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Push the Boat Out 2025: Call for Commissions

Anthropocene: The Human-Altered World

Push the Boat Out, Edinburgh’s International Poetry Festival, is inviting proposals for three new poetry-led performance pieces for its 2025 festival. Supported by the National Theatre of Scotland, three £1,500 commissions, along with development support, will be awarded to artists or groups of artists responding to the environmental theme Anthropocene: The Human-Altered World. 

Artists are encouraged to explore the profound impact humans have had on the planet, examining how the things we’ve created have transformed our world, and even our own bodies, in potentially irreversible and unexpected ways. Possible areas of focus include microplastics, forever chemicals, waste, and the built environment.  We welcome innovative works that push the boundaries of poetry and intersect with other art forms, helping to create a powerful, multidisciplinary showcase of responses to this urgent theme. The commissioned pieces will be performed at Push the Boat Out Festival at the Pleasance Theatre in November 2025. 

This marks the third year of collaboration between Push the Boat Out and the National Theatre of Scotland, creating opportunities to develop and showcase longer poetry-led pieces through commissions and performances. Any artist living and working in Scotland who works in poetry or a related art form is eligible to apply. Submissions are particularly welcomed from artists working in any of Scotland’s indigenous languages or in BSL, and from individuals under-represented in the literature sector.

Proposals for works already in progress will be considered if they closely align with the theme, provided their first presentation takes place at Push the Boat Out Festival in November 2025, at the Pleasance Theatre.

How to Apply

Please read the full information pack available here.

Submit the following to Annie Rutherford, Creative Producer, Push the Boat Out, at annie.rutherford@pushtheboatout.org:

• A proposal (max 1 page written or 5-minute video) detailing your response to the theme and how the work will be presented on stage.

• Up to 3 links to previous work.

• CV for the lead artist (max 2 pages) and short biographies for any collaborators.

• A simple provisional budget outlining the use of the £1,500, including any additional access costs.

Deadline for applications: Monday, 7 July 2025.

For informal discussions or questions, contact Emma Collins, Director, Push the Boat Out, at emma.collins@pushtheboatout.org.

Our festival volunteers are absolutely vital to making the festival happen. From greeting artists and audience members when they arrive to helping keep everyone informed backstage, there’s a role to suit everyone who is interested in the poetry world or even just how events and festivals are put together. If you’d like to find out more information or how to apply, check out the role description here.