Welwyn Drama Festival

22/03/2026

Thank you to all our teams who have sent in their entries. We have just about enough plays to plan a programme for the week but as some of the plays are on the shorter side there is room for more! Any interest, do get in touch ASAP. Plays need to be between 20 and 55 minutes. Thank you.

Are you considering entering the Welwyn Drama Festival? Then look no further – use this checklist to guide you! This information is relevant for the regular format of our festival, when all p…

25/05/2025

What a wonderful 90th Welwyn Drama Festival! Well done to everyone who took part and thank you for all your hard work and commitment in preparing your plays and bringing them to our festival. Here are the Award Winners in full.
🥇🏆🏆🏆🏅🏅First place and the Welwyn Cup: HD&OS with 'Double Acts: A Flock of Tigers' by John Finnemore. Director Harry Harding also won the Behrens Steinfeld Trophy for the Director showing the Most Complete and Imaginative Approach. Julie Markey, as Dolorosa, won the Winifred Butler Award for Best Actress and Steve Deaville, as Edmund, won the Welwyn Award for Best Actor. The team also won the FJ Osborn Audience Appreciation Award, voted for by the festival season ticket holders.
🥈🏆Second place and the Roy Brewer Cup: HD&OS with 'Double Acts: English for Pony-Lovers' by John Finnemore, also directed by Harry Harding.
🥉🏆Third place and the Margaret Osborn Trophy: Back to Front Theatre with 'Reckoning' by Kathy Mead, directed by Shirley Cu***ng.
🏆The Charles Pilgrem Trophy for Stage Presentation was awarded to Brightlight Theatre for their production of 'Songkeeper' by Jamie Lakritz.
🏆The Derrick Baldock Cup for the Best Unpublished Play was awarded to Alice Gill-Carey, of Theatre in the Square, for 'Susie'.
🏆The Louis Davis Trophy, the Adjudicator's Award for a Special Contribution to the Festival, was won by BOATS Theatre (Based On A True Story) for their play, Paper Trail.

Many thanks to our wonderful and well-loved adjudicator, Tristan Marshall GoDA - our teams really appreciated his enthusiasm, knowledge and constructive comments.

Finally, thank you to the Festival Crew, Front of House volunteers and our audience - we could not do this without you!

24/05/2025

The results are in! Winner of the 90th Welwyn Drama Festival is Hertford Dramatic & Operatic Society with A Flock of Tigers by John Finnemore. Full results will be posted later on Sunday.

24/05/2025

It's the final night of our 90th festival tonight, with performances starting at the earlier time of 7pm. We have two plays: 'Songkeeper' by Jamie Lakritz from Brightlight Theatre and the second of John Finnemore's Double Acts from HD&OS, 'English for Pony-Lovers'. After the adjudication will come the Award Ceremony, Waitrose Bubbly Competition and our celebratory and complimentary Hog Roast. I hope you will join us! https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/barntheatre/90th-welwyn-garden-city-drama-festival/e-vkxork

23/05/2025

Three more plays tonight: a psychological thriller in 'Retribution or Madness' from Players' Theatre (Wales); a meeting of strangers in '12hr Life' from Woodhouse Players and the darkly tender 'A Short Holiday From My Life' from 4 Door Theatre. See you there!

22/05/2025

Cracking night tonight, courtesy of The Barn Theatre Club, Theatre in the Square and HD&OS. Our adjudicator's on top form too, so entertaining and informative. If you're not here, you're missing all the fun!

21/05/2025

Tonight we have two plays set in very different circumstances dealing with uncovering family secrets. It's 'Who do you think you are?' meets 'Time' with a bit of intrigue. Welcome back to BOATS (Based On A True Story) and Back to Front Theatre. See you there!

20/05/2025

Tonight's theme was memory, mania and music. Poignant moments took us on an emotional roller coaster and all so eloquently adjudicated by Tristan Marshall. Thank you to everyone from Theatre in the Square and Digswell Players for your hard work and a great audience, too! 👏👏👏

20/05/2025

3-2-1! Three new plays tonight, two from Theatre in the Square and one from Digswell Players, set in the 80s. I'm looking forward to that! Curtain up 7.30pm. Join us!!

19/05/2025

A great start to festival week! Thank you to Marlborough Science Academy, Biggleswade ATS and Corvus ADS. Good to hear the first adjudication from Tristan Marshall GoDA as well!

19/05/2025

Opening night, with another chance to see the Winners of Welwyn Garden City Youth Drama Festival , Marlborough Science Academy, with Shadows of the Stage. This is followed by CID comedy capers in 'Right on Cue' from old friends, Biggleswade ATS and 'Virtual Reality' from returning team Corvus ADS. Our first three plays of sixteen! If you cannot make tonight, we're on all week!

Tickets are now available for 90th Welwyn Garden City Drama Festival at Barn Theatre, Welwyn Garden City between Monday 19th May 2025 and Saturday 24th May 2025. Click the link for further information and to secure your tickets now!