Mayday: National Theatre of Scotland announces one-night-only collective arts event

Lisa in the theatre
Mar 28
3 min read

Updated: 2 hours ago

The National Theatre of Scotland will present an evening of Scottish artistic talent in Edinburgh on 1st May. Aptly titled Mayday, this event, curated and directed by Cora Bissett and Hannah Lavery, will bring together performances of theatre, music, poetry, comedy and dance, with audiences invited to pay what they can. Find out more below.

Hanna Lavery and Cora Bissett for Mayday by NTS. Photo credit: Peter Dibdin — Hanna Lavery and Cora Bissett. Photo: Peter Dibdin

NTS announces Mayday

Two of Scotland’s leading artists and theatre-makers, Hannah Lavery and Cora Bissett, join forces to create an urgent multi‐form evening of theatre, music, poetry, comedy, film, dance and collaborative performance at Central Hall, Edinburgh, on 1 May.

Created as a rapid-response theatre project, in direct response to the turbulent social and political climate, they have curated and gathered together a constellation of Scottish artists for a one-night-only flare of short, urgent performances and interventions.

Through new work, unique collaborations and community voices, Mayday meets the “dark times” we are living through with wit, defiance, tenderness and imagination. This collective response honours the theatrical space as a place where audiences can think together, dream together and begin to imagine the futures we are still reaching for.

Mayday is produced by the National Theatre of Scotland (NTS).

Co-curators/co-directors Hannah Lavery and Cora Bissett said

“Given the times we are living in - where division is being  fuelled by dangerous and deliberately misinformed rhetoric - we feel deeply and personally connected to this Rapid Response Project. We are living through an age of fear: extreme racism and anti-migrant sentiment are being normalised, human rights attacked at every level, climate injustice accelerating, and ordinary people struggling to meet even basic needs.

“We’re  thrilled to curate an event that will bring together bold, fierce, insightful and creatively galvanising voices from across Scotland - an urgent celebration of our shared humanity that challenges the rising tide of hate, calls upon solidarity, inspires change and imagines a more compassionate future.” 

What is Mayday?

Mayday is a vibrant mix of live music, theatre, poetry, comedy, dance and collaborative performance at Central Hall, Edinburgh, on 1 May 2026, for one night only.

Highlights include:

Original short sharp plays from playwrights Apphia Campbell (The Official Version), Hannah Lavery (Patriotic Renewal), Uma Nada-Rajah (The Proposal) and Sara Shaarawi (Pandora’s Box)

Sanjeev Kohli delivers a short sketch on the cultural impact of his character Navid from Still Game

Live music from Declan Welsh, Soapbox and Djana Gabrielle, who honours Beldina Odenyo’s (Heir of the Cursed) Dala with a powerful, intimate performance that moves between vulnerability and defiance.

Cross-artform collaborations, including Scottish Album of the Year (SAY) Award winner Kathryn Joseph’s powerful new collaboration with dancer Kassichana Okene-Jameson, visuals by Lucas Chi-Peng Kao, choreography by Joan Clevillé, and direction by Cora Bissett. Joseph’s haunting, fragile songs intertwine with movement in a visceral fusion of music and dance. Created in collaboration with Scottish Dance Theatre.

Collaborations between professional artists and community groups:
- An Artistic Response to Talat Yaqoob’s International Women’s Day Speech, Edinburgh, March 2026 led by award-winning choreographer and dance maker Janice Parker.
- Loud and Proud Choir
- Dawn Sievewright (Wild Rose) performs No a Weans Choice, the defiant rallying cry from the Glasgow Girls stage show, composed by Cora Bissett
- Reuben Joseph (Orphans - NTS, Hamilton the Musical) performs a new version of Robert Burns’ A Man's a Man