Forkbeard Fantasy Award

We are thrilled to announce the Forkbeard Fantasy award, celebrating Forkbeard’s extensive body of work, and inspiring new artistic collaborations.

Background

Forkbeard Fantasy was a pioneering multimedia theatre group active from 1974 until 2023. Using subversive humour to explore serious personal, social, artistic, scientific and environmental concerns, they delighted audiences across the UK and the world. They performed in both traditional theatre settings and outdoor spaces, while also giving regular workshops on a variety of topics and building exhibitions and installations for arts centres and museums.

The Forkbeard Fantasy Award was established in 2025 by a generous endowment from Forkbeard Fantasy. Each year the award supports a collaboration of artists through the research and development phase of a new work inspired by the Forkbeard archive, now housed at the Theatre Collection. The award is intended to give the awardees time to experiment with their creative skills and to explore new methods of expression through collaboration. The archive, which includes written material, AV material and a sample of props, provides a rich and detailed record of the company’s creative processes and history.

Forkbeard Fantasy Award Recipients

2026 – Deanna Rodger and Emma Powell

Deanna and Emma stood outside the Theatre Collection building

“Our project is called Magical Gloop (Oi! Not AI), and explores our innate, embodied and sticky human intelligence. Inspired by the Forkbeard Fantasy archive, we will manipulate technology and objects, explore ways to transform the body, and how to make things go “bang””

2025 – Naomi Smyth and China Fish, aka Smish

“We’ve spent days in the archives, where fifty years of bonkers and brilliant shows and films are documented. The sheer freedom and permission the Forkbeards gave themselves to follow their ideas as far as they could go has been one of the most inspiring parts.

‘Winning At Life’ is the title of our show which drags illusions of digital perfection down into a highly physical and chaotic mire of interpersonal conflict, mess and labour…our characters struggle with impossible standards of perfection and the shiny distractions of technology.”