North Wall ArtsLab 2026

The jewel in the crown of Oxford University student theatre is back for another year! The beautiful North Wall theatre offers only one slot to student productions a year, plus unmissable mentoring support. Available only to performances of new-writing or devised theatre, this scheme allow a student company to a take a step forward to professional work.

Part of The North Wall’s ArtsLab programme, the successful company has access to rare and developed mentoring from the theatre’s staff. From guidance and support on directorial technique, marketing, tech, dramaturgy and more, this slot offers a company of student to launch themselves as early-career theatre makers – it’s really not an opportunity to miss!

The selected student company will be given access to the theatre for performances and technical rehearsal in the w/c 1st June 2026 (TTW6).

Since starting in 2015, the ArtsLab Student Programme has boosted the early theatrical careers of numerous graduates. Past student companies and productions to be part of this scheme include:

  • Buzzcut Productions’ Bark Bark (2023). Nominated  for New Diorama’s Untapped Award. The production followed its North Wall run with a month of sold-out performances with Summerhall at the Edinburgh Fringe, and has since been picked up for a tour of the South-East with the House Theatre Network.

  • Goya Theatre’s Smart Casual (2021). In the four-years since their North Wall production, Goya have become an award winning theatre company and have returned to the venue with work as professional artists. As individuals they have been employed by The Orange Tree Theatre, Punchdrunk and Plaines Plough.

  • Poltergeist Theatre’s Lights Over Tesco Car Park (2017). Described as ‘one of the UK’s best young theatre companies’ (The Guardian), Poltergeist’s student production with The North Wall turned professional and won The Samuel French New Play award 2018 - the script was even published!

How to Apply

Take a look at the attached application form for information on how to apply. The University Drama Officer is on hand to advise and support your application – we recommend contacting them before you apply!

For any questions, please contact Noah Wild, The University Drama Officer, at drama.officer@admin.ox.ac.uk

Application Pack: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Oi8CVjNKzuguGKmVAGf0rgh9JY04E5A-/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=115139945214134501765&rtpof=true&sd=true

Deadline: 9am Monday 24th November 2025 (MTW7)