Travel Information

What venue(s) will be a part of the festival?

The festival will take place at The Vat and Fiddle - an old fashioned English pub with a lovely 100 seater theatre space at the back. The venue is completely accessible.

The venue is walking distance from the train station.







What lodging options are available?

The venue is in Nottingham city centre so a wide variety of hotel and hostel options are available, as well as AirBnbs.

The nearest hotel is the Jury's Inn Nottingham: https://www.jurysinns.com/hotels/nottingham
Rooms for the weekend start at £300.


What transportation options are available?

Nottingham is centrally located in England and easy to get to from other cities and has award winning public transport within the city and a walkable city-centre.

East Midlands Airport is the closest airport and flies to many cities in Europe and beyond, and you can get from the airport to the city via train or bus - both dropping you on the festivals doorstep. Other airports are easily accessible via trains and buses which can get you easily to Birmingham, Manchester, various London Airports, and many more, meaning the festival is easy to get to from almost anywhere on the planet.

Festival Information

How much stage time will performers receive?

25-30 minute slot in a show where they are paired up with a complementary team from elsewhere on the planet to make an hour long show.

Each team will take home 25% of the profit from ticket sales on their paired hour long show.



What is the range of shows and styles the festival is seeking?

We want people to apply with the shows they love doing. Forget what will sell. We're less interested in whether it's short or long form - if it's a fancy format or by-the-book. We want the show that you want to do - show us how excited you are about it and how much you love the show!!


What is the local improv scene like?

Nottingham is one of the most vibrant improv scenes in the UK. For 21 years it's been home to an improv scene that has thrived with teachers like Susan Messing, Dummy, and more visiting and loving it previously. An international festival is the final piece of that puzzle and we want you to join us.

The scene is mostly longform, there are a variety of teams in the city performing shows from 150 seater auditoriums to intimate venues above pubs and bars.



What are the festival's goals?

We want a lasting impact on the local scene and the travelling performers too. For us to build a community. To showcase the fantastic local talent on the same stage with international performers. To bring legendary improv teachers to Nottingham.


What are the selection criteria for this festival?

A few key things:

We want you to bring a show you're excited about!
Show us that enthusiasm and love for improv!

We want to know the names of the members of your team at the time of application and expect that to be the team who perform!
We know that stuff comes up and changes have to happen, but if they do, just keep us informed!

We want to offer the maximum amount of individual performers the opportunity to perform at the festival.
We know some folks play in multiple teams, and that’s awesome, but given the number of slots available we’ll prioritise giving the maximum number of different performers stage time!

Language isn’t a massive deal for us!
The festival is in England and English will be the primary language BUT we want this to be a truly international improv festival! If you have an awesome show that you think folks will enjoy whether or not they understand your language, we want to see that show! So please make sure you apply!

We’re all about building a community!
So teams that intend to stay the full length of the festival will get priority.

We really value professionalism.
We love this artform and the fact we all get to be goofballs, but we take the craft seriously and appreciate when people take pride in their work. This means we will prioritise complete, well-thought-out applications.

We will need your help.
As the festival grows nearer, we will expect your help in publicising the event! We’re going to put a lot of work into building a local audience, but promotion (shares/inviting people to events/etc) on social media from groups performing is key to making the festival as legendary as Robin Hood himself!


What unique improv experiences will performers gain?

There will be workshops with international teachers that performers can sign up to.

We're currently looking at running a panel discussion on the Sunday afternoon - topic tbc.

There will be a teacher jam, where people taking workshops with teachers get the chance to do scenes and a show with their teachers.