Four finalist plays head to the Orange Tree on Sunday 18 October
24 September 2026 · By Boroughly editorial — AI-assisted, human-reviewed.
After receiving 132 entries from playwrights around the world, Arts Richmond has selected four finalists for its New Plays Festival — and they will take to the stage at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond on Sunday 18 October.
Doors open at 2pm, with the performances beginning at 3pm. The afternoon will showcase the four shortlisted short plays chosen by the festival's judging panel following what the organisers describe as hours of deliberation — a sign of the quality of the global field they were working through.
The Orange Tree, on Richmond Green, is one of London's best-regarded studio theatres, and its intimate in-the-round format tends to suit new writing particularly well. For anyone interested in emerging playwrights or original British theatre, this is the kind of afternoon that is hard to find outside the West End.
The event is a good opportunity to see fresh work at an early stage — new plays festivals have a long tradition of giving audiences a glimpse of voices before they reach larger stages.
Full details, including ticket information and the names of the four finalists, are available via the council's events listing. Find out more on the Richmond Council website.