Programming policy

At Play to the Crowd, we believe in the power of live performance to connect, inspire, and bring people together. Whether you are an established touring company, an outdoor arts performer, or a local creative, we want to hear about work that aligns with our mission.

What we programme

We programme creative work across two primary platforms in Winchester:

  • Theatre Royal Winchester: Our beautiful, 400‑seat heritage theatre.
  • Hat Fair: Our distinctive, internationally renowned Outdoor Arts Festival.

Our vision & programming themes

Every piece of work we stage or support must feed into our charity’s core vision: to delight and unite our communities through live performance and participation.

We are particularly interested in work that fulfils one or more of our three programming themes:

  • Think: Performance that explores ideas, encourages us to see the world through different eyes, and develops new insights and perspectives.
  • Chuckle: Performance that makes people laugh and explores different, creative ways of doing so.
  • Wow: Visual performance that is exciting to watch, spectacular, or highly skilful — the kind of work that makes audiences go, "Wow, that was amazing!"

Artist support

We do more than just receive touring shows; we actively champion the artists who make them. Here is how we can work together:

  • 'In association with' partnerships: We can provide essential space and technical support at Theatre Royal Winchester in early January and early September. This is designed to help selected professional work get a show on its feet prior to a national tour.
  • Co‑producing: While we are mainly a receiving venue (producing only our annual pantomime in-house), we are increasingly interested in joining consortia of like‑minded organisations to co‑produce exciting new work. We look for projects — either for the middle-scale indoors or the Outdoor Arts touring circuit — that can attract significant audiences and have a life beyond a single season.
  • Local Creatives: We have a growing network of local creatives who get involved with us through regular socials, masterclasses, curated connect sessions, Atrium Live platforms, and Local Talent nights.

Discover more about our Local Creatives Programme on the Play to the Crowd website.

How to get involved

If you have a show, project, or idea that aligns with our programming policy, we'd love to hear from you.