FEST 26
The Festival of English-Language School Theatre 2026
26th & 28th February 2026
Rotondes - Black Box Studio
Place des Rotondes, L- 2448 Luxembourg-Bonnevoie
With English becoming ever more important as the language of communication and business in the modern world, the need for children to use the language is now essential. Several secondary schools around the Grand-Duchy have in recent years augmented their normal English classes with English theatre options or extra-curricular activities, giving students a chance to improve their language abilities by using it practically on the stage.
To celebrate and encourage this development, in 2018, 2020 and in 2022 the FESTIVAL OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE SCHOOL THEATRE (FEST) was held in Mersch – and in 2024, it was held at the Rotondes in Luxembourg-City. Ten schools and over 100 students from Luxembourg participated in each event, which attracted over 1000 spectators. They proved so successful that a 5th Festival – FEST 2026 – will take place at the Rotondes on 27 and 28 February, organised by FEST a.s.b.l.
This exciting Festival will give secondary schools from all over Luxembourg the chance to perform short one-act theatre pieces in English to the general public over the course of a weekend. It will be an opportunity to see some of the talented young actors currently performing in English theatre school groups and classes.
It will give the students the possibility not only to act in an established venue, but also to see others of their own age performing and to hear English spoken by both native and non-native speakers. Participants will be able to find out how other schools are benefiting from using theatre in their English teaching programmes and to share best practice ideas with other pupils and teachers who are doing similar projects.
BGT Theatre is delighted to be a sponsor of FEST 26
PROGRAMME OF SHOWS
Friday 27th February 2026
19.00
CHAOS
(by Laura Lomas)
School: International School of Luxembourg Directed by: Jason Hudson Age 12 +
Warning: some allusions to domestic violence but not visible.
A girl is locked in a room. A boy brings another boy flowers. A girl has tied herself to a railing. A boy doesn’t know who he is. A girl worries about an impending catastrophe. A woman jumps in front of a train. A boy’s heart falls out his chest. A butterfly has a broken wing.
Laura Lomas’s play Chaos is a symphony of dislocated and interconnected scenes. A series of characters search for meaning in a complicated and unstable world. Bouncing through physics, the cosmos, love and violence, they find order in the disorder of each other.
Chaos is a contemporary play written by Laura Lomas and shines a spotlight on how we know what we know and how one solitary incident can change the course of one’s life and love.
International School Luxembourg Drama Group
20.00
HELP DESK
(by Don Zolidis)
School: Lycée Michel-Rodange Luxembourg Directed by: Liz Heiter & Tony Kingston Age 12+
Have you ever had a problem with your laptop, need help following the instructions for constructing a piece of furniture, or are just looking for help making a payment?? Try phoning the HELPDESK. They’ll solve your problem. Or will they?? Even if you can get through, you could end up having more problems than you started with!! This collection of hilarious short scenes shows how calls to the helpdesk can go badly wrong – for both the caller and the helpdesk worker!!
Lycée Michel Rodange English Drama Option 2025-2026
Saturday 28th February 2026
14.00
The TIGER'S BONES
(by Ted Hughes)
School: Lycée Michel Lucius
Directed by: Scott Macky & Dakshina Mokhtan No age restriction
"The Truth is the Truth!"
In this quirky comedy by English poet Ted Hughes, a genius scientist called The Master and her intrepid assistants set out on a voyage to study a meteor about to strike the Earth. They take every opportunity to "improve" the traditional peoples they come into contact with, creating industrialised havoc in their wake. Finally, the Master faces the ultimate test of her career when she comes face-to-face with a wise old man on a mountain. An epic struggle of worldviews ensues. The bones of a large tiger loom large. Will the Master prevail? Join us and find out!
Lycée Michel Lucius English Drama Group
15.05
THE LAST RESERVE
(by Laura Audrit)
School: Lycée Vauban Directed by: Laura Audrit No age restriction
The students of an unnamed school find themselves greatly reduced in number and without their class tutor after an unfortunate glitch in the smart system of a school appliance has beamed the latter into (cyber)space. The stranded group quickly realises that it was the newly installed smart bin designed by their very own teacher that caused the disappearance of their fellow classmates. However, they do not know how to prevent the recycling machine from claiming a new victim each night, beaming them into a fearful jungle landscape populated by vengeful wild animals that seem to seek revenge on those who have caused the pollution of their once pristine habitat. Trapped in their classroom which seems to be filling up with the trash they had once thoughtlessly discarded, the disgruntled crew of tweens must find a way to free themselves and their madcap teacher before they run out of cafeteria provisions.
16.10
OF MEN AND BEASTS
(by Sarah Lippert)
(inspired by William Golding’s novel “Lord of the Flies”)
School: Lënster Lycée International School Directed by: Sarah Lippert Age: 12 +
A plane full of students crashing on a desert island, all the adults are dead. What is to do? Cry? Enjoy the weather? Enjoy a life without school and any other restrictions? While some students can’t wait for the arrival of a rescue team, others use this moment to find out what power really means and how easily people can be manipulated. And so the heavenly beaches turn into hell - at least for some students.
Inspired by William Golding‘s masterpiece novel „Lord of the Flies“ the LLIS play „Of Men and Beasts“ imagines how this scenario could turn out in a modern and digitalized world.
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19.00
KISSED THE GIRLS AND MADE THEM CRY
(by Arlene Hutton)
School: European School Luxembourg, Mamer Directed by: Tony Kingston Age 13 +
Warning: contains references to sexual harassment and assault
According to a 2021 article in The Guardian: “Girls suffer disproportionately, complaining of sexist name-calling, online abuse, up-skirting, unwanted touching in school corridors and rape jokes on the school bus. Boys share nude pictures on WhatsApp and Snapchat “like a collection game”, inspectors were told. More recents developmemts, such as Only Fans and so-called "Nudify" apps, have increased this trens. A review by the schools’ inspectorate concluded that sexual harassment has become “normalised” for young people, in school, online and in other unsupervised spaces including parks and house parties.” What has caused this “normalisation” of sexual harassment in schools – and why don’t more people speak out against it? This is a play which asks “why”? Following a group of high school students, this collage of scenes looks at harassment in school, assault, date rape, shaming, mascara & video games.
Eureopean School Mamer, S4-S7 English Drama Group
20.00
THE DAY THE INTERNET DIED
(by Jason Pizzarello & Ian McWethy)
School: St George's International School Directed by: Arron Lemon No age restriction
On a sunny day in the town of Bloomington, a devastating occurrence happens. No, it’s not famine, or floods, or loss of your basic rights. The internet has gone down! In a world that is so dependent on the internet for shopping, emailing, and posting pictures of cute babies, how will society function? Not well, as it turns out.
The Day the Internet Died explores how inept we are at dating, research, and basic human interactions when we don’t have a screen to look at.
21.00
A HUMAN WRITE
(by Amelia Armande)
School: European School Luxembourg, Kirchberg Directed by: Tony Kingston Age 12+
A writer lives in a cold flat trying, unsuccessfully, to write her masterpiece. She has no inspiration. She is alone. Or she would like to be alone. Because she has to share the flat with the voices which live in her head. These voices plead with her and beg her to write them a story – but they don’t like anything she gives them. Slowly they begin to challenge her position as “the writer” and they try to take control of writing a story themselves. As the struggle between the writer and the voices grows, she is finally forced to confront the reason for her writer’s block.
European School, Kircberg S4-S7 English Drama Group
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