NEW '26: XL Bully

Music for theatre

Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, 6-12 June 2026

New Diorama Theatre, London, 23-26 June 2026

Written by Stef Smith

Director Rob Watt

Eight friends take a shortcut home after a night out. They end up trapped in a locked room, with something unseen waiting on the other side of the door. As the pressure builds, jokes sharpen, tensions rise, and fear starts to take over. What begins as a darkly comic situation slowly shifts into something stranger and more unsettling. A tense, funny, and provocative new play by Stef Smith about fear, responsibility, and the stories we tell ourselves when we feel threatened.                 

Part of NEW '26: Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama’s acclaimed annual new writing festival, NEW, works closely with leading writers and directors on new plays commissioned by the College in association with companies like Paines Plough, Sherman Theatre and Royal Court. Productions premiere at the College’s home in Cardiff before moving to London.