We’re thrilled to announce Pop-Up Plays 2026, our first-ever season of short, site-specific plays popping up in unexpected spaces across Derby and Leicester this March.
Presented in collaboration with Derby Theatre and Curve, with support by Fuel, Pop-Up Plays brings two powerful new works by East Midlands playwrights directly to audiences — in car parks, pubs and social clubs — meeting people where they are.
Two world premieres
Pop-Up Plays 2026 features two world premieres, produced from seed to stage in under a year:
TRANS IT
by Tabby Lamb
directed by Bryony Shanahan
associate produced by Just Something Different
Tabby Lamb is a leading trans writer and performer on the British Theatre scene, originally from the Midlands. She was the winner of a Fringe First Award in 2022, which celebrates the best new writing at the Edinburgh Fringe, for Happy Meal.
“To silence a monster, you just have to undo him”
Tonight, for these Dolls, it’s time to take the power back.
Past-dark in a deserted city car park. Caught in the headlights of a transit van, Mzz Harmony’s chain-smoking and Mzz Melody’s got lightning in her bones. Only two state-approved genders remain. In this horrifyingly near-future, those who don’t conform are hunted or disappeared. And now James F***ing Gulliver MP is building his career calling girls like them a threat to civilisation. Classic, right?
Hunted, mocked, failed and fed on, the Dolls are done running. It’s time to decide what kind of future they’ll carve out —and what they’re willing to risk to get there. Revenge always starts simple, doesn’t it?
In a world where the state wants you gone and the Gods are dead, TRANS IT is a fiercely human, bitingly funny horror story dipped in glitter, for anyone who’s ever been othered. Join us at Level 4, parking bay C3. The engine’s already running.
Age guidance: 16+
Running time: approx. 40 minutes
Content Advisors: Contains references to and description of serious violence
LAD
by John Booker
directed by Daniel Bailey
John Booker is a new writer, born in Coventry and raised in Derby, whose first script BWOY DEM won the 2021 Take Off competition with In Good Company and had a rehearsed reading at Derby Theatre. He is currently under commission to The Bush, Paines Plough, Middle Child & Derby Theatre and is a member of the Royal Court Writer’s Group. LAD is John’s debut production.
“I just wanna have a chat with you to be honest, Luke.”
England vs. Spain, Euro 2024 Final. Jack’s back from Uni, Luke’s back from doing time.
Two lads meets for pints. Their old local’s rammed and there’s three years of silence to catch up on. Best friends since school, Jack never visited, and Luke hasn’t told the whole story.
Between us mates, nothing’s off limits, right? But the pub’s shiny refurb can’t gloss over their shared history, as truth and emotion spill over onto the sticky carpet. Under the bravado, banter and bullshittery, is something tougher to tackle. When people say be kind, they mean to the people they disagree with?
As the tap opens and the pints flow, honesty hits hard, and when the final whistle blows can there be victory?
Funny, raw and heartbreakingly human, LAD strikes deep into the heart of modern masculinity, friendship, class, racism, and love.
Staged inside the buzz of your local boozer, get immersed in a bold new play about mates, mistakes and what it really takes to be a man – all set against the roar of the beautiful game.
Age guidance: 14+ (under 18’s to be accompanied by an adult)
Running time: approx. 40 minutes
Content Advisors: Contains references to violence, misogyny and racism
Together, TRANS IT and LAD explore identity, belonging and what it costs to be yourself in a Britain shaped by division, culture wars and pressure to perform versions of ourselves that don’t fit.
Theatre, anywhere
Pop-Up Plays is Fifth Word’s response to the shrinking opportunities for new writing on our stages. By creating short, high-impact work designed for non-theatre spaces, we’re opening up new ways for audiences to encounter bold new plays.
As Fifth Word Artistic Director Laura Ford says:
“Pop-Up Plays is about getting new writing in front of audiences at a time when opportunities for playwrights are shrinking. These plays are bold, rooted in the region, and designed to meet audiences in unexpected places — whether that’s a car park at night or a Midlands pub.”
Dates & locations
Pop-Up Plays 2026 runs across Derby and Leicester in March 2026, with performances in a range of pop-up locations including theatre car parks, pubs and social clubs.
Full listings and booking information can be found here.
Image designs by Steph Pyne