There are six fabulous one act and short plays being performed in the festival. Each of these is directed and acted by members of the Criterion and will be performed three times over the course of the festival so you don't have to miss one. The plays are a mix of new writing and published work, genres and duration, from 10 minutes to 35 minutes. The festival provides the opportunity for us to produce work that is new and challenging, and for people to spread their wings as actors and directors. Please do support this and come along and see something you won't see anywhere else. 'THE PASSING' BY WENDY MCNEILLY (SEE THIS ON SAT 10TH, FRI 16TH AND SAT 17TH) Wendy McNeilly's short ten minute monologue play is inspired by the plight of refugees around the world and the effects of climate change and of humanity's actions on others and on wildlife and nature. Wendy writes poetry and is working on further monologues, as well as a full-length play.This is Andrew Sharpe's directing debut. The play is performed by Talya Rajagukguk who has acted regularly on the Criterion stage (Afterlife, The Welkin) and wowed us with her performance of 'Exotic' at the 2023 Springboard Festival. 'AUNTY' BY MAXI DI POET (SEE THIS ON SAT 10TH, TUES 13TH AND WEDS 14TH) This dramatised fifteen minute spoken word piece is a loving tribute to those people who make such an impact on our lives. Aunty was a pillar of the family. She was loved, cherished and adored. She took the pain away not just as a nurse but she made everyone whole. The play is directed by Olivia Marie (F***ing Feminists, Springboard Festival 2024). Maxi Di Poet (aka Martin Jordan) is a creative spoken word artist and actor and performs the play. Maxi has a close connection to the Springboard Festival, as part of the poets collective 'We Are Poetry Nation' who workshopped at the Criterion in the the months leading up to and then performed at Springboard 2024 as well as performing in the new play 'Zero Hour' which was on the festival programme last year. 'THROUGH A STAINED GLASS DARKLY' BY ANNE-MARIE GREENE (SEE THIS ON SAT 10TH, SUN 11TH AND MON 12TH) As well as being Artistic Director of the the Criterion Theatre, in her day job, Anne-marie is Professor of Work and Diversity at the University of York. This is the first play she has written and utilises transcripts from research interviews she conducted with 40 clergywomen in the UK. It was originally performed at the Art of Management Conference, Brighton in 2016 and again at the Criterion Takeover of the Talisman Theatre Fringe in July 2024. This 35 minute one act play introduces the characters of Roberta, Madeleine and Edith and takes place in the vestry of Roberta’s church on the afternoon of July 14th, 2014, when the three women get together on the day of the historic vote on women bishops in the Church of England. As they share their experiences, we come to understand how they have coped with the difficulty of their situation -the laughs, the joys, the heartbreak, the suffering-and to realise what still makes it all just about worthwhile. The play is directed by Pete Gillam (who last directed Midsummer in 2022) and performed by longtime Criterion actors Kelly Davidson, Lilian McGrath and Anne-marie Greene. 'SCAPEGOAT' BY DAVID COURT (SEE THIS ON SAT 10TH, TUES 13TH AND WEDS 14TH) We were lucky enough to hear David Court's poetry as part of the Criterion-based collective 'We Are Poetry Nation' at Springboard 2024. This year, emerging from the activities of a playwrighting group at the Criterion, David gives us this 20 minute one act play. Haunted by doubt and fueled by alcohol, Father Murray, a haggard Catholic priest world-weary from a thankless job, faces the ultimate test. His love for people long extinguished, he merely goes through the motions. Enter The Devil, an androgynous, arrogant, and exuberantly manipulative tempter, determined to exploit Murray's despair and shatter his already crumbling faith. A gripping exploration of temptation, despair, and the battle for a soul. The play is directed by Dean Sheridan, a regular on the Criterion stage since 'Sweeney Todd' in 2023 and who also directed his play 'Grace' at Springboard last year. The play is performed by Alice Scott who wowed us in 'The Welkin', 'Dirty Great Love Story' and '1984' and we welcome back Alan Wales who has been a regular actor in local theatre but last trod the Criterion boards in 'The Laramie Project' way back in 2006! 'NO PLACE LIKE HOME' BY ALEXANDRA TAYLOR (SEE THIS ON MON 11TH, TUES 13TH AND THURS 15TH) Birmingham-based play wright Alexandra Taylor gives us this twenty minute absurdist short play, set in a dystopian near future. In the play Adler baffles Bettina with red tape and bureaucracy as she tries to navigate her way through what defines citizenship of a country. Given the events on the world at the moment, this Black Mirroresque tale seems evermore relevant. We are thrilled to present the play as the directing debut of the very talented Cassandra O'Floresca, who wrote 'Exotic' which was performed at Springboard 2023 and performed herself in 'F***ing Feminists' at Springboard 2024. It is also a pleasure to welcome four new actors to the Criterion stage in Ania Cummins, Manuela Palfi,Yasmin Hashemy and Timothy East. 'ONE THOUSAND AND ONE' BY CAMILLA WHITEHILL (SEE THIS ON WEDS 14TH, FRI 16TH AND SAT 17TH) Anyone who saw the one man play 'Mr Incedible' at Springboard 2024 will be familiar with the ascerbic wit and hard-hitting themes from Birmingham-trained actor Camilla Whitehill (TV writing credits include 'Big Mood', 'Bruised Sky' and 'Whistle Through the Shamrocks'). This 20 minute one act play sees Maya taking therapy one step at a time. Maya has bi-polar disorder and this sharp funny play shows how she steps back into the world with the support of those around her. It is a funny and uplifting play about mental health and friendship. It is the latest in a long track record of plays directed by Criterion stalwart Gennie Holmes (including 'Closer to God', 'Queers', 'Constellations', 'Road') and is performed by Criterion regulars Morgan Blundell-Smith, Olivia Simone and Chris Ingall and introducing Rob Bell. 'THERE IS ALWAYS A CHOICE' BY ANDREW SHARPE (SEE THIS ON THURS 15TH, FRI 16TH AND SAT 17TH) Andrew is the powerhouse inspiration behind the Springboard Festival and its success since 2023. Andrew has been a playwright for ten years, with multiple credits to his name, mostly in London and the southeast but also more recently at the Criterion ('The Cost of You'). In this 20 minute play extract, we meet Erica, trapped by the horror of evil in her past who seeks strength in denial. Condemned by society for ‘poor lifestyle choices’, her anger and isolation grow. But her bonds only tighten and, trapped in a life she hates, she is faced with one final choice. Parts of the play have been previously performed in 2024 in London at the Cockpit Theatre and in Coventry at the 'HerStory Collective Night' at the Litten Tree Showrooms. For Springboard 2025, this self-contained extract includes two new scenes, not yet seen in Coventry. We welcome the Criterion debut of established director Jo Emery, whose credits include multiple Camden and Watford Fringe Festivals, with assistance from Criterion regular Lucy Hayton. The play is also the Criterion debut of Katie Hamilton, Birmingham and Liverpool trained actor.   Get your tickets now! [/../../tickets]  

One of the most fabulous outcomes of the Springboard festival is the exposure given to poetry and spoken word. This has a very strong base in Coventry as a city but we do not see much transfer across to our theatres, and this is the perfect opportunity to experience the power of poetry and spoken word on the Criterion stage. Each evening of the festival sees poetry scaffold the plays and music, including wonderful poet/comperes as well as dedicated performance slots from established and rising stars of the local poetry and spoken word scene. Some of these performances are also specially produced Springboard collaborations between poets and musicians. COMPERES Each evening of the festival has a compere to hold the evening together, introduce the artists and perform their own material. This year we are privileged to have the company of Zsofia Kacsek, Alison Manning, Rowan McDonnell, Wendy Barzetovic, Rebecca Mileham, Cassandra O'Floresca, Rowan McDonnell and Neslihan Ozar. INDIVIDUAL POETS/SPOKEN WORD ARTISTS Shaniece (Sat 10th and Fri 16th) Shaniece Martin is a poet and researcher whose work explores memory, identity, and diasporic belonging through the lens of the mental return—a concept she develops in her practice-based PhD at Coventry University on Indian English poetry. Her poetry engages with ancestral lineage, migratory histories, and the fluid spaces between East and West, Global North and Global South. Drawing inspiration from her family archives, including photographs taken by her ancestors in Nairobi, Kenya, her work blends image and word to navigate the in-between space where personal and collective memory meet. Poetry, for her, is not only a creative act but a form of research—a way of returning, reimagining, and remaking identity across generations and geographies. Wendy Barzetovic (Sun 11th) Wendy performed at the Springboard Festival 2024 (part of We Are Poetry Nation), the LTB in HerStory Collective, December 2024, headlined Pure Right and Good in Kenilworth January 2025, Feel Good Festival, Leamington, April 2025, Coventry’s Fire and Dust open mic’s and international Zoom, and the Coventry Carribean Centre’s. She writes for Interfaith groups and newsletters, about nature, love, war, the meaning of life; often from a Buddhist perspective. She likes to generate positivity in her work, as she feels the world needs it. She ran poetry workshops for Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust and currently a Community charity Amy Rugg with Nowhere Club (Mon 12th) Amy Rugg is a writer, performance poet, and cherished collector of tall tales. A champion of Coventry’s history and culture, she was commissioned to perform at Coventry’s Positive Images and Refugee Week festivals and is a steady regular at Fire&Dust’s open mics. Her work was published in a Spirit of Fire & Dust anthology by Allographic Press. She enjoys experimenting with the thresholds of poetry and prose and her dramatized poem commemorating the bombing of Coventry Cathedral featured in the Springboard Festival in 2024 and at the Criterion takeover of the Talisman Fringe Event 'Faith and Hope' in July 2024. A dual citizen of the US/UK, she enjoys writing and performing from the perspective of a relative outsider. Andrea Mbarushimana (Tues 13th) A Coventry based artist, writer, poet and activist who wrote and performed the wonderful 'Zero Hour' poetry drama as part of Springboard 2024. This year, she has been part of a research group looking into the use of chatbots to support patients with epilepsy for which she has run workshops, created art and written poetry. This culminated in an exhibition at Centrala gallery in Birmingham, and a poetry publication 'Chatbot'.' Emilie Lauren Jones (Weds 14th) Join Emilie as she shares her entertaining and thought-provoking musings on everyday life - from tales of motherhood to trying to decide what constitutes as modern art. This performance includes several poems making their debut outing. Emilie Lauren Jones, Coventry's first Poet Laureate, has featured on local and national radio and television, including two award-nominated shows. She has performed across the UK and internationally. Her first children's poetry book, ‘A Poetic A-Z of Awesome Animals’ (Caboodle Books) was released in October 2023. Ann Atkins (Thurs 15th) 'Not a Robot' features a selection of poems from Ann’s poetry collection of the same name, it is a mostly light-hearted look through her life, coming to terms with being human with its various challenges. Ann Atkins likes playing with words and finding inspiration in unusual places, often dished up with a dash of humour. She performs across the country and worldwide online. She co-hosts Coventry's Fire&Dust open mic, and Fire&Dust Zoom for an international audience. Ann has been published in numerous anthologies and her work has featured on several radio shows and podcasts. Her collection Not a Robot was published by Allographic Press (2023). She also enjoys facilitating workshops for all ages. Ann represented Coventry in Dresden on the Coventry Dresden Writers exchange in 2023 and in Cork on the Coventry Cork Poetry Exchange in 2024. She is quite sure she is not a robot. John Bernard (Sat 17th) Hailing from Stoke Aldermoor, Coventry Poet Laureate John Bernard is a spoken word performer of East African heritage. We are thrilled to welcome John back after his fabulous performance at Springboard 2023. With a captivating blend of raw emotion, powerful storytelling, and thought-provoking insights, John Bernard has established himself as a notable name in the spoken word scene. John extends his impact beyond performances through active community engagement. He leads creative workshops, empowering young minds to find their voice and express themselves through the art of poetry and music. Word Weavers Collective (Weds 14th) Each year of Springboard has seen a group of talented local poets and word-crafters come together in the months before the festival to produce work for performance. It has become a real powerhouse of creativity, encouraging people to develop their skills and confidence as writers and performers. Over the years this has developed into performed plays ('Exotic' by Cassandra O'floresca in 2023, 'Zero Hours' by Andrea Mbarushimana and 'Honey and Salt' by Zsofia Hacsek in 2024 and 'Scapegoat' by David Court here in 2025). This year, the group has been curated and corralled by Emilie Lauren Jones with assistance from Yanyan Li and Alison Manning. Yanyan Li, who is a PhD student at Warwick University has also achieved external funding from the Warwick Institute of Engagement Collaboration and Co-Production Fund to part fund the activities of this year's group. In their performance this year, a variety of voices will combine to create a community of questioning creatives exploring the theme of connection. They will weave a web around you with their words, binding together and strengthening the threads that link their seemingly disparate voices. It is always a beautiful, powerful, inspirational and thought-provoking part of the festival.

We are so lucky to have attracted such an array of talented musicians from the local area to come and perform at Springboard this year. Come and see these amasing single or duet singer-songwriters, performing genres across folk, R&B, indie and soul. LAUREN SOUTH (SAT 10TH AND SAT 17TH) We welcome back Lauren South to perform for us again after her acclaimed set at Springboard 2024. Lauren South is a Warwickshire singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist renowned for her original compositions and traditional melodies. With the accompaniment of tenor guitar, fiddle, and shruti box, her songs exude heartfelt emotion and vivid imagery, drawing inspiration from her passion for the nocturnal heavens, the natural world, and her journey through motherhood. Beyond her solo endeavours, Lauren is an enthusiastic collaborator and constitutes half of the dynamic new duo, Donnelly & South, alongside Keith Donnelly. Her debut solo album Tiny Boat was released in November 2023. REBECCA MILEHAM (SUN 11TH) Rebecca Mileham is a science writer and musician whose worlds are in the process of colliding. Her day-to-day work, which brings her into contact with natural history and heritage, helped inspire her recent song collections Underground and Rising Tide. Her new song 'Holloway' isabout the paths that lead us together, and apart. NOWHERE CLUB (MON 12TH AND SAT 17TH) In their own words, Nowhere Club are 'an accoustic-ish duo. Jingly jangly, twingly twangly folky harmonies". Coventrians Lewis Holmes and Adam Yarnell have been gigging all over the place this year and putting together their first studio album. Their multi-layered melodies and harmonies combine with witty, sometimes political and always heartfelt lyrics. These thoroughly nice chaps with guitars will be collaborating on Monday 12th with local poet Amy Rugg for a truly unique performance and performing a larger selection of their own work on Saturday 17th May. CAROL WHITWORTH (TUES 13TH) We are so pleased to welcome Carol Whitworth back to the festival afher her magical performances last year.Born to Chinese/Jamaican and English parents, Carol spent her formative years growing up in Wheatley in Oxfordshire. An accomplished singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist herself, early influences included Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Bert Jansch and John Martyn, with inspiration drawn from the surrounding countryside, in particular the nearby Shotover estate.The legendary jam scene in Leamington Spa provided an opportunity to play bass and trumpet. She went on to play with The Titanics, Jabba Cartel, Persion fusion project Second Episode, Zed Lepp and The Cellar Tapes. More recently she has been part of Amber Liadan’s band (with whom she plays upright electric bass and vocal harmonies) and Elks Jumping High with fellow multi-instrumentalist Anna Ryder. Over the last couple of years, her musical talents and DJing skills have been instrumental in reviving the South Town in Leamington. NYOTAA IZEIDI (THURS 15TH AND FRI 16TH) Nyotaa Izeidi is an independent recording artist, R&B and soul pop performer and content creator from Coventry. She formed her own record label 'Kamona Records' in 2020 and released a Debut LP 'twentyoneandlost' after receiving amazing responses all over London and the West Midlands, including “ones to watch” in ASBO Magazine. She will be performing an acoustic set on Thursday 15th and in collaboration with Credo on Friday 16th) LIGI, KIMBERLEY, SERENA, NYOTAA AND CREDO (FRIDAY 16TH) Friday night really is music night at Springboard 2025 featuring four fabulous music acts.This includes: LiGi, a singer-songwriter, musician and fashion designer from Cross River, Nigeria, who uses her art to inspire hope and resilience. Now based in Coventry, her versatile sound blends indie, alternative, AfroPop and AfroR&B, captivating audiences with powerful vocals and heartfelt storytelling. Nyotaa and Credo: R&B soul full rock set accompanied by heavy guitars and powerful vocals.

We are excited to be welcoming back performances and events with external community organisations, highlighting the special bonds and connections we have built up over the years. COVENTRY LITERARY FESTIVAL - SUNDAY 11TH MAY This inaugural event of the CovLitFest features four local authors, reading extracts from their works and participating in a Q&A, chaired by local author and poet, Alison Manning. Taking part are: Ann Evans, Award-winning author and freelance writer; Professor Nirmal Puwar, Goldsmiths, University of London; Paul Gitsham, author of the 'DCI Warren Jones' series and, most recently, standalone domestic thriller 'The Aftermath' and Ann Harrison, whose book 'Call me Auntie' is an account of her childhood in care and her search for her mother. 'UNRELIABLE MEMOIRS' BY COVENTRY VISION HUB (WAS COVENTRY RESOURCE CENTRE FOR THE BLIND) - MONDAY 12TH MAY This 60 minute performance showcases new writing from the Creative Writing Group at Coventry Vision Hub. This is the latest live collaboration between Coventry Vision Hub writers and Criterion Theatre actors who will perform a range of pieces: from poetry to comedy, from prose to moving memoir. As this varied and entertaining programme demonstrates, while the writers all share sight loss, it doesn't define them - or their work. SIDE BY SIDE THEATRE COMPANY - TUESDAY 13TH MAY We are thrilled to welcome back Side by Side Theatre after their triumphant performance at last year's Springboard Festival. They will be presenting a specially devised piece, taking inspiration from some of our favourite Disney stories. Through dance and drama we celebrate what makes us who we are, and the friends we make along the way. Side by Side is a charitable organisation, involving adults with and without learning disabilities or neurodiversity. Side by Side develops and produces inclusive theatre. Each show (like the performers) is unique! 'MAMA SAID' BY JOHN BERNARD - FILM SCREENING - THURSDAY 15TH MAY A Moment. A Son. A Fate. The time has come. 'Mama Said' is a powerful and evocative short poetry film that delves into identity, loss, generational wisdom, and the choices that shape our lives. There are moments that define us, those we survive, and those that leave their mark. What if your friend’s decision seals your fate, yet the choice was never truly theirs to make? John Bernard's film won the Best Short Film at the Coventry Phoenix Film Festival in 2025. The 20 minute film will be followed by a Q&A.