Submit Your Show

You want to put on a show with 118? Great! We want to stage the best, most exciting new theatrical work in Scotland and we are excited to read your proposals.

Start your proposal

What kind of work suits 118?

We want to stage the full gamut of high-quality fringe theatre happening in Scotland, from the popular to the esoteric. We celebrate Glasgow's unique theatre history and traditions. We're committed to dealing fairly with artists and keeping the cost of making theatre within reach of those without funding behind them. If your work is interesting, sincere and makes us feel alive, we want to know about it!

What we're looking to put on

  • Plays New writing by Scotland-based playwrights, new takes on established classics, under-recognised gems from the Scottish canon
  • Performance and devised work Experimental performance, solo shows, clowning, puppetry
  • Comedy and cabaret Laugh-out-loud popular comedies, stand-up, cabaret, variety, burlesque
  • Music theatre New and existing musicals and opera
  • Work in progress Scratch nights, rehearsed readings
  • International work and the weird and wonderful

We're a small team, and while we are unfortunately unable to respond individually to every proposal, we will read them and help when we can.

Don't take it personally if we reject your proposal. Not every show will be right for us, and there are many considerations in what work we can programme. We endeavour to build long-term relationships with artists, and we are more likely to work with artists we have an established relationship with, so keep hanging around and invite us to see your work whenever possible.

Is My Show Ready To Be Submitted to 118?

To submit your work to us, we need to ask you some questions to ensure this is the right avenue for you. Often work is in an earlier stage of development which means we would rather signpost you to another opportunity, to save you time.

This isn't quite the right form

This form is for proposing a show as part of our artistic programme. For workshops, private event hire, or anything else, please get in touch directly and we'll point you in the right direction.

Get in touch →

Question 1 of 8

Are you proposing a show to be considered as part of our artistic programme (not a workshop, private event hire or something else)?

Question 2 of 8

Does your show last at least 55 minutes, excluding any intervals?

Question 3 of 8

Can you bring together the creative team your show needs? E.g. for plays, this would include the actors, director, designer etc. For solo shows, this might just be you.

Question 4 of 8

Does your show include any sound or lighting cues?

Question 5 of 8

Can you bring a competent technician to operate the tech for your show?

Question 6 of 8

Are you able to market your show to bring in an audience?

Question 7 of 8

Are you comfortable with accepting a box office split, with Pay What You Can ticketing for audiences?

Question 8 of 8

Will you arrange public liability insurance for your show? (We also recommend you obtain employers’ liability insurance if you have volunteers or employ cast/crew.)

Sorry, we are unable to consider this project

This is because…

We require shows in our main programme to be at least 55 minutes in duration. For works shorter than this, we may consider them as part of special development initiatives.

Subscribe to our mailing list for more artist development opportunities. You may also want to get involved in our Working it Out scratch night.

We require shows to be rehearsal-ready, with a creative team in place by the time you perform. If you need to find collaborators, we encourage you to get involved in our Working it Out scratch night, where new ideas are tested and all you need to do is submit.

We require shows to bring a competent technician if they include any sound or lighting cues. If you don't know any technicians but need to find one for your production, we suggest coming to some of our shows and chatting to the technicians in the bar afterwards.

As we are a volunteer-run fringe venue, we have very little capacity to support with marketing efforts. We require all companies to have marketing plans in place, such as promoting on social media or an existing audience they can bring.

We present shows on a box office split, with Pay What You Can ticketing for audiences — it's core to how we keep 118 accessible and how companies get paid fairly from what the show earns. If that model doesn't work for your show right now, we're not the right venue for it at this time.

We require all companies to book public liability insurance to present a show with us, and we will request evidence of this before the show can be booked in. We recommend Showtime for theatrical insurance. Solo performers may also be able to use insurance included in Equity or Musicians' Union memberships.

Not ready yet? Stay on our radar.

Join our mailing list for artist development opportunities, scratch nights, and future open calls for work like yours.

Tell Us About The Show

Proposal sent!

Thanks — we've got it

We've emailed you a copy of everything you sent. We'll review your proposal and get in touch when we can. Check your spam folder if the email hasn't arrived.

Contact

The show

Around 100 words is a good length, but write as much or as little as you like.

words — around 100 suggested

Paste links (YouTube, Vimeo, press, etc.) and/or upload files (images, PDFs — max 20MB each, up to 5 files).

Tick all that apply.

Dates and practical requirements

E.g. a scratch night, R&D, or a full production.

Please list the names of any confirmed collaborators and their roles on the project. Please include artists, production team and anyone else involved.

You don't need to spend money — social media posting can be very effective.

We'll reply as soon as we can. By submitting you agree to us storing your contact details so we can get back to you.

Frequently Asked Questions
We don't normally do hires. Instead, we consider shows for inclusion on our artistic programme. For shows we programme, we typically offer a 70/30 box office split in the company's favour. We work hard to keep the deal fair for artists — see “What deals do 118 offer?” below for details.
Ideally, your only upfront costs are time and travel. There's no hire fee — we want making theatre to be affordable. You can spend money on props, costumes or a full orchestra if you want to, but the kind of theatre we do doesn't have to cost much. We want the companies we work with to make money, or at least break even.
For shows we include in our programme, we can offer in-kind rehearsal space at our theatre. We can also signpost you to other affordable spaces in Glasgow.
Yes, if your show includes sound or lighting cues (beyond a basic “lights up, lights down” at the start and end). If you don't already know a technician, come along to our shows and chat to the ones working there afterwards — they don't bite.
The basics: 8 LED par cans, a microphone and PA, and a Chamsys lighting desk. You can bring your own laptop and plug in for QLab. Full tech spec available on request.
We typically offer a 70/30 box office split in the visiting company's favour. We don't charge hire fees or require guarantees, and we keep bar/refreshment revenue. There's no minimum ticket sales requirement, but we do expect companies to make a genuine effort to promote their shows.
It depends on how well we know you and whether we've worked together before. For shows we consider to have good box office potential, we aim for a 4-show run (typically Thursday, Friday, Saturday matinee, Saturday evening). For less conventional or untested work, we may programme single days, such as a Monday or Tuesday evening. We'd generally expect to see a track record of sales success before programming a show for multiple nights.
Variable, but up to 100 currently.
We aim for a good mix — light, dark, popular, esoteric. The main thing is that it has to be sincere, interesting and suitable for our space. We want to be surprised, and to show the full range of Scotland's fringe theatre ecology, from the mainstream to the weird.
Unfortunately, no — our theatre is up a flight of stairs. We're working to improve access and are actively exploring solutions.
We rely on donations to keep fringe theatre alive and accessible in Glasgow — please donate if you can. We're also volunteer-led, so if you have time to give, come and get involved.

Got another question? Get in touch and we'll do our best to help.