Expanded queer writing festival to run this summer

BokFest will return to London this June with an expanded programme of new queer writing, following its debut last year.

The 2026 edition will run for four weeks, increasing from three, and will feature eight productions, up from six.

The festival was created by artistic directors Josh Maughan and Freddie Acaster in response to barriers faced by early-career playwrights in bringing new work to production. Hosted at the Hope Theatre, where Springbok is an associate company, the festival works with the venue to support writers through the full process of staging new work.

Rather than offering performance slots alone, BokFest provides a producing framework that includes connecting playwrights with collaborators, as well as support across marketing, press and technical delivery.

The 2026 programme has been expanded following open submissions that attracted a large number of entries from queer writers.

The festival opens with Baleen (1 to 3 June) by Mio Lobban, which draws on Caribbean folklore alongside puppetry and movement to explore Black British heritage and queer and trans identity. This is followed by Rosalie Roger-Lacan’s EAT YOU (4 to 6 June), a two-hander described as a “cannibal meets stalker lesbian rom-com”.

Wayne Middleton’s The Last Halloween of Diablo (8 to 10 June) centres on a relationship at a Halloween party that escalates, while Chloe Casel’s MUD (11 to 13 June) is set across four summers at an American camp and focuses on gender identity and adolescence.

Giulia Fincato’s MOTHERTONGUE (15 to 17 June) explores communication and connection between two women, and Silas Thomas’s Ketchup & Mayo (18 to 20 June) examines family relationships and ambition.

Tom Homer’s The Worst Possible Nice Thing (22 to 24 June), set in late-1980s Britain, looks at friendship and secrecy, and the programme concludes with George Rennie’s Tartarus (25 to 27 June), which reworks the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice through gig theatre.

The festival’s visual identity has been designed by Daniel Hintner, including individual artwork for each production.

BokFest runs from 1 to 27 June at The Hope Theatre.