We work with artists and communities to bring exceptional arts to familiar local spaces. We choose shows which will work in a wide variety of rural and semi-urban venues including village halls, libraries, pubs, churches, schools, and community centres. We support a network of local volunteer promoters across Kent, Sussex, Essex and the wider southeast who run these venues for the benefit of their communities.
We programme a range of exciting and inspiring shows including adaptations of classic dramas, delightful puppetry for families, humorous storytelling, new writing, imaginative interpretations of much-loved children’s books, contemporary dance and a range of music for all tastes from classical, folk and jazz to Latin, Cajun and Country.
By working with us as an artist, you benefit from our range of services including tour date booking, contract and admin management, increased exposure in areas you may not usually be able to access plus promotion and marketing of your show and company to our supporters across the country.
How to get involved
Applications NOW OPEN to tour with Applause in 2027
- Do you have a ready-made and self-contained show?
- Is the show technically adaptable?
- Are you able to work in a wide variety of spaces?
If so, you should apply for our 2027 Indoors Season before w/c 14th September.
Our latest Indoors Menu for 2026-27
These are the current shows touring with us to give you a flavour of the shows we are interested in touring and the types of work which suit rural locations.
If you have any queries about how to apply to tour with us in the future, contact programming@applause.org.uk.
How to apply
All applications are managed via our programming platform EVENTOTRON. www.eventotron.com
Simply create an account and sign up for FREE or log in if you have used Eventotron before.
Then choose ‘Seasons’ and search for OPEN DOOR and ‘Apply’ to enter the information about your show.
OPEN DOOR is a new sector-led initiative helping artists to share their show with the wider touring sector without needing to apply multiple times. Even if you do not want to tour with Applause in the south east at this time, you can still apply to OPEN DOOR and your show information will be shareable with our partner Rural Touring schemes.
General Information:
Venues: We programme into a range of venues from small village halls, libraries and pubs with limited capacity up to 30, to those with larger capacities of 180 such as community halls. Please consider whether your show/and the fees you charge would work with these types of spaces.
Availability – Most artists (particularly those based in the local region) prefer to offer general availability over a period of months (e.g. Oct – Dec). The offer of ‘general availability’ increases the chances of getting bookings, because it increases the choice of dates for promoters.
Alternatively we ask companies to ‘pencil in’ a run of 3-4 consecutive dates with us (usually Thu – Sat). These dates are reserved exclusively for Applause bookings for a number of weeks – usually around 6 – 8 weeks. If after that time the dates have not been converted to actual bookings, they can be returned to the artist so they can sell them elsewhere.
Once our promoters have received the menu, they will work with their committees and hall management teams to decide which shows they would like to book and choose their preferred dates.
It is important to note that inclusion on our programme does not guarantee bookings. It all depends on the personal preferences of promoters for that season. We do encourage promoters to consider a selection of shows and to be as flexible as possible on dates.
Fees
Artists are paid a guaranteed fee directly by Applause. Your fee needs to include all travel and any accommodation costs, so please factor this in.
Publicity
Any artist included in our programme should be prepared to provide a maximum of 250 A5 flyers and 20 A4 posters directly to each venue. A digital version of the artwork should also be supplied to Applause. Publicity should be sent to the promoter to allow adequate time to sell tickets. Applause will notify artists of the promoters’ print requests and supply the venues with overprint stickers.
If you’re interested in working with Applause and you have a show ready for touring, we’d love to hear from you.
We will be reviewing all applications for the Applause 2027 menu, w/c 14th September.
Many families said thank you for a lovely show and someone said they found the storytelling/puppet making workshop to be wonderful to see, because every single child joined in.
Jo Neary 'Stinky Mcfish and the Worst Wish' after performing at Hartfield, East Sussex
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