Elevate Festival – Scratch Night in collaboration with Exeter Phoenix

Join a vibrant mix of local theatre-makers, comedians, dancers, musicians, actors and clowns as they step out with brand-new ideas, near-polished gems and experimental moves. They’re inviting you to be part of the process (and the magic) by being an enthusiastic spectator for that first live run-through. Expect an eclectic, entertaining mash-up of fresh work-in-progress performances. This night is a crucial step for the artists and an unforgettable, left-field experience for the audience (that’s you!). It might be hilarious. It might be messy. It might be tender, weird, brave or unexpectedly moving. And you might just leave feeling energised, joyful and hugely inspired. A Scratch Night isn’t your typical evening out – it’s creative risk-taking at its finest and you can be at the heart of it. Our Elevate Festival 2026’s Scratch Night performers are as follows: Tin Solider by Theatre Workhouse. Set in a stannary town on the edge of Dartmoor the play interweaves the journeys of two protagonists: Tin Solider flees the town in fear for his life, seeking refuge on the moor but his fear soon becomes paranoia, and he plunders all he can find in pursuit of security, toppling the equilibrium and shattering earth and sky. In the aftermath, he embarks on a quest to restore what was once good, seeking redemption. Meanwhile, Mary Anne Tocker and her brother Henry are embroiled in a legal battle with the corrupt vice-warden of the Stannaries, Richard Gurney.  In fleeing his debts, Gurney leaves the Tocker family in financial ruin and when the Tockers call him out, he summons Mary and Henry to trial for libel. With not a penny to their name, Mary has no choice but take on Gurney herself. Can the Tocker family bear the strain of this pressure? Can they overcome the weight of the establishment to restore justice to the world? Josser by Tweedy Clown. A simple trip to the circus turns into an absurd piece of physical comedy, through mime and comic sketches. In this hilarious one man show Tweedy shows us  what the circus world is like both in and out of the ring. Trying to find his way in life on a journey of self discovery we follow Josser (circus polari for outsider) our hero as he attempts to run away and join the circus. He soon realises it’s not all glitz and glamour travelling with a traditional circus in a tiny caravan that should be condemned. It soon turns into a crazy slapstick adventure as he tries to find his place in this magical new world. Hurly Burly by Diabolical Intervention. Hurly Burly is a work-in-progress inspired by Theo Browns folklore collection at the Old Library. Set on a reclamation yard in a remote (fictitious) part of Devon, meet the unlikely duo who run this yard: Julian – owner of the farm story and jack of all trades, including, if you believe him, a preternatural ability to commune with objects and their deceased owners; And the new comer ‘Hoof’ who arrived on the yard, seemingly out of nowhere looking for a job. The job of reclamation is a messy business. People far and wide bring their items for repair. The items that come to the yard, (and indeed the people), all have a bit of wear and tear, and some need more than surface level fixing – some items need a deeper kind of reclaiming. Bringing to life spooky folklore stories of Devon, the show will be a journey into oral story telling tradition and the stories that sit at the boundaries of what is real. The show will rely heavily on new composition and original music and the two yard workers as they sing and make up songs to pass the time and recount stories as old as the land. One for Sorrow by Ruby De Ville Morel. One for Sorrow is a short story of love and betrayal. A lonely clown constructs herself a companion, they dance, they flirt, they fall in love… then the bizarre romance descends into chaos and heartbreak as she struggles to control her creation. Humorous, moving and uncanny. A non-verbal blend of dance, slapstick, puppetry, and visual storytelling. Elevate Festival This event is part of Elevate Festival, a week-long celebration of new work from South-West artists. VIEW THE WHOLE PROGRAMME