Every year, we license thousands of amateur performances of NHB-published plays, helping amateur groups, schools, youth theatres and others create their own brilliant productions. With over 1,500 titles on our list, there’s no shortage of exciting options!
We know that proven, popular hits can serve as important inspiration when planning a season – so to help provide more ideas, we’re rounding up the plays which we licensed most frequently for amateur performance in 2025. Can you guess which made the list?
See below for our Top 10 Most Performed Plays of 2025, in reverse order – and check out the full Top 40 list on our website for even more ideas and inspiration.
10. The Ballad of Maria Marten by Beth Flintoff
Cast: 10f 2m (can be performed by 6f doubling)
The Ballad of Maria Marten, performed by Macclesfield Amateur Dramatics Society in September 2025 (photo by Silktown Studios)
Summer, 1827. In a red barn in Suffolk, Maria Marten awaits her lover. A year later, hidden in a grain sack under the floor of the barn, Maria’s body is found, barely identifiable – and the manhunt begins. The crime sent shockwaves throughout the country, but in the process, Maria’s own place in the narrative was lost. This historical drama rediscovers her story, bringing it back to vivid, urgent life.
With its flexible casting and rich opportunities for female performers, this thrilling play has established itself as a firm amateur favourite for casts of young people and adults alike.
Loved this play? Take a look at: The Welkin by Lucy Kirkwood
9. Ladies’ Day by Amanda Whittington
Cast: 4f 1m (doubling, or up to 6m)
Ladies’ Day, performed by Huntingdon Drama Club in July 2025 (photo by Phil Barrett)
It’s now been over twenty years since the premiere of this exuberant comedy about four likely lasses from the Hull fish docks on a day trip to the races – and Ladies’ Day has been a staple on the amateur-theatre scene ever since.
Audiences and groups have long loved following the exploits of fish-filleting foursome Pearl, Jan, Shelley and Linda, whose stories continue in the sequels Ladies Down Under and Ladies Unleashed. Amanda Whittington is also the writer of several other amateur-theatre hits, including gripping true-crime drama The Thrill of Love – which features on our full list of the Top 40 Most Performed Plays of 2025.
Loved this play? Take a look at: Till the Stars Come Down by Beth Steel
8. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, adapted for the stage by Rona Munro
Cast: 5f 6m, doubling (6f 9m possible)
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, performed by Talisman Theatre in May 2025 (photo by Robert Warner)
An eighteen-year-old girl dreams up a monster whose tragic story will capture the imaginations of generations to come. A young scientist breathes life into a gruesome body – creating a creature who is pushed into darkness, threats of vengeance by a broken promise and the rejection of the world.
This thrilling reinvention of Mary Shelley’s Gothic masterpiece – which places the writer herself amongst the action – offers a fresh take on a timeless, well-known tale, as well as a sharp examination of the stark realities facing revolutionary young women, then and now.
Loved this play? Take a look at: Dracula, adapted by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm from Bram Stoker’s novel
7. Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, in a new adaptation by Tom Basden
Cast: 1-2f 5m
Accidental Death of an Anarchist, performed by Theatre Workshop Coulsdon in April 2025
An irrepressible fraudster known only as the Maniac is brought into Police Headquarters just as the officers are preparing for a judicial review of the recent ‘accidental’ death of a suspect in custody. Outwitting his captors, the Maniac dupes them into performing a farcical recreation of the incident, exposing the absurd corruption and terrifying idiocy at the heart of the system.
First seen at Sheffield Theatres, this hit new adaptation of the riotous satire later transferred to London’s West End and was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play. It mixes sharp political commentary with high-octane physical comedy – and will get your audiences laughing and thinking in equal measure.
March 2026 also marks one hundred years since Dario Fo’s birth (and a worldwide programme of events is being planned to mark the occasion) – so there’s even more reason to consider staging this hilarious, thought-provoking comedy over the next twelve months.
Loved this play? Take a look at: Joseph K, adapted by Tom Basden from the novel by Franz Kafka
6. The Good Life, adapted by Jeremy Sams from the TV series by John Esmonde and Bob Larbey
Cast: 3-6f 3-6m plus 1 goat (real or otherwise)
The Good Life, performed by The Portsmouth Players in June 2025 (photo by Katherine Duffy)
When Tom and Barbara Good decide to exchange the pressures of the rat race for an alternative way of living, they set about turning their suburban home in Surbiton into a model of self-sufficiency. They grow their own fruit and veg, keep livestock in the garden, make their own clothes, and even generate their own electricity from manure. It’s the good life for them – but not for Margo and Jerry Leadbetter, who live next door, and are desperately trying to maintain the Surbiton status quo.
This side-splitting stage version of the hugely popular sitcom reunites the well-loved characters (not forgetting Geraldine the goat) as they get themselves into and out of scrapes – some old, some new, all hilarious.
Loved this play? Take a look at: Jeeves & Wooster in ‘Perfect Nonsense’, adapted by the Goodale Brothers from the works of P.G. Wodehouse
5. The Weir by Conor McPherson
Cast: 1f 4m
The Weir, performed by Corofin Dramatic Society in February 2025
A bar in a remote part of Ireland. The local lads are swapping spooky stories to impress a young woman recently moved to the area from Dublin. As the drink flows and the stories become increasingly frightening, it’s clear that Valerie has something on her mind. She has a tale to tell that’ll stop them all dead in their tracks.
This spellbinding, Olivier Award-winning play, which combines superbly chilling tales of the supernatural with the hilarious banter of a small community in the heart of rural Ireland, had a big year on both amateur and professional stages. A major West End revival starring Brendan Gleeson wowed both audiences and critics alike. Meanwhile, a surge in amateur interest – including two separate productions which made it through the rounds all the way to the finals of the All-Ireland Drama Festival – propelled McPherson’s play up the rankings into our top five.
The Weir celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of its professional premiere in 2027 – so now is a great time for your group to consider staging it (if you dare…).
Loved this play? Take a look at: Bracken Moor by Alexi Kaye Campbell
4. Bleak Expectations by Mark Evans
Cast: 3-5f 6-9m plus optional extras
Bleak Expectations, performed by The Halifax Thespians in August 2025
This hilarious, chaotic caper is the story Charles Dickens might have written after drinking too much gin… Follow half-orphan Pip’s extraordinary exploits with sisters Pippa and Poppy and best friend Harry Biscuit, as they attempt to escape the calculating clutches of the dastardly Mr Gently Benevolent, defeat the hideous Hardthrasher siblings, and deflect disaster at every turn! Will evil be vanquished by virtue? Can love triumph over hate?
Based on the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series, Bleak Expectations offers rich delights for audiences with its dastardly villains, preposterous names, pulse-quickening romances, heart-rending death scenes, and definitely, probably, hopefully a happy ending. So it’s no surprise that the play has featured in our Most Performed list every year since it was released for amateur performances, and now moves up to its highest spot to date.
Loved this play? Take a look at: The Hound of the Baskervilles, adapted by Steven Canny and John Nicholson from the novel by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
3. Blue Stockings by Jessica Swale
Cast: 8-10f 8-14m (plus 2 extras)
Blue Stockings, performed by USC School of Dramatic Arts in March 2025 (photo by Craig Schwartz)
Set in 1890s Cambridge, Blue Stockings is a moving, comical and eye-opening story of young women fighting for education and self-determination against the larger backdrop of women’s suffrage. The play follows the course of one tumultuous academic year as Tess and her fellow first years at Girton College battle for the right to graduate – and overcome the hurdles in their way.
With its large, mixed cast led by a range of fantastic roles for women, Blue Stockings remains an amateur go-to year after year – and once again nabs a place in our top three. Accompanying music by Laura Forrest-Hay is also available for companies to license.
Jessica Swale is having a huge moment right now as her smash hit Paddington: The Musical (co-created with McFly’s Tom Fletcher) steals hearts and packs houses in London’s West End – her Olivier Award-winning comedy Nell Gwynn also features on our full list of the Top 40 Most Performed Plays of 2025.
Loved this play? Take a look at: Lilies on the Land by the Lions part
2. It’s a Wonderful Life by Mary Elliott Nelson, based on the critically acclaimed classic film
Cast: 4 actors, doubling (either 1f 3m or 2f 2m); larger cast possible (13 characters plus extras)
It’s a Wonderful Life, performed by Highbury Players in December 2025
Christmas Eve, 1946, Bedford Falls. Down-on-his-luck banker George Bailey feels life has passed him by, and he’s at the end of his rope. But when George’s guardian angel pays him a visit, he’s amazed to discover what life in his beloved town would be like without him. Maybe it’s a wonderful life, after all?
Based on the critically acclaimed Frank Capra movie, this joyful story of love, hope and community has swiftly cemented its position at the very top of amateur companies’ Christmas lists, with theatres far and wide staging the play across the 2025 festive season (as well as other times of the year, too).
If you’ve not yet brought this adaptation of the beloved family classic to your stage, then why not do so this year, and make your next season that bit more wonderful?
Loved this play? Take a look at: A Christmas Carol – A Ghost Story, adapted by Mark Gatiss from the novella by Charles Dickens
1. The Unfriend by Steven Moffat
Cast: 3f 4m
The Unfriend, performed by Hasland Theatre Company in November 2025
When a British suburban couple, Peter and Debbie, meet eccentric, larger-than-life American widow Elsa on holiday, they agree to stay in touch – because no one ever really does, do they?
But when Elsa unexpectedly invites herself to stay a few months later, Peter and Debbie decide to look her up online. Too late, they learn the truth about Elsa Jean Krakowski: deadly danger has just boarded a flight to London! But how do you protect all that you love from mortal peril without seeming, well, a bit impolite? Because guess who’s coming… to murder!
This hilarious and satirical look at middle-class England’s disastrous instinct always to appear nice has been an absolute phenomenon in the amateur-theatre world, storming to the top spot of our Most Performed list in its very first year of being available for amateur performance. It’s easy to see why: it offers big laughs, a colourful cast of characters and painfully relatable themes, has multiple hit West End runs under its belt, and its creator boasts numerous other well-known, eye-catching credits including Sherlock and Doctor Who.
At the time of writing, The Unfriend is currently only available for amateur performances up to 31 December 2026 – so if you haven’t performed it yet, don’t miss your opportunity to do so before it’s too late!
Loved this play? Take a look at: Rules for Living by Sam Holcroft
A word from NHB’s Performing Rights Manager, Tamara von Werthern…
It’s always exciting to look back over the last year and to see which titles made it onto our coveted list of Most Performed Plays.
My local bookshop maintains a chalked up list of each month’s bestsellers, and as a customer, I look at it regularly to get inspiration for which book to read next. I hope our list will have a similar effect on you.
These plays are performed over and over again because they work brilliantly on stage, they’re fun for your casts and creative teams to work on, and they attract strong audiences. Not a bad way to start your search for your next play! But I do hope that you believe me when I say that they are also only the tip of the iceberg. There are many, many more plays on our list that are also great to perform, and I’m here to help you find the perfect fit for your next production.
We licensed more performances than ever before in 2025, and it’s heartening to see plenty of newcomers alongside returning favourites. I’m also once again struck by the variety on display, across both this Top 10 countdown and our full Top 40 list. There’s everything here, including laugh-out-loud comedies, extravagant period pieces, historical crime stories, poignant and emotionally intense dramas, and interrogations of the current state of our world. And the casts also come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from intimate three-handers to sprawling character lists of dozens.
Remember that by mounting an amateur production, you’re not just creating a meaningful and memorable experience for your cast, creatives and audience. You’re also playing an important role in protecting the future of theatre – both by supporting playwrights (who receive the majority of any licence fees paid) to keep going and create more brilliant new plays, and also providing much-needed development opportunities for everyone involved in making the show happen. So on behalf of all of our playwrights, thank you.
And on a personal note, it’s always so lovely to be able to work with so many amateur companies throughout the year, and be part of making your productions happen. So a big thank you to everyone who licensed a show from us last year, and we look forward to working with you again in 2026.
To see the full, extended list of our Most Performed Plays of last year – featuring lots more well-known names, plus some exciting new voices – head to our website.
Thanks so much to all of the ambitious, passionate amateur companies whom we helped create fantastic productions in 2025. We’re always inspired to see your incredible work, and can’t wait to help you stage more brilliant shows this year, too.
The Prompt Book 