Riverside Studios Reveals Winter Season in 50th Anniversary Year

The whole team at Riverside Studios has announced further details of their winter season, that forms part of the Hammersmith venue’s wider 50th anniversary celebration. 

Opened in 1976, Riverside Studios has built a reputation for excellence and innovation across theatre, dance, visual art, television, comedy and music. This anniversary season takes inspiration from the past in the form of special performances and creative partnerships, while welcoming back some of the key figures who have helped shape the iconic venue’s rich history.  

Tinderella

In a scandalous twist on the classic fairy tale, Tinderella arrives at Riverside Studios from 10 – 30 December. Tinderella is a whizz on social media, a real influencer, but it's all a charade because poor Tinders has no money, no man and none of the glamorous life she claims to be living. Until one day, she meets not one, but two Princes in the woods. Expect raucous laughter, innuendos, cheesy anthems and audience participation.

Little Lord Fondleroy

Winner of Best Show at Bitesize Festival 2026, Little Lord Fondleroy (3 – 5 November) is a saccharine nightmare in velvet and lace, whose cherubic curls and perfect manners provide foolproof cover for his constant yearnings – primarily for poetry, pleasure, head boys and complete theatrical chaos. Whirl through a formative annus eroticus at Flippitts Darstardly Boarding School for Badly Behaved Boys, where forbidden desires flourish amidst a sadistic culture of cruelty cultivated by prefects and masters alike.

Act of God

A young man from Wythenshawe has been sent on a ten week therapy via poetry course to work through something he would much rather leave alone in Act of God (9 – 26 November). He doesn’t like therapy, he definitely doesn’t like poetry, but he would like everyone to stop asking him how he feels. This debut play from Manchester writer Jacob O’Connor explores masculinity, class and what happens when a man who can talk his way out of almost anything suddenly can’t.

Are You Even Indian?

Are You Even Indian? (17 – 29 November) follows a British-born Indian woman and an Indian-born man who fall in love. It feels like fate: a meet-cute, wedding dances, Bollywood jokes and plans for a future they believe they are building. But as the relationship deepens, so do the cracks, as personal choices clash with family expectations and social labels. The show reflects the experience of a generation navigating relationships and heritage, exploring love, compromise and the reality of living in between.

In My Own Little World

Following a sold-out debut performance at The Union Theatre, In My Own Little World (19 – 29 November) makes its world premiere at Riverside Studios. This deeply personal and poetic one-woman show centres on Jada, a young trans woman navigating the early stages of transitioning, exploring identity, love, resilience, community and the courage it takes to step into your power. A piece not to just tell a story, but to create space for connection and feeling and to recognise the inner worlds we all build when the outside world can be overwhelming. In My Own Little World is written, directed and performed by emerging trans artist Jaz Terry.

Sacrilegious

Who says money can’t buy morality? Sacrilegious (5 December – 23 January), the world premiere from Academy Award-winning author of Dead Poets Society Tom Schulman, follows an idealistic young rabbi who dares to challenge the billionaire president of his congregation, questions a multi-million-dollar donation, and ignites a battle for the hearts and minds of the entire community. What follows is a razor-sharp contest between principle and power, as reputations unravel and loyalties are tested. Directed by Andy Sandberg, this smart, funny, and provocative new comedy raises questions about what money can or can’t buy.

An Intervention

Mike Bartlett’s An Intervention (11 January – 13 February) returns to the stage at Riverside Studios 12 years after it premiered in Watford, with Want the Moon Theatre. A two-hander about friendship, its responsibilities, and the roles it forces us to play, the play continues to be extremely timely. This new production refocuses urgent themes of personal and political culpability, exploring them through the eyes of Global Majority Characters. An Intervention sees two close friends forced to reckon with taking differing positions on western intervention in the Arab World in 2003, directed by JMK Award Winner, Eastern Eye Best Director and 2025 The Stage Debut Nominee Adam Karim.

Expecting

In Expecting (30 January – 27 March), two couples who were once convinced they can ‘have it all’ find themselves asking what they truly want… and if there’s ever an opportunity to reframe. Career ambitions, brunch plans, and the fate of humanity hang in the balance – not to mention the daunting considerations of legacy, parenting, and ‘expectations.’ Is it ever really the right time?