Collective Arts Community Trust announces the return of Collective Fringe, an artist-led festival dedicated to platforming emerging and upcoming theatre-makers. Running from Wednesday 21st to Sunday 25th January 2026 at the Collective Acting Studio in London’s Hornsey Road Baths (N7 7EE), the festival challenges the status quo by giving creatives the freedom to take risks and experiment.
Growing out of the thriving creative environment of the Collective Acting Studio, the five-day event offers audiences and industry a unique look at the talent development pipeline, from early experiments in an opening Scratch Night to four powerful, fully realised new productions. The festival’s impact is already clear: artists from the 2025 cohort secured places on the Bush Theatre Writers’ Group and development funding supported by Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Rooted in an ethos of equity, collaboration, and community, Collective Fringe centres early-career, Global Majority, disabled, and underrepresented artists. The team is led by Festival Director Paul Harvard (History Boys) and includes Dramaturg Sabrina Richmond and Producer Laura Battisti, bringing vast experience from major UK stages.
Crucially, the festival is committed to equitable development. Participating artists receive three weeks of free rehearsal space, dramaturgical support, producer mentorship, and a generous 70% gross box office split. Main-house productions also receive a \textsterling400 upfront fee, recognising the need to support artists financially.
This year features exciting new partnerships, including Trybe House Theatre premiering Richard Adetunj’s Ego’s Killing the Mandem, and a collaboration with Tara Theatre to present RUKHSATI by Saqib Deshmukh. These join Paz Koloman Kaiba’s Asylum King, with a fourth production to be announced.
Festival Director Paul Harvard comments, “This festival is about giving space, time and belief to early-career voices who deserve to be seen and heard at a moment when opportunities across the industry are shrinking. We are proud to be platforming a range of powerful new plays full of joy and flavour. Everybody is welcome, and we truly mean that.”
Tickets are available now, offering multi-show passes.
