Yes, it’s time for take-off, Departure Lounge is back from Thursday 2 to Saturday 4 July 2026! This year’s theme explores Unity & Community, how theatre connects and creates community both in the work we make and the way we make it. You can expect the freshest theatre shows from both the Midlands and beyond, all the weird and wonderful, with a Festival Pass. You’ll get front-row access to bold shows, fresh voices and the Midlands’ artists shaping what’s next. Come to workshops, talks, networking events, and much more. 

Departure Lounge 2026 is a festival without barriers, including BSL-interpreted and integrated performances and events, audio-described shows, fully wheelchair-accessible festival spaces throughout and more. Come and join us for front-row access to fearless new work, immersive experiences and the energy of a festival that’s open to everyone.  

Join us for three packed days of the Midlands’ most exciting new work. This year’s line-up is bigger than ever: hands-on workshops with Common/Wealth and Punchdrunk Enrichment, exclusive Fringe preview such as Charity Shop Sue’s Selina Mosinski, and the ever-popular panel discussion – where industry leaders and Midlands’ artists unpack the state of the theatre landscape right now. If you care about new theatre, this is where it’s happening.

Get ready for take-off! 

Departure Lounge 2026 launches on Thursday 2 July, with opening night kicking off with FROM SCRATCH! In Good Company’s scratch night will involve 4 performances of new work. Expect bold, engaging and exciting new work in progress, in which audiences will have the opportunity to give feedback on the performances. FROM SCRATCH! offers a pay-what-you-can accessible option starting from £2.50. To celebrate the new work and opening of Departure Lounge, the launch will be celebrated with a DJ dance party, spinning tracks all night in spectacular style. The PWYC ticket also includes access to the official launch night after party. 

For Friday 3 July, expect fun and familiarity. In Good Company’s annual Panel Discussion returns, for artists and creatives to network, gain insight from industry professionals and more. This year’s panel will consist of: Sarah Brigham (Artistic Director and CEO at Derby Theatre), Evie Manning (Co-Artistic Director of Common/Wealth), Steve McCourt (Theatre-maker and director), and Selina Thompson (Artistic Director, Selina Thompson). Attenders can experience the premier of work-in-progress, Mess, a new play by Laura Goulden, supported by In Good Company Take Off Writers Award 2024. Family ties make the messiest knots; watch family dynamics unfold in British Sign Language. Common/Wealth presents Doing It Yourself Workshop, offering a brief introduction to a range of practical exercises to enable participants to work with others to create political theatre and make social change. Friday also brings Puss in Boots: A Working Class Fairytale. Before she was viral cult icon Charity Shop Sue, Selina Mosinski was Randy Cain. Join for a darkly funny, glitter-stained confession about how far we’ll go in the name of fame and fortune. In Bed with My Brother presents Philosophy of the World, part tribute act, part feminist reclamation, part fever dream, PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD is about power, patriarchy, band t-shirts, daddy issues and three sisters, who didn’t want to be a band but it was their destiny. 

For the final day of Unity & Community, Saturday 4 July concludes with captivating theatre and workshops alike. Punchdrunk Enrichment present their workshop as part of Departure Lounge Festival 2026. In this participatory session, you’ll learn how Punchdrunk Enrichment creates narratives that place the audience as the protagonists of the story, use design as a storytelling driver and champion child voice as a creative tool. Shows for the audience start with Hot Pot. A story of a tender examination of friendship and the small betrayal of adulthood comes to the studio. Hot Pot will include an Audio Descriptive Introduction before the start of the performance. LOVE**WORK is a multi-year performative project that gathers fragments of memory, built from stories collected in Switzerland, England, Pakistan and the Netherlands. The piece weaves anonymous testimonies into a polyphonic landscape where the intimate becomes collective, and the everyday reveals its political weight. An animation and audio experience comes to Departure Lounge with The Lightbulb Moment. It invites you to a digital world in miniature. Put on your headphones and come visit an apartment building humming with life, stories, and quiet revolutions with support for Blind and Visually Impaired audiences available on request. A Foot is not an Appropriate Prize for the Tombola is an Edinburgh Fringe Preview for Derby audiences. Lydia is ready to welcome you to the village green, so why not see if you can help her discover the mysteries of the tombola (and see if you can win a prize while you’re at it!). Saturday also brings The Conditional Citizen (Don’t You Want Me Baby?). This darkly humorous performance about the absurd dance of trying to fit in comes to the Garden Stage. 

SEE MORE FESTIVAL FOR LESS 
Festival passes grant access to some of the most exciting workshops in artist development and SAVE you money on standard prices. Alongside this, there any many free ways to still join in at Departure Lounge. The annual Panel Discussion on Friday 3 July is free and bookable, where the ticket also includes food and entry to the Networking Lunch straight after. For the Friday, the Artist Open Forum is also free of charge to join and drop in between 3pm – 5pm. 

For Saturday 4 July, In Good Company returns with the free Lonely Arts Club, between 3pm – 5:15pm. Enter IGC’s matchmaking service for likeminded artists! Searching for a director? Need a writer for an upcoming project? Looking for a Producer but just not found ‘the one’? In this very informal networking mixer, you can share your ideas and find your people without the pressure of cold calling or elevator pitches. From 4pm – 7pm, out in Derbados, Lightbulb Moment is free to attend. 

Jen Sullivan (In Good Company Creative Producer):  

“It’s an absolute pleasure to announce this year’s Departure Lounge Festival line up and to shout about the exceptional new performance being made in our region (and beyond). We’ve got another jam-packed programme of the best new shows you won’t catch elsewhere, works-in-progress, installations, discussions and workshops. Co-produced with our brilliant partner, Derby Theatre, the festival is our way of bringing together the freelance artistic community that In Good Company is here to serve. It’s a chance to bring everyone together, share the joy, develop new skills and expand your creative network – so whether you’re an established performance-maker or someone who’s curious to find out what it’s all about, you’re welcome here and there’s something for you. Our panel discussion will celebrate the value of skilled artists who work with and for communities, and we’ve increased the accessibility to the programme so be sure to check out what’s an offer. The past two years have sold out quickly so we’re expecting the festival passes to get snapped up quickly again.” 

Derby Theatre will be transformed into a vibrant festival hub, showcasing cutting-edge work from some of the UK’s most exciting artists and companies. Don’t miss out – join us for a thrilling celebration of live performance.  

Join us for the 14th year, filled with Unity & Community 

Follow Us!

For more information and Departure Lounge updates, visit the Derby Theatre website here: Departure Lounge 2026 – Derby Theatre or follow us on social media (Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube – @derbytheatre @igcmidlands).