Supporting South West artists: ‘a celebration of local talent’
It’s a collaboration cemented in success. The original Scratch Night saw the Exeter Northcott Theatre and Exeter Phoenix teaming up to deliver a memorable partnership during October 2025’s Elevate Festival.
Well, a second Scratch Night is being organised to support South West-based artists through a continued Scratch Night partnership.
The second Scratch Night will take place at Exeter Phoenix Auditorium offering artists the opportunity to showcase work in progress in front of a live audience.
The application window for this one-night event will close on Monday 19 January at 10.00 a.m.
‘We want to open our doors and meet as many artists as possible,’ explains Katy Danbury, Exeter Phoenix Scratch Night Co-producer.
‘Scratch Nights are a celebration of local talent and, going forward, they will serve as a declaration from Exeter’s two leading performance venues that we are here to support artists from the early ideas stage to the big stage.’
Organisers explain Scratch Nights give the public a rare insight into the creative process behind new performance work – whilst also allowing artists to receive valuable audience feedback.
It’s a system which can help to shape how the final version of the performance may be presented.
‘Scratch Night was our very first attempt to step beyond the university context,’ explain Menghan Chen, Yirui Fu and Jia Zhuang. They went on to perform full-length versions of their work at Elevate Festival last year.
‘The audience response strengthened our confidence and encouraged us to envision the piece’s next stages.’
Scratch Night at Exeter Phoenix. Image: Greg Towning (provided by the Northcott Theatre)
‘Supported by a busy audience who shared insightful feedback’
Successful applicants will receive £150 towards developing their practice, along with access to free rehearsal space at both Exeter Phoenix and the Barnfield Theatre.
They’ll also receive dramaturgical support from Exeter Northcott Theatre’s Artist Development Producer, Sam Parker. Sam encourages artists at all stages of their practice.
‘It was a joy to pilot our Scratch Night collaboration with Exeter Phoenix as part of Elevate Festival 2025,’ says Sam.
‘A great group of artists were supported by a busy audience who shared insightful feedback. Please do come and join us for the next one and see another slate of exciting new work at the very start of its journey.’
Scratch Night at Exeter Phoenix. Image: Christina Bulford-Simm (provided by the Northcott Theatre)
Scratch Nights are seen as a vital part of Exeter Northcott and Exeter Phoenix’s artist development offer as it upholds both of their commitments to nurturing a thriving creative community.
Building on the success of the first collaboration, both organisations aim to continue their partnership with ongoing Scratch Night opportunities throughout 2026. Their goal is to place Exeter firmly on the map as a leading city of performance makers.
The second collaborative Scratch Night will be held at 7.00 p.m. on Monday 23rd February at Exeter Phoenix. Tickets are on sale now through the Exeter Phoenix website.
Breaktime News recently reported on South West writer Rosie Race’s ‘Daphne’ receiving its’ upcoming world premiere at the Northcott Theatre.
