SHIFT Symposium 2026

Coming up this May, the SHIFT Symposium arrives as a bold and urgent gathering – a space alive with challenge, creativity and collective energy. Across three days in Bristol, artists and cultural leaders will come together to question the status quo, spark new thinking and reimagine the future of British theatre.

About SHIFT

SHIFT is a call to collective action – a space to challenge, disrupt and reimagine how British theatre tells its national story and who gets to shape it. 

Rooted in the belief that global perspectives are not optional but essential, SHIFT confronts commissioning and dramaturgical practices long shaped by a narrow, Eurocentric lens. It asks a simple but urgent question: what happens when we shift the frame? 

A three-day symposium | 13-15 May 2026 | Bristol 

Created by Tamasha and co-hosted with Bristol Old Vic and Beyond Face, this is a symposium that brings artists, dramaturgs, producers, literary teams and cultural leaders together for three days of bold thinking, honest interrogation and future-building. 

We’ll examine how commissioning and dramaturgy currently operate in UK theatre, where power and imbalance sit and how we might actively design alternative, decolonial ways of making, supporting and sustaining work. This is not a talking shop – it’s a working space for shared inquiry, provocation and possibility. The symposium will operate on a participant-facilitator model, recognising the expertise in the room and positioning the symposium as a hub of shared learning and co-creation. Alongside attending sessions, participants are invited to opt in to contribute by hosting or co-hosting skill-sharing sessions and taking part in panels or discussions. Freelance attendees will receive a fee for this offer.   

What is included in a ticket?  

• Full access to symposium events
• Three nights of accommodation in a single-occupancy room with en-suite provisions
• Three meals a day
• Refreshments throughout, including drinks receptions
• Tickets to external artistic events included as part of the programme

This May, it all begins…

Stay tuned for ticket releases and exciting speaker announcements coming soon. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on the socials to get the latest updates as soon as they’re announced.

SHIFT Symposium is created by Tamasha and co-hosted with Bristol Old Vic and Beyond Face. Funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation