Our Mission
WORDTheatreUK is on a mission to make a better world one story at a time.
We aim to instill a love of language and literature in adult and student audiences across the globe as we connect people by bringing to life the works of esteemed authors in curated performances featuring well-known actors and musicians, usually with the authors present.
For more than twenty years, WORDTheatreUK has been presenting literary events that reflect the colourful, complicated, and fascinating world we live in, engendering empathy and compassion for others. We invite audiences to walk for a time in the shoes of the diverse characters our authors write about, to feel their feelings and appreciate our common humanity. There is an alchemy to these author/actor pairings that make manifest the transformative power of storytelling.
WORDTheatreUK is a charitable organisation and sister to the US based nonprofit WORDTheatre®.
Our Story
WORDTheatreUK was officially incorporated as a charity in 2024 but its story began over 20 years ago across the pond in Los Angeles…
Cedering Fox, an Event/Theatre Producer, Director and VO Announcer, founded WORDTheatre® in 2003. English Film Producer and Screenwriter, Kirsty Peart, found herself at an early L.A. event and was so impacted by the experience that she suggested they bring WORDTheatre® to London. This dynamic duo hosted their first performance the following fall with Brian Cox helping to recruit his actor friends, Alex Linklater helping to engage renowned authors, and the enthusiastic support of friends and colleagues. Ever since, in venues large and small, these two have been gathering writers, actors, musicians and audiences together for live performances that celebrate great writing!
WORDTheatreUK introduced the concept of having actors perform the short-listed stories vying for The Sunday Times Short Story Prize in 2010, and became known as “the live performance specialists!” Events in the private theatre at Chatsworth and partnerships with The London Literary Festival at Southbank Centre, The London Jazz Festival, Small Wonder Festival at Charleston, First Story, The Forward Poetry Prize, Ocean Rising, and more, have raised awareness and funds for research into mental health, anaphylaxis, autism and Parkinson’s, as well as Macmillan Cancer Support. They have taken their mission from London venues such as The Crazy Coqs, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Royal Festival Hall, out to the Latitude and Wilderness festivals, and even to the boundaries of the cricket pitch with Damien Lewis as Captain taking on the Authors’ XI at Wormsley and then at Lords! What better way to spend an English summer afternoon than watching cricket and listening to Juliet Stevenson, Natascha McElhone, Iain Glen and Kulvinder Ghir reading literature’s finest cricket stories!
With the generous support of Members and Donors, WORDTheatre CAMPUS, a new digital offering populated with recordings of short stories and themed events from WORDTheatre’s archive. is now available gratis to educators and students in under-resourced schools, serving to supplement the organisation’s live, in-school programming.
Our Programmes
Author/Actor Series
In the UK, short stories are brought to life by esteemed actors in directed readings with the writers present for post-performance Q & As and book signings. Participants include Ali Smith, Hanif Kureishi, Kamila Shamsie, Kit de Waal & Ben Okri. WORDTheatreUK has introduced this simple yet elegant format to enliven prestigious literary awards, such as the Sunday Times Short Story Award where featured authors included Hilary Mantel, Jonathan Tel, Petina Gappah & Kevin Barry. Since January of 2021, world-wide audiences have been enjoying WORDTheatre® Weekly, our free offering of stories. We continue with a mixture of live and streamed events, in venues large and small.
WORDTheatre Weekly Podcast
Each Saturday, we share stories from our archive for free with audiences all over the world!
Themed Events
WORDTheatreUK’s literary explorations include such rich subjects as the histories of Jazz, Love Letters, and Cricket; Emily Wilson’s translation of Homer’s The Odyssey and HG Wells’s The Time Machine at Southbank Centre, and celebrations of authors from the past century including Stefan Zweig & Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Benefit Events
WORDTheatreUK’s original theatrical events entertain and inform while shining a spotlight on important conditions and issues, making them emotionally accessible to audiences. Performed by esteemed talents, they have been very successful at engendering empathy, raising both awareness and essential funds for research into challenging conditions such as Autism, Mental Health and Parkinson’s; for at-risk youth; for community college programs; for stemming the tide of domestic violence; and more.
Writers’ Workshop & Retreat
It began in 2010, hosted in Edale in the heart of England’s Peak District for 10 years before moving to Sommières, France. Each year, an esteemed Author leads an international group of participants in an immersive week of writing instruction, evening salons and camaraderie. Nurturing but intensive classroom time, delicious group meals, magnificent accommodations, time for quiet reflection and writing, shared readings, rooftop swims, and shopping in one of Provence’s most famous weekly markets all conspire to make this annual Workshop & Retreat an unforgettable, magical experience. It’s no surprise that participants return again and again and we sell out early each year…
The 2024 Writers’ Workshop in Provence, led by Irish-Caribbean Author Bernice McFadden, is sold-out! To be placed on a waiting list, email admin@wordtheatreuk.org.
WORDTheatre Campus
Since WORDTheatreUK’s inception, authors and actors have been eager to share our unique blend of great writing and acting with students in historically under-resourced schools. The goal is to inspire a connection to literature by igniting students’ imaginations, making books more accessible and reading fun! Whether bringing to life curriculum relevant writing or introducing important topics with theatrical presentations, post-performance conversations about theme, plot and character illuminate the texts. The performances engender and nurture feelings of empathy and compassion.Students are encouraged to read, to write, and to express themselves.
Our objective is to partner with interested schools. We believe targeting students in Years 9 and 10 can help them with their English GCSE’s.
School Administrators, please visit our WORDTheatreCampus.org website and email us at admin@wordtheatreuk.org.