London Lovecraft Festival 2026 to feature five interactive shows
- Immersive Rumours
- 7 days ago
- 5 min read
Set to run at The Drayton Arms Theatre on Old Brompton Road from 16th to 22nd February 2026, The London Lovecraft Festival returns for its sixth edition and this year will feature five interactive shows.
Opening the festival on 16th February is The Cat’s Court Case Of Ulthar, one of two new pieces of work from Leo Doulton (Associate Creative Director of The Key of Dreams and Creator of The Uncanny Things Trilogy), who returns to The London Lovecraft Festival after last year's sold-out The Estate Sale of Randolf Carter. Doulton's second show, Iä Azathoth: In Pursuit Of Oblivion, will take place on 17th February.
Speaking on Leo's involvement at the festival, and the two new pieces of work being presented this year, London Lovecraft Festival Associate Director, TL Wiswell, commented:
I became interested in Leo’s work after seeing his Uncanny Things shows, in which people engage with eldritch beings in a ritual way, which led to his being commissioned to create a new show for the London Lovecraft Festival last year. This time he proposed two ideas, one comic, one grim. I felt both provided ways for fans of Lovecraft’s work to do more world building activities - or world destroying - and I was unable to say no to either of them. His works can feel like games but to me at their core they are about making the reality we live in more exciting.
Following Iä Azathoth: In Pursuit Of Oblivion on the 17th February is You are the Sacrifice by Hakan Akgül (who presented their interactive monologue piece, If You Think I Should Make Better Life Choices, Turn to Page 42, at Voidspace Live 2025) & Joe Stepney. TL Wiswell comments:
[Performer/writer] Hakan Akgül was great at Voidspace Live 2025, really drawing the audience in and making our decisions seem critical to the storytelling process. When he and Joe Stepney proposed an ancient Mesopotamian human sacrifice as a theme for a show, I was all ears. I can’t wait to see what they come up with.
Later that week is Riley Gene's A Song for the Vanished, which riffs on Lovecraft's short story 'The Music of Erich Zann'. TL Wiswell said the following about how the show came to be part of the festival:
I was working with Jack Aldisert (of Deadweight Theatre) on a panel, and asked if he knew anyone who’d like to make something fresh for a one-night slot at the festival. Zann is one of my favourites, and the team he introduced to me is cooking up something I know people will enjoy.
And finally, rounding off the festival's interactive line-up and the festival itself, is The Dunwich Horror: An Opera from Vulcanello Productions. A reimagining of Lovecraft's short story of the same name, the show is an atmospheric experience set in near-darkness.
I’m trying to keep the plot twists a bit secret, but the idea is that people will experience the fear and isolation of being in the town of Dunwich while the horror is happening, and yes there will be opportunities to involved, but I’m not saying what. And although I’m calling it an opera, nothing is going to be in an opera style; it’s more of a soundscape and storytelling with music. It’s going to be an hour in the dark, a bit like a radio play but more of an emotional experience. No ultradimensional being will be harmed during this show - well, except for Wilbur Whateley, but he had it coming.
More information on The London Lovecraft Festival's interactive line-up is below..
The Cat’s Court Case Of Ulthar by Leo Doulton
“Honourable members of this court… and the prosecution. Apparently, I stole a dangerous book. The Necronomicon, did you say? My my, you’d have to be clever to steal that. And apparently, I then left it in a student bar for any idiot to find. Oh, someone did? I’m devastated, I’m sure. But this trial is absurd. As the defence will tell you, I am just a normal housecat - though an unusually handsome and cunning one - and all I want is to drink milk and walk free. Miaow.”
We are recruiting for the trial of an (allegedly magic) cat. You will serve variously as magistrates, jurors, prosecution, defence, and the press, interviewing, debating, and bribing your way to victory - or even justice.
Join this absurd interactive comedy court case, featuring Leo Doulton (as an arrogant cat), you (as the court and its officials), and a truly surprising amount of milk (as milk).
📍 Drayton Arms Theatre 💰 From £18.00
🕒 16th February 2026 🎟️ Book via thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk
Iä Azathoth: In Pursuit Of Oblivion by Leo Doulton
We all know the world is broken. Worse than broken: irreparable. Infested. We need oblivion.
You are coming here tonight to summon Azathoth, to burn this world with the force of a thousand suns. Because none of it matters. Tonight, we will summon him. Some of us will map the things we must destroy. Some will debate the ancient texts on how to end it. And all will shun those who abandon the cause. Join me, as we guide this world into the fire.
Enter a reflective interactive ritual about what matters, and what doesn’t. For everyone who’s failed to find meaning.
Join us for the first collaboration between creator Leo Doulton (Creator, The Uncanny Things Trilogy; Associate Creative Director/Writer, The Key of Dreams; winner of the London Lovecraft Festival New Writing Prize 2025), creative consultant Nicole Jacobus (Production Manager, Bridge Command and Beggars49), and you.
📍 Drayton Arms Theatre 💰 From £16.00
🕒 17th February 2026 🎟️ Book via thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk
You are the Sacrifice by Hakan Akgül & Joe Stepney
The omens are dire. Pestilence has struck these lands. You have been summoned to Court where, according to tradition, a new king will be chosen who will rule for the next 100 days. Will it be you? And, if so, are you willing to pay the price?
You are the Lamb is a new interactive play which asks the audience how far they would be willing to go and what they would sacrifice to save themselves or each other.
Winner of the 2026 London Lovecraft New Writing Award
📍 Drayton Arms Theatre 💰 From £18.00
🕒 17th - 18th February 2026 🎟️ Book via thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk
A Song For The Vanished by Riley Gene
An online post prompts an attempt to enter a mysterious dimension, confront enigmatic entities, and resolve the fundamental disharmony of human souls in this interactive ritual of desperate determination.
📍 Drayton Arms Theatre 💰 From £18.00
🕒 19th February 2026 🎟️ Book via thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk
The Dunwich Horror: An Opera by Vulcanello Productions
A rural town. A dark summoning. A hunger that destroys all. Can you survive the Dunwich Horror?
Performed in near total darkness, The Dunwich Horror: An Opera is a soundscape of life in an isolated village being terrorised by a force it doesn't understand.
With flute, theremin, and the human voice, Jen Hazel's original score will bring you into HP Lovecraft's tale with a strong seasoning of American vernacular music of the 1920s. Storyteller Laura Sampson and experimental musician Sam Enthoven return from the Dreamlands shadow puppet shows alongside TL Wiswell. Do you dare enter a world of party line phones, dusty grimoires, and extradimensional beings with a thirst for blood? In the end, your voice may be needed to set Dunwich free.
📍 Drayton Arms Theatre 💰 From £20.00
🕒 22nd February 2026 🎟️ Book via thedraytonarmstheatre.co.uk
The London Lovecraft Festival runs at The Drayton Arms Theatre near Gloucester Road and South Kensington between 16th and 22nd February 2026. For more information and to book tickets, visit londonlovecraft.com
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