Fifth Word Theatre

Fifth Word Theatre Award-winning touring theatre company specialising in new writing.

Our artistic vision places an emphasis on new writing and the use of multimedia technologies on stage. Fifth Word is passionate about working with new writing talent and has recently won an award from the writers’ guild of Great Britain for the encouragement of new writing.

Your first look at LAD 🍻 Running until Monday— don’t miss it 🔥Two lads meet for pints. Their old local’s rammed and the...
27/03/2026

Your first look at LAD 🍻 Running until Monday— don’t miss it 🔥

Two lads meet for pints. Their old local’s rammed and there’s three years of silence to catch up on. Best friends since school, Jack never visited, and Luke hasn’t told the whole story.

Photography by Jonathan Pryke ()

LAD
📆 Leicester, West End Working Men’s Club & The Exchange Bar - 26th-30th March

🎟️ Find dates, more info and book via the link in bio


A new play by
John Booker

Directed by
Daniel Bailey

Partners
Curve Theatre
Derby Theatre
Fuel

Funders
Arts Council
Derby City Council

With thanks to In Good Company Design

26/03/2026

“I just wanna have a chat with you to be honest, Luke.”

England vs. Spain, Euro 2024 Final. Jack’s back from Uni, Luke’s back from doing time.

Two lads meet for pints. Their old local’s rammed and there’s three years of silence to catch up on. Best friends since school, Jack never visited, and Luke hasn’t told the whole story.

LAD
📆 Leicester, West End Working Men’s Club & The Exchange Bar - 26th-30th March

🎟️ Find dates, more info and book via the link in bio


A new play by
John Booker

Directed by
Daniel Bailey

Partners
Curve Theatre
Derby Theatre
Fuel

Funders
Arts Council
Derby City Council

With thanks to In Good Company Design

🚨🚨 Production images just dropped! 🚨🚨It’s your last chance to see TRANS IT at Derby this weekend - running until Saturda...
26/03/2026

🚨🚨 Production images just dropped! 🚨🚨

It’s your last chance to see TRANS IT at Derby this weekend - running until Saturday!

In a world where the state wants you gone and the Gods are dead, TRANS IT is a fiercely human, bitingly funny horror story dipped in glitter, for anyone who’s ever been othered. The engine’s already running.

Photography by Jonathan Pryke

TRANS IT
📆 Derby Theatre - 24th-28th March

A new play by
Tabby Lamb ()

Directed by
Bryony Shanahan ()

Starring
Val Brown ()
Mariah Louca ()

🔗 Book now via the link in bio

Partners
Curve Theatre
Derby Theatre
Fuel
Just Something Different

Funders
Arts Council
Derby City Council

With thanks to In Good Company Design

You’ve got a Golden Ticket… 🎟️Hop onboard a one-day road trip from Derby to Matlock and back again 🚌Part workshop, part ...
26/03/2026

You’ve got a Golden Ticket… 🎟️
Hop onboard a one-day road trip from Derby to Matlock and back again 🚌

Part workshop, part memory lane, part creative adventure, we’ll swap stories of bus journeys past and present: missed stops, unexpected tales, strangers who became something more, and arguments with the timetable… you know what we mean.

This is for:
🚌 Regular bus passengers who take local routes
🧑‍✈️ Bus drivers (past, present, almost-retired)
💬 Anyone with a story about the routes that shape our lives

Expect music, conversation and a proper packed lunch.

Led by East Midlands playwright Finley-Rose Townsend, this is a chance to fuel the creative process, meet new people, and help shape Golden Ticket, a brand new play exploring:

- Community & connection
- Delays, detours & human error
- Automation & how it’s changing our lives

Ready to get onboard for Saturday 18th April, 10am-4pm?

👉🎟️ Register here by Tuesday 31st March 2026. Let’s take the scenic route.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSezm3vhL68mGF0d9Dks1MkUWyWmQ0IreYna-aZH4saDWlqQKg/viewform

25/03/2026

TONIGHT, for these Dolls, it’s time to take the power back. It’s also PRESS NIGHT for both our Pop-Up shows!

In a world where the state wants you gone and the Gods are dead, TRANS IT is a fiercely human, bitingly funny horror story dipped in glitter, for anyone who’s ever been othered. The engine’s already running.

TRANS IT
📆 Derby Theatre - 24th-28th March

A new play by
Tabby Lamb ()

Directed by
Bryony Shanahan ()

Starring
Val Brown ()
Mariah Louca ()

🔗 Book now via the link in bio

Partners
Curve Theatre
Derby Theatre
Fuel
Just Something Different

Funders
Arts Council
Derby City Council

With thanks to In Good Company Design

25/03/2026

Couldn’t make it to the SOLD OUT run of LAD in Derby? We hit Leicester tomorrow, with a handful of tickets left, so don’t miss out! 🍺

LAD
📆 Leicester, West End Working Men’s Club & The Exchange Bar - 26th-30th March

🎟️ Find dates, more info and book via the link in bio


A new play by
John Booker

Directed by
Daniel Bailey

Partners
Curve Theatre
Derby Theatre
Fuel

Funders
Arts Council
Derby City Council

With thanks to In Good Company Design

Write it out. Write it loud. Rage welcome.Don't miss this online Pop-Up Workshop with the writer of TRANS IT, !Pay What ...
20/03/2026

Write it out. Write it loud. Rage welcome.

Don't miss this online Pop-Up Workshop with the writer of TRANS IT, !

Pay What You Can. No previous writing experience is needed. Facilitated by Fifth Word.

🗓️ Saturday 28th March 2pm-4:30pm - online

Join Tabby Lamb (Happy Meal, transfem writers group leader) for a playful, powerful and collaborative playwriting workshop using anger, frustration, and fire as creative fuel. Tabby will talk about the inspiration and ideas behind her plays, then invite you to create or develop the start of a new speech or play: releasing ideas that you can act on, about issues that matter to you, and celebrating the power of storytelling.

✍️📣 Don't forget to book tickets to the final Pop-Up Plays via our link in bio and workshop links can be found there or on the Curve website!

Age guidance: 16+

Led by Tabby Lamb, founder of the transfem writers group and the writer of TRANS IT, a Pop-Up Play produced by Fifth Word in collaboration with Curve, Derby Theatre, with support by Fuel and associate produced by Just Something Different.

19/03/2026

TONIGHT, for these Dolls, it’s time to take the power back. ❤️‍🔥

In a world where the state wants you gone and the Gods are dead, TRANS IT is a fiercely human, bitingly funny horror story dipped in glitter, for anyone who’s ever been othered. The engine’s already running.

TRANS IT
📆 Curve, Leicester - 19th-22nd March
📆 Derby Theatre - 24th-28th March

A new play by
Tabby Lamb ()

Directed by
Bryony Shanahan ()

Starring
Val Brown ()
Mariah Louca ()

🔗 Book now via the link in bio

Partners
Curve Theatre
Derby Theatre
Fuel
Just Something Different

Funders
Arts Council
Derby City Council

With thanks to In Good Company Design

Pop-Up Plays are for everyone.Short shows. Affordable tickets. Unexpected spaces. No theatre knowledge needed — just cur...
17/03/2026

Pop-Up Plays are for everyone.
Short shows. Affordable tickets. Unexpected spaces. No theatre knowledge needed — just curiosity. We’d love to see you there and we’re making it easier by offering £20 tickets for both LAD and TRANSIT if you book in one city.

🎟️ Find dates, more info and book via the link in bio

So what happens for writers who have a Fifth Word Pop-Up Plays commission? ✍️In R&D sessions, we’ve been carefully craft...
13/03/2026

So what happens for writers who have a Fifth Word Pop-Up Plays commission? ✍️

In R&D sessions, we’ve been carefully crafting John Booker’s debut LAD, directed by Daniel Bailey and Tabby Lamb’s TRANS IT, directed by Bryony Shanahan, in R&Ds with Creative Associate Nic Wass.

We’d especially like to thank Derby Theatre, Fuel and Stratford East for hosting us for these sessions.

Come and see the final plays as they go from script to stage...a car park and pub near you this March.

🔗 Tickets available through the link in bio

LAD rehearsals are underway at 🍻This month, LAD is coming to your local… England vs. Spain, Euro 2024 Final. Jack’s bac...
11/03/2026

LAD rehearsals are underway at 🍻

This month, LAD is coming to your local…

England vs. Spain, Euro 2024 Final. Jack’s back from uni, Luke’s back from doing time.
Funny, raw and heartbreakingly human, LAD strikes deep into the heart of modern masculinity, friendship, class, racism, and love.

🔗 Book now via the link in bio

📆 Derby, The Brunswick Inn - 22nd-25th March
📆 Leicester, West End Working Men’s Club & The Exchange Bar - 26th-30th March



A new play by
John Booker

Directed by
Daniel Bailey

Partners
Curve Theatre
Derby Theatre
Fuel
Just Something Different

Funders
Arts Council
Derby City Council

With thanks to In Good Company Design

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Derby

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