Following five hugely successful years of INCOMING Festival, including 2018’s debut at HOME in Manchester, we are shaking things up for 2019.

Alongside co-directors David Byrne, Jake Orr and Eleanor Turney, we are inviting a number of leading critics to help us programme 2019’s festival. When INCOMING first started, Jake and Eleanor were reviewing regularly, heavily involved in the editorial of A Younger Theatre and writing for publications including The Guardian, The Stage and Exeuent. That sense of critics championing emerging work was integral to the festival. Five years’ later, the landscape has changed, and neither Eleanor nor Jake regularly reviews any more. 

We have invited Lyn Gardner, Critics of Colour, the editorial team of Exeunt magazine, and Fergus Morgan from The Stage to recommend shows by emerging companies that they wish to celebrate. 2019’s week-long festival will one again take place in London and Manchester (and potentially a third venue, to be announced!), with nights curated by each of the critics, giving them the chance to really support emerging companies whose work they believe in. 

As well as working alongside the critics, we will still be programming some slots in our traditional way. If you’d like to invite Eleanor, Jake or David to see your show, for consideration for the festival, please get in touch.

We’re so excited to see what this new model will reveal, and to share the selected shows with you next summer. As always, tickets will cost just £5. 

Dates for Incoming Festival are 24 - 30 June 2019