Nottingham Playhouse has issued a call-out for a Director, a Writer and a Composer for Cinderella, announced as its 2026 festive show for younger children in the Neville Studio.
Submissions are sought from creatives who wish to create an original stage play for children aged 3 – 8 years old. The 50-minute show is performed in the Neville Studio and then tours to schools, libraries and other community settings across the region.
Adam Penford, Artistic Director at Nottingham Playhouse, commented:
“This is our sixth year of recruiting the Director, Writer and Composer for our Neville Studio Christmas show via an open call out, and it always yields impressive results. Each year we are bowled over by the level of talent displayed, and our selection panel has its work cut out making a decision.
“The open call out gives local theatremakers the opportunity to introduce Nottingham Playhouse to their work or to build on an existing relationship. The Little Mermaid this year has been a wonderful example of a writer/composer duo working hand in hand with a dynamic director to create something truly unique. We can’t wait to see what enchantment can be created with Cinderella.”
The open call-out is for a Director, who should be East Midlands or Midlands-based, and for a Writer and a Composer. Such call-outs enable Nottingham Playhouse to meet new theatremakers and helps remove potential barriers, ensuring equal access to opportunities. It builds upon the work through the Nottingham Playhouse Amplify programme for local artists, which now has over 1,000 members and provides masterclasses, workshops and career development opportunities.
The Designer for the production will be appointed through the Playhouse Prize, run in conjunction with Nottingham Trent University, from their BA (Hons) Design for Theatre and Live Performance degree. This becomes the student’s first professional job after graduating and provides valuable experience for their CV.
For the fifth year running, the show will be designed and produced following the sustainability standard Baseline, as outlined in the Theatre Green Book. This standard requires that 50% of materials should have had a previous life and 65% of materials should be reused or recycled afterwards.
Nottingham Playhouse’s pioneering use of Creative Captioning will also feature again, using simple imagery on a screen to highlight key points in the story, making it more accessible to children who are hard of hearing or have issues with auditory processing. This is in addition to fully Captioned performances, BSL interpreted performances and Relaxed Performances.
The 2025 Christmas show for younger children, The Little Mermaid, was a fin-tastic success. With an adventurous, inventor mermaid, a host of under-the-sea characters and a treasure-trove of catchy original songs, it was a great hit with the young audiences – and the adults:
“A splashtastic performance not to be missed!”
LEFTLION
“This play is fun from start to finish, holding the children’s attention and fuelling their imagination with ingenious inventions, exciting heists and hilarious physical comedy.”
ELEMENTAL THEATRE
Submission deadlines for all three creatives are in January and February 2026, find out more on the website.
Posted on 07 January 2026
