, spoken word and visual art. Join us or watch from the safety of the auditorium as our special guests - put words to pictures, music to words, dance to music, pictures to dance… above all, playing with poetry.
Poetry Plays prize 2026 (CLOSED)
CLOSED for entries
POETRY PLAYS PRIZE 2026
Poetry plays.... with theatre. We're looking for poems for two voices that would lend themselves to live performance by actors. Think short form play, verse drama, eclogue, character poetry.... you can be as out there or traditional as you like, and we'd love to be surprised - the quality of the writing and its suitability for adaptation for the stage are our primary criteria.
First prize £1000 and a performance of your work at our festival of multidisciplinary arts Poetry Plays 2026.
Two runners-up will also be chosen for performance at the festival.
Short rules:
1. Entries must be no shorter than 200 lines and no longer than 500 lines. Spaces and titles do not count as lines.
2. There are no restrictions on form, but the judges will favour poems in which the two voices are clearly delineated and interact with one another.
3. Entries should not be formatted like a play script. They should not contain any stage directions, setting descriptions, or act/scene designations that fall outside of the poem itself. Character names used to distinguish between voices is acceptable, but please do not include character introductions - we would like the poem to speak for itself.
4. By entering the Poetry Plays Prize 2026, you grant Poetry Plays the right to produce and perform your work, for two public performances only (after which all rights revert to you).
5. Entries must be written in English.
6. The Poetry Plays Prize 2026 is open to anyone aged 18 or over. We welcome international entries.
7. There is no limit on the number of entries a single entrant can make. All entries will be considered anonymously by the judges.
8. The opening date of the competition is 12th November 2025.
9. The closing date of the competition is 12th February 2026, at 11.59 pm (GMT UK time).
10. Entry fee, £10 per poem.
11. All proceeds go to funding the Poetry Plays Festival.
12. Not open to employees or family members
13. The judges read all the entries.
14. Entries must remain anonymous. Please include your name in the body of your email but do not include your name or any identifying details on the attached Word/PDF.
15. Entries must not have been published, self-published, published on a website or made public on social media, broadcast or featured among the winners in another competition before April 2026.
16. Under no circumstances can alterations be made to poems once entered.
17. Poems must be the entrant’s original work. AI-generated work is prohibited.
18. Prizewinners will be notified by the 15th March 2026 and invited to see their work performed at the Poetry Plays Festival at London’s Cockpit Theatre on 11th April 2026.