Devoted and Disgruntled 21

Devoted and Disgruntled was born out of frustration. I was frustrated both with theatre and with myself. I knew things could be better in theatre and I also knew the way I responded to that situation could be more creative. I wanted to stop moaning and actually do something about it. Phelim McDermott, Co-Artistic Director of Improbable

Improbables 21st annual unconventional convention for everyone who is passionate about making change in theatre and the performing arts is back! We'll be atShoreditch Town Hall in London from Saturday 2nd May - Monday 4th May 2026.

A nationwide conversation about theatre and the performing arts. Since 2006, Improbable has been using a process called Open Space Technology to facilitate these gatherings where everyones voice matters, no topic is off-limits, and the agenda is created by the people in the room. There are no keynote speakers. No panels. No fixed programme. You decide what gets talked about, explored, challenged, and dreamed into being.

For three decades, Improbable has been asking bold questions about how we make work, how we work together, and how we imagine better futures. Devoted & Disgruntled remains one of the places where those questions are not only asked but acted upon.Plus this year, we're celebrating Improbable's 30th Anniversary! A chance to take stock, reflect back, and look forward.

If the questionWhat are we going to do about Theatre and the Performing Arts? inspires you, invigorates you, or even infuriates you then this is for you. If were going to change things for the better, we need time, space, and each other meeting on equal footing, with curiosity, courage, and care.

Devoted & Disgruntled is that time and space.

Location
Shoreditch Town Hall - Assembly Hall
380 Old StreetLondonEC1V 9LT

EVENT TIMINGS
EVENT TIMINGS (for guidance only, subject to changes)

D&D21 will run from Saturday 2nd - Monday 4th May 2026.

Doors Open : 10.00am
Opening Circle (Sat and Sun): 10.30am
Closing Circle Ends (Sat and Sun): 7.00pm
Closing Circle Ends (Mon): 2.30pm
Lunch break: Approx 1.30pm

All timings for D&D21 are a guideline, you are free to take a break whenever you like during the day.

Please note, lunch will not be provided. There are plenty of food options around near Shoreditch Town Hall, for more information you canvisit their website [https://shoreditchtownhall.com/your-visit/food-drink.html].

TICKET PRICES (AND WHO GETS TO BE IN THE ROOM)

An Invitation from Ellie Claughton, Executive Director, Improbable

As we launch ticket sales for this years Devoted & Disgruntled, I want to talk about money, because avoiding it is one of the ways exclusion quietly creeps into our sector.

Confession number one: Im borrowing this approach from Middle Child Theatre, who published a brilliant, transparent breakdown of what it actually costs to put work on. I admired the honesty. The arts talk a lot about access; we talk less about who pays for it.
So heres the reality.

This year, were raising the standard ticket price for Devoted & Disgruntled to 40. Thats 10 more than last year. My budget for D&D has increased from 21k to 23k, and that still doesnt include staff time. Venue hire costs more. Staffing costs more. Equipment costs more. None of this is news.

We sell around 250 tickets per event. If everyone paid the true cost of attending, tickets would be 92 each.

There are conferences charging well above that. But Devoted & Disgruntled was never meant to be one of them.

D&D exists because the sector needs a space where people can speak freely not just the loudest, most secure, or best-funded voices. Its why we run it at weekends. Its why we move it around the country. Its why open space sits at its heart. Charging 92 fundamentally undermines that purpose.

D&D is not a product. Its a sector-supporting activity.

The Numbers We Dont Usually Share

If all 250 attendees paid 40, ticket income would be 10,000, leaving us with a 13,000 shortfall.

But that assumes everyone can pay 40, which history tells us isnt the case. Once we account for Pay What You Decide tickets, we expect closer to 6,000 in income, meaning the real loss is around 17,000.

That gap is covered partly through our NPO funding, and partly through Open Space for Hire, where we take open space practice into organisations outside the arts. Its strong work. It pays the bills. But heres the tension: the more time we spend translating our practice for corporate or non-arts settings, the less time we have to reach the artists and freelancers who actually need spaces like D&D.

THE TICKETS

The Standard Ticket is 40.

Weve kept Pay What You Decide, with a 15 minimum, because financial circumstance shouldnt be the thing that stops you coming into the room.

If youre on a low income or receiving income-related benefits, email us and well offer a free ticket.

Weve removed Pay It Forward this year not because the idea wasnt right, but because the tickets simply werent being claimed.
Instead, were introducing Support D&D.

This isnt a ticket. Its a gesture of belief. A way to help us offer free places to artists from marginalised backgrounds and to absorb the real, rising costs of holding this space at all. Its about collective responsibility for the conversations we say we want to keep alive.
So to be clear, our ticket options are:

Standard ticket: 40
Pay What You Decide: minimum 15

If Devoted & Disgruntled is to mean anything, it has to remain a place where the agenda isnt set by who can afford the door price but by who turns up with something at stake.

A booking fee will be charged per ticket. The amount will vary based on the ticket cost.

ACCESS INFO

For a detailed list of Access Information about our Events please visithere [https://www.devotedanddisgruntled.com/Pages/FAQs/Category/accessibility-information].

Devoted and Disgruntled uses anOpen Space format [https://www.devotedanddisgruntled.com/about-open-space-technology]. This means that attendees get to set the agenda themselves, instead of following a fixed timetable of speakers - anyone can call a session on anything, which means that the most important and vital issues and topics can be discussed on the day.

Visit Shoreditch Town Hall's website for a 3D tour of the building and theirfull access information. [https://shoreditchtownhall.com/your-visit/access.html]

If you have any specific access queries, please email office@improbable.co.uk.

If you have any queries or would like further information about the event,visit our website [https://www.devotedanddisgruntled.com/Event/devoted-disgruntled-2025-what-are-we-going-to-do-about-theatre-and-the-performing-arts] or email us at office@improbable.co.uk.

Image credit: Corrine Cumming