Ey Love. Got the popcorn? No, not that kind, its best if you pop the kettle on – Grace here with a bit of theatrical hot gossip from the cobbled streets of Edinburgh. The Popcorn Group – that’s filmmaker Charlotte Colbert’s outfit – has once again teamed up with ten of the Fringe’s top venues to sniff out the freshest, boldest new writing. The 2025 Popcorn Writing Award shortlist has just dropped, and it’s 26 plays’ worth of “well, I didn’t see that coming” storytelling.
Theatre Village has been on the money this Fringe – dishing out 5-star reviews to both Hot Mess and In the Black, and calling it early that Hot Mess and Rodney Black: Who Cares? It’s Working would be ones to watch long before the first flyer hit the Royal Mile. Well done, teams!
This year’s line-up is all about characters grabbing the reins of their own lives – and sometimes snatching them right out of someone else’s hands. We’re talking the swaggering drag alter ego of KING, the culture-clash chaos of LEI-LDN, and In The Black’s razor-sharp takedown of race, capitalism, and Wall Street ambition. There’s the musical joy-in-the-face-of-loss that is Ohio: The Bengsons, an Albanian grandfather-granddaughter road trip in The Land of Eagles, and Refuse, where a Ukrainian bin man bears witness to the shadows before war. Meanwhile, Consumed locks four generations of Northern Irish women in a house brimming with secrets and dares you to look away.
Inequality’s got its own moment in the spotlight too. Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak takes on the housing crisis via a community’s eccentric bid to re-enact history, while Brainsluts slyly pokes at the bizarre hoops we jump through for a sense of security. And then there’s the gloriously unclassifiable stuff: HOLE! – a queer apocalyptic musical with cults and… let’s just say “unique accessories” – and Hot Mess, where Earth and Humanity’s epic relationship ends in a climate crisis breakup ballad. And before you ask – yes, Theatre Village was ahead of the pack tipping Hot Mess weeks ago.
Charlotte Colbert herself says this year’s shortlist is “exhilarating in its breadth and bravery,” which I translate as: these writers are taking big swings, landing them, and looking fabulous while doing it. The Popcorn Award’s always been about giving space to voices that don’t play it safe – and the results speak for themselves, with past winners moving on to Soho Theatre, the Royal Court, and even TV commissions.
Last year saw VL and Weather Girl share the prize, with Weather Girl recently strutting its stuff in a sold-out Soho run. Other finalists have been snapped up by big-name stages, and even the special mentions have found second lives elsewhere.
Every shortlisted writer gets quality one-on-one time with Popcorn Group and BBC Writers, plus the UK and Irish longlistees get a crack at the BBC Writers Voices 2026 programme. The final decision? That’ll be down to a yet-to-be-revealed panel of industry voices, with the winners crowned on Wednesday 20th August at 11am at the Pleasance Courtyard Cabaret Bar.
So there you have it – the shortlist’s out, the stakes are high, and my satchel’s positively humming with excitement. And if history’s anything to go by, you’ll want to keep an eye on the names I’ve already been shouting about – I tend to be right.
This year’s ten partner venues are Assembly, Gilded Balloon, Pleasance, Summerhall Arts,
theSpaceUK, Traverse, Underbelly, Greenside, ZOO Venues and new for 2024, Paradise Green.
The Popcorn Award 2025 shortlisted plays are (in alphabetical order):
Body Count by Issy Knowles, Pleasance
In a time when all it takes to become a millionaire porn star is an iPhone and a dream, Body
Count zeroes in on this cultural shift to explore whether it’s ever truly possible to separate
emotion from sex.
Bog Body by Jen Tucker, Paradise Green
Love, death, decay and desire. As the grieving Petra begins to trawl through the lonely marshes
of Lindow Moss, she finds more than she bargained for. She finds him. An experimental and
bizarre dark comedy, Bog Body is a solo piece about a young woman’s marriage to the Lindow
Man.
Brainsluts by Dan Bishop, Pleasance
Five Sundays. Five strangers. One mystery drug. Oversharing ensues, secrets emerge and the
stresses of their precarious lives are laid bare. This may not be the dream, but if the participants
listen to each other, they might just learn something. Or maybe they won’t.
Cara and Kelly Are Best Friends Forever by Mojola Akinyemi, Pleasance
Cara and Kelly are best friends, soulmates even. It’s 2013, they’re 14 and in their prime! But
when a strange new face arrives, unprecedented chaos ensues. Things that once seemed certain
are no longer clear, forcing the girls into action…
Consumed by Karis Kelly, Traverse
Four generations of Northern Irish women, reunited at the family home, celebrating a 90th
birthday party that no-one seems to want. A house full of hungry ghosts, with more than one
skeleton in the closet. Make sure you turn your phones off at dinner.
Don’t Tell Dad About Diana by Conor Murray & Hannah Power, Underbelly
Dublin, 1997. Two friends prepare a Princess Diana drag act for Alternative Miss Ireland, hiding
it from their hardline nationalist families. As Diana’s death rocks the world, secrets unravel,
friendships strain, and escape plans falter in this fast-paced two-hander packed with comedy,
courage, and coming-of-age chaos.
Fuselage by Annie Lareau, Pleasance
21st December 1988: Annie Lareau was meant to be on Pan Am 103 with 35 of her classmates,
heading home for Christmas. The lives of a tight-knit group of friends intertwine with the voices
of Lockerbie locals – set against a ticking clock of prophetic nightmares and a terrorist plot.
HOLE! by Jake Brasch & Nadja Leonhard-Hooper, Underbelly
HOLE! is a musical about a religious sect in Nebraska who think they must wear butt plugs at all
times, or they’ll be sucked up to burn on the sun. Turns out, they’re right. Two young men who
are definitely not in love venture out to discover life outside their cult.
Hot Mess by Jack Godfrey & Ellie Coote, Pleasance
Hot Mess: a new musical. After a billion years of bad dates, Earth’s finally found the one…
Humanity. Sparks fly. Wheat is harvested. Technology flourishes. But what begins as a
passionate love affair between the universe’s most iconic couple quickly descends into a Hot
Mess. From the creative duo behind 42 Balloons comes a new pop musical about love, hope,
and the ultimate break up.
I Dream in Colour by Jasmine Thien, Underbelly
Sophie has a choice: surgically remove her one remaining eye, or keep it and risk eye cancer.
Again. As her world and relationships collapse around her, Sophie is forced to confront past
memories and present-day experiences that have taught her to believe she has no agency over
her own body.
In the Black by Quaz Degraft, theSpaceUK
In The Black is a dark comedic solo show about Kofi, a first-generation Ghanaian American
navigating Wall Street. Caught between ambition and family pressure, he begins to question
how far he’ll go to succeed. The play explores identity and ambition in a world that was never
built for him to win.
In the Land of Eagles by Alexandra Reynolds, Pleasance
Her and Grandpa are different and not the same. She’s got MySpace, he’s got his bench by the
back gate. When Grandpa asks to go home, he doesn’t mean next door. Albania is far, he can’t
go alone. Soon they’ll journey together, into the heart of a place unknown.
JACKIE!!! A New Musical by Max Alexander-Taylor, Nancy Edwards & Joe McNeice, Gilded
Balloon
Jacqueline Bouvier dreams of becoming the first American Royal, but discovers that life atop the
throne might not be worth the curse that hangs over it. This new musical comedy blends
shocking history with punchy jokes and an original score to shine a light on Jackie’s tenure as
First Lady.
KING by Jo Tan, Summerhall Arts
Geok Yen is a public relations executive whose safe stable life gets upturned when on impulse,
she attends the party in the guise of a man, Stirling da Silva. Emboldened by the alter ego, Yen
discovers a newfound confidence to be whatever she could be without self-judgement.
LEI – LDN by Na-keisha Pebody, Pleasance
A vibrant exploration of identity, culture, and belonging. Set between Leicester and South
London, LEI-LDN follows Chardaye, a mixed-race teen with opinions, attitude, and no clue where
she fits in. This isn’t a smooth coming-of-age tale—it’s loud, funny, and full of culture shocks.
Lovett by Lucy Roslyn, Pleasance
Newly widowed, Mrs Lovett “recalibrates” her relationship with God. The scales of social justice
may be tipped against her, but Eleanor has counterweights of her own: creativity, a can-do
spirit, and a dream of joys to come. A darkly comic tale of a young woman before she meets
Sweeney Todd.
MILES. by Oliver Kaderbhai, Summerhall Arts
MILES. delves into the life of Miles Davis, creator of the influential jazz album – Kind of Blue.
Charting his life as a black musician in pre-civil-rights America, heroin addiction and obsession
with music, MILES. explores what it takes to be an artist in a world designed to hold you back.
Ohio: The Bengsons by Shaun and Abigail Bengson, Assembly
When Shaun turned his back on the church, he found a new home in music. Confronted now
with acute degenerative hearing loss, he’s choosing to live joyfully in the face of life’s
unanswerable questions. An exhilarating and celebratory true story by real-life folk musician
couple Shaun and Abigail Bengson.
Ordinary Decent Criminal by Ed Edwards, Summerhall Arts
Set in the years following the Strangeways Prison Riot, meet recovering addict Frankie, as he
enters the new world of a liberal prison experiment. None of Frankie’s fellow convicts are what
they seem. In the most unexpected of places, he discovers that the revolution is not dead. It’s
just sleeping.
PEOPLE WE BURY ALIVE by Anna Krauze, Zoo
Rita, a Polish immigrant and mortuary worker, runs a support group for people who have been
buried alive. But can she practice what she preaches? Because the thing is, she just buried her
ex alive. A dark comedy with slam poetry; exploring immigration, grief and lost connections.
r/Conspiracy by Ella Hällgren, Gilded Balloon
Alex tumbles headfirst into the rabbit hole when she spots a Reddit thread documenting a
mysterious machete man roaming her local park. But the harder she digs, the deeper she falls…
Meet your next digital obsession – a virtual mystery romp for 20-somethings, with the weight of
the world on their shoulders.
Refuse by Lucy McIlgorm, Assembly
Week in, week out, Maks collects bins. He knows his neighbours and trusted route like the back
of his hand. Set in the run up to the war and inspired by a news story about Ukrainian refuse
workers, this play explores how ordinary people refuse to break under unimaginable
circumstances.
Rodney Black: Who Cares? It’s Working by Sadie Pearson, Gilded Balloon
Rodney Black is an up-and-coming stand-up. Thanks to a two-fingers-up-to-polite-society
approach, and a money-hungry manager, his career is at its peak as he titillates and aggravates
with equal measure. But, when a joke of his inspires a violent crime, Rodney must grapple with
the ethical implications of his new found spotlight.
Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak by Victoria Melody, Pleasance
Victoria Melody joined a historical re-enactment society because we all deal with divorce
differently! Ever the obsessive, she uncovered the story of the17th-century Diggers, who
occupied common land. This investigation into their modern-day equivalents – community
organisers and campaigners uses storytelling and stand-up to explore land, power and working
class resistance.
Wanted by Eleanor Higgins, Underbelly
Two girls from opposite worlds are fated to meet on the London 2009 queer scene. Bonded by
rage, trauma and Tony Soprano, the duo launch a morally dubious revenge spree. But when
consequences come knocking, they must decide: double down, or walk away? A darkly funny
tale of queer friendship, survival, revenge and just enough chaos to make you wonder if you’d
have done the same.
Woman in the Arena by Jen DiGiacomo, Greenside
A neurodivergent parent discovers a suicide note and unravels under the weight of trauma,
nightmares, and secrecy. What better ingredients for a comedy? Woman in the Arena is a raw,
darkly funny solo play about shame, survival, and selfhood — and the dangerous cost of silence.
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