Awards open to all genres

These awards are open to the majority of genres and programme categories - please see the details of each award for entry specifics. More awards which are open to most genres and categories can be found under the Diversity, accessibility and inclusivity awards.

Theatre has an unrivalled power to engage, challenge, educate, and inspire. The stories told in theatres engage profoundly and intensely with people.

Each year since 2001, Amnesty International’s Freedom of Expression award has celebrated a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that focusses on human rights and touches audiences in a meaningful and memorable way.

Longlisting for the 2018 Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award is open until 23 July, and you can nominate your production!

Entry information
Nomination process

Theatre companies that wish to nominate a show should read the eligibility criteria and submit their production for consideration. The Freedom of Expression Award is open for self-nomination until 23 July 2018.

Successfully longlisted productions will be informed by 28 July 2018. Longlisted productions will receive digital badges for use on social media and press quotes for publicity from Amnesty International.

The full long list is comprised of self-nominated productions and selections by Amnesty International and the Judging Panel.

Award criteria

To be eligible for consideration for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, the show must:
1. Demonstrate that human rights is central to the production
2. Be listed in the theatre, dance or children’s shows section of the 2018 Fringe programme
3. Have a run of at least 7 days on dates which allow the production to be reviewed before 19 August
4. Provide complimentary review tickets for Amnesty International volunteer reviewers and judges
To nominate your show please complete the survey monkey questionnaire before 5pm on 23 July.

Applications are now open for the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence in association with Junkyard Dogs, inviting one production to perform at Brighton Fringe 2019. The winner will receive a free registration to take part in Brighton Fringe 2019, along with £500 towards production costs and a favourable deal on venue hire from Junkyard Dogs.

Please note: only shows registered at Edinburgh Fringe 2018 may apply. The production must not have been performed in Brighton before.

Brighton Fringe is the largest arts festival in England and takes place in May. No artistic judgement or selection criteria are imposed on participants, enabling the development of both new and established work to attract fresh audiences, press and promoters. Brighton Fringe 2019 will take place from 3 May – 2 June.

Junkyard Dogs have had two amazing years as a Brighton Fringe venue, winning the Audience Choice Award for Best Venue in both 2017 and 2018, and are excited to start making plans for their third! This year they had 105 shows on over the festival, from stand-up comedy, to sketch shows, clowning and small-scale theatre productions, as well as running a vibrant café and bar throughout the five weeks. This is an intimate, versatile space, and the owners are inviting applicants who are creating theatre, new writing and performance art which would suit such a room.

Apply here

Recognising that sometimes not all five-star shows are equal, Broadway Baby's iconic Bobby statuette is awarded to the best of the best shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Broadway Baby covers more shows than any other publication in Edinburgh, and whilst - on average - only 4% of the performances it sees are considered worthy of five stars, that's still approaching 200 productions in any one year.

Entry information

All shows awarded five stars by Broadway Baby are automatically considered for The Bobby Award; first by the judging team and then those shortlisted are seen by a senior member of the editorial team. There are no set number of Bobby Awards, however in previous years an average of just five trophies are handed out over the entire festival. The Bobby is recognition that you have created something truly special.

'The Mervyn Stutter 'Spirit of the Fringe' Awards (aka ‘The MERVs’), along with Mervyn's regular 'Pick of the Fringe' show, are this year celebrating their 27th anniversary which makes them one of the oldest Awards on the Fringe.

Seven Awards are given in this special ‘Spirit of the Fringe Awards’ show which is always the final show each year (this year, Sunday 26th Aug 2018). These Awards acknowledge and celebrate the talent, hard work, pluck and sheer doggedness demanded of performers from all genres on the Fringe to make a show a success.

Winners of a MERV are chosen from the 140 amazing shows that have been highlighted during the regular 2018 'Pick of the Fringe' showcases, so it is fair to say that the winners are the crème de la crème. Given this, it could justifiably be argued that this is the best show of the whole ‘Pick of the Fringe’ run. The 'Spirit of the Fringe' Awards were created to recognise those who show commitment in the face of little support or funding or those who have consistently provided audiences with quality entertainment over the years. There is no application process as the awards are issued at the judges' discretion.

For more information go to www.mervspotfringe.com

Presented by Edinburgh Festival magazine ThreeWeeks, the Editors’ Awards go to the ten things that the ThreeWeeks editors believe made that year's Festival extra special. Winners can be people, plays, companies, venues or even whole festivals. The awards are presented on the last weekday of the Fringe.

One of the widest criteria of awards at the Fringe, as the award can be won by people, shows, companies, venues, or even whole festivals. No set criteria other than extra special to the festival season.

No application process, decision made the ThreeWeeks Editoiral team.

Presented in association with the Festival Theatre.

Since their inception in 1996, The Herald Angel Awards have been an integral part of the Edinburgh Festival scene, celebrating and rewarding the diverse range of talent from the various festivals including the Edinburgh International Festival, The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, The Jazz & Blues Festival and The Edinburgh International Book Festival.

The awards have been bestowed upon some of the world's most recognised names such as Hollywood star Alan Cumming and Irish playwright Enda Walsh. Herald Angels are awarded to the best of the festivals’ performers, venues and backstage crew who have managed to impress The Herald's distinguished panel of arts critics. In outstanding cases, the panel may award an ‘Archangel’ - the highest honour presented at the ceremony, while ‘little Devils’ are awarded to those who have overcome adversity, or in the true tradition of the festival, have demonstrated a 'show must go on' attitude.

The SIT-UP Awards aim to harness the power of plays to achieve greater social impact by supporting theatre companies before, during and after their productions. This award is new to this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe and aims to encourage audiences ‘to do something’ if they are affected by work they have seen on stage.

Launched by David Graham, a Fringe patron and philanthropist, the winner will be awarded £5,000 - £1,000 with no obligation and £4000 to help pay to extend the reach of their production after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

A shortlist of six productions will be announced during week two of the Festival with the winner announced in week three. Although the panel expects the shortlist to consist mainly of theatre productions, they are open to including comedy, dance or physical theatre.

For more information about the award and full criteria visit situpawards.com

Developed for the benefit of artists, the sector and audiences, the Total Theatre Awards have over the last two decades, blazed a trail of recognition for independent artists and companies creating innovative, artist-led theatre and performance.

Resisting too narrow a definition of the term ‘total theatre’ the awards focus on artists and companies leading innovative work beyond the classical cannon and new writing – working within the fields of devised theatre, live art, visual performance, mime, puppetry, physical theatre, experimental theatre, dance, clown, circus, street, immersive, outdoor, site specific performance and more.

Entry information

Artists, venues and interested parties can register shows to be considered for the Total Theatre Awards. Work by artists and companies at various stages of their professional development will be considered, however we do not consider work by student companies.

Registration for the 2018 Total Theatre Awards is now open. The deadline for completed registration forms should be forwarded by Sunday 29 July 2018. Artists and Companies cannot register shows after 9am on Sunday 29 July 2018.

The Total Theatre Awards are assessed and judged by two peer panels including presenters, programmers, critics, producers, academics and artists from the UK and overseas who collectively engage in a rigorous and robust two stage process:

Over 25 Assessors will see over 550 eligible shows at least once and often multiple times 4-15 August. Following a series of Assessment meetings and a Shortlisting meeting the Total Theatre

The Total Theatre 2018 Shortlist of around 30 shows will be announced on Thursday 16 August. The Total Theatre Short List is created through a thorough democratic dialogue, based on Assessors’ evaluations and Senior Industry Advisors’ recommendations.

20 judges will then see the shortlisted shows 16-22 August and announce their decisions at the Total Theatre Awards ceremony on Thursday 23 August. The Judges and Awards team reserve the right to award Judges Discretionary Awards to exceptional shows that open after 16 August. 7 awards are generally awarded across 5 categories (Emerging Award; Circus; Dance; Innovation, Experimentation & Playing with Form & Physical/Visual) with 3 award prizes of £500 and residency offers, including 1 for the Emerging Award winner, supported by Theatre Deli and University of Chichester.

To find out more and to register an eligible show please see https://www.totaltheatrenetwork.org

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Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award

Brighton Fringe

The Broadway Baby Bobby Award

Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Award

The ThreeWeeks Editors' Awards

The Herald Angel Awards

The SIT-UP Awards

Total Theatre Award

Thank you!