Sheffield Theatres Unveils 2026/27 Season Featuring World Premieres, Shakespeare and More
The season will feature Mathew Horne in Twelfth Night directed by Jamie Glover (Measure for Measure), and Ian McDiarmid in King Lear and more.
Sheffield Theatres has revealed details of the 2026/27 season. An ambitious season of classics alongside five world premieres will welcome audiences across the Sheffield Theatres stages. This includes a double-bill of Shakespeare in the Crucible with two major new productions brought to the stage by a company of actors across both titles. The company will be joined by screen and stage stars Mathew Horne in Twelfth Night directed by Jamie Glover (Measure for Measure), and Ian McDiarmid in King Lear directed by Donmar Warehouse Associate Artistic Director TITAS HALDER (The Dance of Death) in association with MGC, which marks a reunion for Sheffield Theatres and former Artistic Director Michael Grandage. Olivier Award-winner Jonathan Church (The Drifters Girl) will return to Sheffield Theatres with the sure-fire splash-hit Singin’ in the Rain which will delight audiences in the Crucible over the festive period.
Set in Yorkshire and based on the acclaimed book, the world premiere of The Ballroomwill mark the return of the Director of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie to Sheffield Theatres. The production is created and staged by Jonathan Butterell, Kevin Clifton (Strictly Come Dancing) and Anna Hope. Dates and further details will be announced soon.
As always, Sheffield Theatres’ programming brings together locally-rooted productions with global stories. The world premiere of Ugandan born and Sheffield bred and based John Rwothomack’s Never Look Back (Lines) is a retelling of the East and Southern African soldiers who fought for the Commonwealth in World War II, brought to the stage in a co-production with Sheffield Theatres’ Associate Company Roots Mbili Theatre. Sheffield Theatres collaborates with English Touring Theatre and Graeae with the world premiere of 12 Letters To My Name by Sheffield’s Lettie Precious (This is Us), telling the story of two African schoolchildren who have recently made Sheffield their home. The world premiere of the stage adaptation of Sunjeev Sahota’s (The Spoiled Heart) novel The Year of the Runaways is directed by Artistic Director Elizabeth Newman and adapted by playwright Stephanie Street (Sisters), presented in association with Ranga Shankara.
This autumn, Open Works, a first-of-its-kind festival for Sheffield Theatres, will celebrate artists from across South Yorkshire and beyond in a coming together of creatives that will expand Sheffield as a destination for discovery. A new generation of talent will also take to the stage as Sheffield Theatres’ Youth Theatre present the world premiere of The Trip by Janys Chambers (North and South), created in collaboration with its young members and creatives. The Women's Prize for Playwriting 2025 winner, Sapling by Georgina Duncan will be produced at Sheffield Theatres, the new venue partner of the Prize, in co-production with Paines Plough and the Women’s Prize for Playwriting. Sapling is a tender and darkly funny story, which follows a young man dealing with the pains of adolescence and the lingering shadow of grief in 1990s Belfast.
After a sold-out West End run, KENREX opens on Broadway this April and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie will be touring the UK once again, celebrating ten years since it first burst onto the Crucible stage. Looking into next year, Sheffield Theatres continues to develop global partnerships, including the association with Ranga Shankara in Bengaluru, India, a collaboration rooted in exchange, learning and shared ambition.
Tickets for the 2026/27 Season go on sale to Members from 7 March and on general sale from 14 March. Tickets for The Ballroom and Sapling will go on sale soon.
FULL SEASON DETAILS
WORLD PREMIERE
A Sheffield Theatres’ Youth Theatre Production
THE TRIP
By Janys Chambers
Thu 6 – Sat 8 August 2026
Playhouse
Find out what really happens when a group of Sheffield teenagers go on a school trip to the seaside.
First of all, they need to get the bus in time. Even then, what a bunch of teenagers from Sheffield will make of donkey rides, the amusements and seagulls the size of dogs is genuinely anyone’s guess. But most importantly, will they make it back in one piece?
Co-created and performed by members of Sheffield Theatres’ Youth Theatre.
A Sheffield Theatres Production in association with MGC
KING LEAR
Directed by TITAS HALDER
Sat 29 August – Sat 19 September 2026
Crucible
In an attempt to spend the remaining years of his life unburdened by the pressures of monarchy, King Lear decides to pass his lands and responsibilities to his three daughters.
When he tells them they must secure their inheritance by proving how much they love him, his eldest daughters make dramatic speeches, striving to inherit as much as they can. The youngest refuses the challenge and is immediately banished by her father. Once in control of their father’s kingdom, Lear’s remaining daughters trade declarations of love for cold-hearted treachery, ejecting the former king from their homes, and stripping him of his authority, his dignity, and ultimately his sanity as they abandon all thought of loyalty to pursue their political and personal ambitions.
Ian McDiarmid returns to Sheffield to play the title role. He is an Olivier and Tony award-winning theatre actor, as well as having multiple screen credits including Palpatine in the Star Wars franchise.
A Sheffield Theatres Production
TWELFTH NIGHT
Directed by Jamie Glover
Sat 10 – Sat 31 October 2026
Crucible
After their ship is wrecked, Viola and Sebastian are washed ashore in different locations, each believing the other to have drowned.
Without her brother, Viola disguises herself as a young man to find safety and work, in the home of Duke Orsino. When Orsino entrusts his new aid to deliver his letters of love to the Countess Olivia, it is the disguised Viola who catches Olivia’s eye. With her own feelings for Orsino to contend with, Olivia becomes part of a tangled romantic web, where not everything is always as it seems.
Mathew Horne plays Malvolio in Shakespeare’s beloved comedy. An award-winning comedic TV, film and theatre actor, he’s best known for his portrayal of Gavin in the BAFTA-winning Gavin and Stacey.
Sheffield Theatres presents
OPEN WORKS FESTIVAL
Mon 28 September – Sat 10 October
Playhouse and Montgomery
Two electrifying weeks. One city bursting with creativity. Sheffield Theatres’ first-of-a-kind festival celebrating creative talent from Sheffield and beyond.
This autumn, Sheffield Theatres’ throws open its doors for a bold celebration of theatre, artists with new voices, diverse perspectives, and fresh ideas. From world premieres to scratch nights, masterclasses to industry panels, Open Works is where stories are born and the future of theatre is shaped.
Expect thrilling performances, candid conversations, and unforgettable moments from dynamic artists and companies, including Sheffield Theatres ’very own Associates – Forced Entertainment, Roots Mbili Theatre, Stand & Be Counted Theatre and The Bare Project – alongside work by LUNG, Swans Productions and many more.
The festival offers rare insights into the creative process and the chance to engage with work at various stages of development, while providing a vital platform for both established and emerging talent across the region. Whether you’re a theatre lover, curious newcomer, or a creative looking to connect, Open Works is the chance to witness innovation and experience brilliant story-telling live across Sheffield Theatres’stages.
A Sheffield Theatres production in association with Jonathan Church Theatre Productions
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
Thu 26 November 2026 – Sat 16 January 2027
Crucible
Beautiful, charismatic, and very much in love (if you believe what you read in the press), Hollywood’s golden couple, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont have the world at their feet. But when “talkies” start to replace silent movies, and an aspiring actress is drafted in to save the day, life as they know it is turned upside down.
After beginning his career at Sheffield Theatres, Jonathan Church returns to Sheffield Theatres for 2026's Crucible Christmas musical, is an irresistibly charming take on one of the world’s best-loved films, with high energy choreography and a sumptuous set with a glorious MGM score including Good Morning, Make ‘em Laugh and the legendary Singin’ in the Rain.
A Sheffield Theatres and Roots Mbili Theatre Production
NEVER LOOK BACK
By John Rwothomack
Sat 27 February – Sat 13 March 2027
Crucible
Uganda, 2020. Veteran Komakech ‘Abba’ Ogwang is haunted by dreams of battle. His granddaughter, Anena, urges him to share his long-buried story.
As Abba struggles to confront the past, he transports Anena to the fear and camaraderie of the jungles of 1940s Burma, where the King’s African Rifles, led by British officers, face the Japanese army.
John Rwothomack’s (Far Gone) retelling of the East and Southern African soldiers who fought for the commonwealth in World War II. Artistic Director of Roots Mbili Theatre, John Rwothomack began his theatre career as a part of Sheffield Theatres’ hub for artistic development, The Bank.
Originally developed through ETT's Nationwide Voices programme, supported by the John Ellerman Foundation.
WORLD PREMIERE
A Sheffield Theatres, ETT and Graeae Production
12 LETTERS TO MY NAME
By Lettie Precious
Sat 12 – Sat 26 June 2027
Playhouse
Tobi and Jay, the only two Africans in the class, are lambs to the slaughter.
Newly arrived to England, Sheffield, they are forced to navigate a new life alongside the quiet ache of home. As they struggle to hold onto their names, and themselves, they find connection in unexpected places and in the bonds they form with one another.
Sheffield playwright, Lettie Precious’ deeply personal coming- of -age story about what it means to grow up between different worlds.
All performances will creatively integrate audio description and captioning.
Originally developed through ETT's Nationwide Voices programme, supported by the John Ellerman Foundation
WORLD PREMIERE
A Sheffield Theatres Production in association with Ranga Shankara
THE YEAR OF THE RUNAWAYS
By Sunjeev Sahota
Adapting Playwright Stephanie Street
Sat 5 – Sat 26 June 2027
Crucible
Narinder Kaur leaves the protection of her father’s home for the first time to journey alone to Sheffield.
Her life becomes intertwined with those of three young men illegally arrived from India, all seeking hope and a better life. As desperation bites, Narinder, Randeep, Avtar and Tochi learn that you can never fully run away from your past.
Sheffield novelist, Sunjeev Sahota’s award-winning novel is adapted for the stage in this triumphant story of dignity and human spirit against all the odds.
WORLD PREMIERE
A Sheffield Theatres Production
THE BALLROOM
Created and Staged by Jonathan Butterell, Kevin Clifton and Anna Hope.
Based on the novel by Anna Hope.
Coming soon
Crucible
Where love is the only escape
Inside Sharston Asylum, at the edge of the Yorkshire moors, there is a beautiful ballroom. Men and women, kept apart during the week, meet on a Friday to dance…
Set over the tinder-dry heatwave summer of 1911, The Ballroom spins a tale of forbidden love and dangerous obsession, of madness and sanity, and of who gets to decide which is which.
Created and staged by Jonathan Butterell (Everyone’s Talking about Jamie), Kevin Clifton (Strictly Come Dancing) and novelist Anna Hope, The Ballroom is a love – and dance – story, like no other.
A Sheffield Theatres, Women's Prize for Playwriting and Paines Plough Production
SAPLING
By Georgina Duncan
Coming Soon
As the new venue partner of the Prize, Sheffield Theatres are delighted to announce Sapling by Georgina Duncan as the winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting 2025. Sapling is a tender and darkly funny story, which follows a young man dealing with the pains of adolescence and the lingering shadow of grief in 1990s Belfast.
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