KDA has for many years run an adjudicated full-length play festival each Spring for amateur drama societies.

The Festival's professional adjudicator attends a performance of each society's production at its own venue, and gives a full public adjudication to the audience followed by an opportunity for private discussion with the cast and production team.

The Festival ends with an awards ceremony evening - twenty two Awards, for all aspects of a production ranging from Best Overall Production to Best Actor in a Cameo Role. Marks for the main categories of production are given to each society (but are not publicised, except for the overall winner and runners-up).

The adjudicator of several years' Festivals, Charles Evans, produced some notes that may be of interest to societies and which can be downloaded here. These are the copyright of Charles Evans and should not be reproduced or disseminated outside members of KDA without his consent.

A list of all award winners in recent years can be downloaded here.

2027 Full-Length Play Festival

The Festival will run from 22nd February (or 15th February for Youth Groups) and 29th May 2027, and will be adjudicated by Louise Manders GoDA.

An Entry Form can be downloaded here, and should be sent to the Festival Organiser Marie Quarman - preferably by e-mail with the Entry Fee of £35 paid by bank transfer - by 31st October at the latest. The Festival's Rules can be downloaded here.

2026 Full-Length Play Festival

There were 19 entries in the 2026 Full Length Play Festival, adjudicated by Jack Davidson.
The overall winner was Bromley Little Theatre, for their production of The Son by Florian Zeller.
A full list of the awards can be downloaded here..

Radio Play Festival

Unfortunately, we had to cancel the 2024 festival as some entries were withdrawn due to other commitments. We may run another festival in 2027, if enough societies wish to participate.

This format provides an opportunity for learning about, and participating in, a different form of drama, and an opening for those who prefer not to participate in staged plays and for budding playwrights.

A short radio play (20-60 minutes) is submitted as an audio file for adjudication, and an Awards Ceremony is held and certificates are given to the winners and runners-up in a range of categories.

There were six entries in the 2023 Radio Play Festival, and the overall winner was Alternate Shadows for their production of "What Nots of my Dad" by Brian Walsh. A list of the award winners can be downloaded here.

Other Local Festivals

There are other play festivals open to societies in Kent - including:
Medway Little Theatre usually runs the Duncan Rand Festival each July - a one act festival with separate competitions for Youth and Adult entries.
Southern Counties Drama Festival - see barntheatreoxted.co.uk