Offies 2026: multiple winners crowned as awards embrace new model
More than 50 winners were announced at the 2026 OffWestEnd Awards on Monday night, as London’s independent theatre crowd packed into Central Hall Westminster.
On stage, Divina de Campo kept the room in check with quick, cutting jokes. In the aisles, applause rippled through the crowd every few minutes. During the interval, the queue for miniature prosecco bottles snaked through the hall — awards called for a celebration!
The winners came thick and fast — no slow build to a single name, but clusters of artists called up together across each category. Established figures like Tim Supple and Philip Ridley shared the stage with emerging voices, often announced in the same breath.
Productions such as Brixton Calling, Mama Goose, Scenes from the Climate Era, and The Paper Dolls were honoured in the Production category, while performers including Rochelle Rose, Rachael Bellis, and Julia McDermott received awards across multiple performance categories. Elsewhere, recognition spanned staging, design, sound, creation, and innovation, with no single “winner” crowning each field.This inclusivity stems from a structural change. Gone are the fixed categories; instead, the Offies now celebrate broad “Areas of Exceptional Contribution”. Each area can include several winners, which meant the night moved quickly, but also that far more people left the stage with something in hand.
This year’s ceremony also reached beyond the room for the first time, with a live broadcast produced with The Theatre Channel and ChewBoy Productions. Video messages from Sadiq Khan and Stephen Fry were woven into the evening, adding extra gravitas and a sense that the Offies are stepping further into the wider London stage scene.
Behind the scenes, a quieter change has taken place. A new membership system — full or in-kind — now determines eligibility for the awards, linking it to whether venues are part of the OffWestEnd platform. This change will underpin how the awards operate.
Still, inside the hall, the focus stayed on the work. Venues including the Bush Theatre, Arcola Theatre and Southwark Playhouse appeared again and again as winners were announced, reflecting just how much of the year’s output had passed through their stages.
Sixteen years in, the Offies have built a reputation for spotting shows early — Fleabag, Baby Reindeer, Operation Mincemeat. This year’s edition felt less like picking standouts and more like taking stock of everything happening at once.
You can find more information on the official website.
OffWestEnd ‘Offies’ Awards 2026 – Full list of winners
Production
- Brixton Calling / Southwark Playhouse Borough / Kick It Anywhere
- L’Elisir d’Amore / St. Paul’s Church, SW4 / St Paul’s Opera
- Letters From Max / Hampstead Theatre / Hampstead Theatre
- Mama Goose / Stratford East / Stratford East
- One Man Musical / Underbelly Boulevard / Flo & Joan And Avalon
- Scenes from the Climate Era / Playground Theatre / Gate Theatre
- The Mystery of Irma Vep – a Penny Dreadful / Jack Studio Theatre / Jack Studio Theatre
- The Paper Dolls / Little Angel Theatre / Little Angel Theatre, Polka Theatre
- When the World Turns / Southbank Centre / Oily Cart
Staging
- Rowan Armitt-brewster / A Brief Case of Crazy / Riverside Studios
- Ashley Pearson / L’Incoronazione di Poppea / Jacksons Lane
- Tim Supple / The Passenger / Finborough Theatre
- Jamie Hale, Marcella Rick, Claire Beerjeraz / Transpose Pit Party: SUBVERSE / Barbican
Performance
- The Cast / After Sunday / Bush Theatre
- Samuel Barnett, Victoria Yeates / Ben and Imo / Orange Tree Theatre
- Rochelle Rose / Black Power Desk / Brixton House
- Paul Keating / Clive / Arcola Theatre
- Ben J Packer / Dick Whittington Pantomime / Harrow Arts Centre
- Theano Papadaki / L’Incoronazione di Poppea / Jacksons Lane
- Anthony Spargo, Louise Cielecki / Peter Pan: A Pantomime Adventure / Greenwich Theatre
- Rachael Bellis / The Sea Horse by Edward J. Moore / Golden Goose
- Julia Mcdermott / Weather Girl / Soho Theatre
Design
- David Shields / Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Story / Charing Cross Theatre
- Derek Anderson / Brixton Calling / Southwark Playhouse Borough
- Isabella Van Braeckel / Die Rheinnixen / Battersea Arts Centre
- Mydd Pharo, Cheng Keng / Loop / Theatre503
- Design Creative Team / Not A Word / Barbican
- Oliver Hymans, Dan Southwell / Overheard in a Towerblock / Little Angel Theatre
- Katie Scott, Eve Oakley / Period Parrrty / Soho Theatre
- Anisha Fields, Jonathan Chan, Maia Kirkman-richards / The Firework Maker’s Daughter / Polka Theatre
- Mona Camille / The Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights / Park Theatre
- Karl Swinyard, Kate Bannister / The Mystery of Irma Vep – a Penny Dreadful / Jack Studio Theatre
Sound and Music
- Max Pappenheim, Tendai Humphrey Sitma, Max Runham / Brixton Calling / Southwark Playhouse Borough
- The Band & Ashton Moore / Cry-Baby, The Musical / Arcola Theatre
- ABH Beatbox (alexander Belgarion Hackett) / Dracapella / Park Theatre
- John Patrick Elliott, Giles Thomas / KENREX / Southwark Playhouse Borough
- Jonathan Darbourne And The Band / La Cenerentola / Jacksons Lane
- Estelle Charlier, Martin Kaspar Orkestar / La Manékine / Barbican
- Leo Geyer / The Elixir of Love (Re-imagined) / Arcola Theatre
- Gerel Falconer, 3D Williams / Tones – A Hip-Hop Opera / Brixton House
Creation
- Diane Samuels, Titania Krimpas / As Long As We Are Breathing / Arcola Theatre
- David Javerbaum, Adam Schlessinger / Cry-Baby, The Musical / Arcola Theatre
- Jack Holden, Ed Stambollouian / KENREX / Southwark Playhouse Borough
- Katsiaryna Snytsina / KS6: Small Forward / Barbican
- Megan Prescott / Really Good Exposure / Soho Theatre
- Phillip Ridley / Tarantula / Arcola Theatre
Innovation
- Malakaï Sargeant, Khadija Raza, Will Monks / …blackbird hour / Bush Theatre
- Khadija Raza, Malakaï Sargeant / …blackbird hour / Bush Theatre
- Oli Savage / The Lost Library of Leake Street / The Glitch
Industry & Inclusion
- Futures Theatre / Argos Archives / Omnibus
- Liam Holmes / Mr Jones / Finborough Theatre
- Georgia Brenchley, Louis Edwards, Alex Marshall, Giada Rocca / Peter Pan: A Pantomime Adventure / Greenwich Theatre
- Joanna Turner, Baseless Fabric / The Elixir of Love (Re-imagined) / Arcola Theatre
- Alexandra O’neill / Too Many Books / Upstairs at the Gatehouse
- Oily Cart / When the World Turns / Southbank Centre
OffFest
- OffFest (BRIGHTON FRINGE) | Electra / BN1 Arts Centre / The Conor Baum Company
- OffFest (CAMDEN FRINGE) | Spin Cycle / Etcetera Theatre / Berserk Theatre
- OffFest (EDINBURGH FRINGE) | ALTAR / Underbelly, George Square, The Wee Coo. / Presented by Extraterrestrial. Produced by Em Tambree. Production Management by Kyra Ryan.
- OffFest (EDINBURGH FRINGE) | Ohio / Assembly Roxy Upstairs / Francesca Moody Productions
- OffFest (EDINBURGH FRINGE) | Small Town Boys / Zoo Southside Main House / Company: Shaper/Caper
- OffFest (VOILA!) | Naran Ja / The Playground Theatre / logica picnic
Featured image: Left Top Jamie Hale Transpose Pit Party SUBVERSE Barbican
Left Bottom Rachael Bellis The Sea Horse by Edward J. Moore Golden Goose
Middle Futures Theatre Argos Archives Omnibus
Top Right Megan Prescott Really Good Exposure Soho Theatre
Bottom Right: Rowan Armitt-Brewster A Brief Case of Crazy Riverside Studios
Elena Leo is the Culture & Lifestyle Editor of Ikon London Magazine.
