Elevate Festival 2025

Philosophy of the World

The Fringe First Award-winning show from In Bed with My Brother.

Daddy’s hired the venue, paid the deposit and organised the photoshoot. Our first Fringe show in six years. So, this is fate. This is our PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD – inspired by the best worst band of all time, The Shaggs. We’ll play the band. You play the audience. It’ll be perfect. Load up on guns, bring your friends. (Free soda on admission.)

‘Ear-splittingly loud, raucous, rambling, thoughtful, clever, provocative and absolutely and utterly brilliant.’
★★★★★ What’s On Stage

‘Effervescent and bubbling at the brim with anger, wit and vitality’
★★★★★Corr Blimey

‘A furious and funny rallying cry against patriarchy and perfection’
★★★★ The Stage

Adapting Exe Men Workshop

Acclaimed screenwriter Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes) and Northcott Creative Director Martin Berry in conversation about the Northcott world premiere production of Exe Men. The two discussed their process of bringing the iconic story to the stage, including taking questions, lifting the lid on how Ashley made the transition from screen to stage, and how they handled a cast of 40 people and a play with 31 scenes.

This event was exclusively for Elevate members.

Scratch Night

In collaboration with Exeter Phoenix

A bunch of local theatre makers, comedians, dancers, musicians, actors and clowns are going to try some new things.

Audiences sampled the delights of a smorgasbord of bold, fresh, new work in progress performances. It’s the first crucial part of a journey for the acts and a left-field night like no other for the audience.

This event took place at Exeter Phoenix. 

Elevate Shorts

Brand-new short plays, brought to life by a team of directors and actors from across the region.

BeanyBroadums by Michael Ramus, Directed by Rachael Walsh
Dogging by Hattie Collins, Directed by Helen Gilbert
Old Wives Tale by Charlie Coldfield, Directed by Helen Gilbert
Mary Hartley and the Peacocks by Nash Colundalur, Directed by Rachael Walsh

Playing Dead (but why am i still talking?)

When a young woman dies and wakes up post-mortem on a theatre floor, she is forced to keep performing in this sharp, slippery, and honest solo show about the chaos of being perceived, the terror of intimacy, and how some stories won’t die until you tell them right.

Written by Rosalie Roger-Lacan and performed by Alice Bebber.

Titus Andronichus – A Rehearsed Reading

Our company of professional actors presented a script-in-hand reading of William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. Probably Shakespeare’s most controversial play, this was an invitation to reflect on the nature of authority and explore what happens when personal and political motivations mingle and clash to the extreme.

Newsicals

An evening of drinks, chat and ideas for new musicals hosted by Documental Productions, Newsicals showcases original musical theatre songs by local talent, demonstrating Devon’s new musical theatre scene and showcasing a number of exciting and ambitious new musicals, including work by Shotgun Theatre, Lizi Bennett,James Joshua Otto, Kat Kleve, Naomi Turner, Rachael Gleghorn and Micha Mirto.

Click the booking link for the full line-up.

The Shakespeare Gym Workshop

An opportunity for local performers to practise their classical sight-reading skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Using blind casting, we exploreed various parts of the Titus Andronicus text together, helping actors feel more confident when approaching classical texts.

This event was exclusively for Elevate members.