ONCE UPON A TIME IN SOKOTO Will Embark on UK Tour

Touring Together, a brand new nationwide touring initiative in collaboration with Brighton Dome, Leeds Playhouse, Oxford Playhouse, Royal & Derngate, Northampton and Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, will present Once Upon a Time in Sokoto by Inua Ellams, on tour produced by Fuel. The production will be presented in autumn 2026 followed by a China Plate production in autumn 2027.

Inua Ellams' (Barber Shop Chronicles) Alfred Fagon Award-winning Once Upon a Time in Sokoto, directed by Ola Ince, will have its World Premiere at Royal & Derngate, Northampton on Monday 28 September with a Press Night on Friday 2 October, and playing until Saturday 10 October 2026. It will then tour to partner venues Oxford Playhouse (13-17 October 2026), Warwick Arts Centre (5-7 November 2026), Leeds Playhouse (11-14 November 2026) and Brighton Dome (17 - 21 November 2026).

In addition to the partner venues Nottingham Playhouse (29-31 October 2026) and Bristol Old Vic (2-13 February 2027) will also receive the production as part of its UK tour.

The award-winning Once Upon a Time in Sokoto tells the epic story of a beautiful but unlikely friendship forged between a slave and her former master. Differences in faith, culture and heritage are overcome in the face of new enemies, in a gripping family drama set against the backdrop of events leading to the creation of Nigeria.

“There are powers that bind the world together, softer than spirits yet stronger than stone, that tie the river to the tree, the tree to rain clouds, rain clouds to the land, and people to each other.”

Winner of the 2024 Alfred Fagon Award for Once Upon a Time in Sokoto, Nigeria-born Inua Ellams is an internationally celebrated poet, playwright, and artist. He has published four poetry collections and his plays include the hugely popular and critically acclaimed Barber Shop Chronicles (Fuel/National Theatre, UK and International tour), the award-winning The 14th Tale (Fuel/UK tour) and his retelling of Three Sisters (Fuel/National Theatre).

Ola Ince is a critically acclaimed and award-winning theatre, film, and opera director. In 2012 she was the Boris Karloff Bursary recipient. In 2015 Ola became a BBC Performing Arts Fellow, Resident Associate Director at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and Red Women of the Year nominee. In 2016 she became the Genesis Future Director Award winner and Artistic Associate at Lyric Hammersmith and Theatre Royal Stratford East. In 2018 she won the h100 Theatre & Performance Award. In 2019 she was named one of the Elle list's ‘50 Game Changers of Now', the Peter Hall Bursary Award (2020). Ola was Artistic Associate at the Royal Court Theatre from 2018-2022.

Ed Collier, Co-Artistic Director, China Plate said: "We're so excited to be launching Touring Together today bringing independent producers together with venues across the country to make and tour new theatre. This multi year programme gives us a great opportunity to make new work with national significance, build new audiences and encourage long term theatre going habits. We're really grateful to Arts Council England for their support for the programme. Inua Ellams' Once Upon a Time in Sokoto is a phenomenal play to open the programme and there will be more great work to follow it, we can't wait to give you more news later in the year! See you on tour in the autumn!"

Kate McGrath, Artistic Director & CEO, Fuel said:  “We know from experience that commitment to relationships with partners and communities over time yields fruit. Touring Together aims to build on existing collaborations to produce new work for a wide and diverse audiences, through long-term partnership with venues and extensive engagement programmes around the shows themselves. Touring Together will enable us all to explore new ways of working, and we are actively looking for opportunities to connect and share what we learn. We're also thrilled that the very first Touring Together show will be the World Premiere of Inua Ellams' new play, which Fuel has commissioned and developed with care and excitement, and we can't wait to share with the world.”

Lucy Davies, Brighton Dome CEO said: “Touring Together connects ambitious venues, artists and companies to bring contemporary world class new work to UK audiences. It is a brilliant model which Brighton Dome is proud to invest in and to lock arms with partners to support and sustain British playwriting.”

Leeds Playhouse Artistic Director Tom Wright said: “We're delighted to welcome Inua Ellams back to Leeds Playhouse with Once Upon a Time in Sokoto, his award-winning new play and recipient of the 2024 Alfred Fagon Award. Inua's previous collaboration with us on Barber Shop Chronicles was a powerful moment for our audiences, and this new work brings the same lyrical energy and bold ideas. As a playwright myself, I know how vital it is for new work to be properly supported. Supporting playwrights and enabling ambitious new writing is central to what we are doing at Leeds Playhouse, which is why being part of Touring Together feels so important. Through our partnership with Fuel, China Plate and many others, we're proud to help make this new production possible and bring it to audiences across the UK.”

Katy Snelling, Director of Programmes, Oxford Playhouse said: "We're thrilled to be part of Touring Together, working in collaboration with six brilliant partners to counter the decline in new writing on stages around the UK, especially in the regions outside of London. This way of working allows us to present new, relevant and exciting plays to the diverse communities that make up our city and county, inspiring conversations and connections in a way that only theatre can.”

Royal & Derngate's Artistic Director Jesse Jones and Deputy CEO (Producing & Programming) Holly Gladwell said: “At Royal & Derngate we couldn't be more thrilled to be a core part of Touring Together, collaborating with five other venues across the UK to bring top quality new work to audiences, and ensure that the whole country gets the best of the best of UK theatre-making. The new approach to producing mid-scale touring will allow us to collectively platform new stories for regional audiences first. Once Upon a Time in Sokoto will be presented as part of our Made in Northampton strand which focuses on bringing world class, world premieres to our audiences and we're delighted to be opening the tour here“

Beth Byrne, Creative Director, Warwick Arts Centre said: “We're proud to be a key partner in Touring Together, a crucial collaborative project championing new writing from major creative talents. Inua Ellams' sweeping epic narrative, Once Upon a Time in Sokoto, is an exceptional piece to launch with: one which will excite and inspire audiences not only from our city but also the wider West Midlands and its diverse diasporic communities.”

Liz Johnson, Midlands Area Director at Arts Council England said: “Arts Council England is delighted to be investing £500,000 of National Lottery funding, to Touring Together, a collaboration between China Plate and Fuel, which will see producers and venues work together to strengthen partnerships. We're excited to see how they will create dynamic new productions bringing people and audiences together, to share experiences and engage with theatre, across the country.”

Tour Dates

Royal & Derngate, Northampton
28 September - 10 October 2026
On sale soon

Oxford Playhouse
13 -17 October 2026
On sale 10 April

Nottingham Playhouse
29 - 31 October 2026
On sale 26 March

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry
5-7 November 2026
On sale soon

Leeds Playhouse
11 -14 November 2026
On sale 26 March

Brighton Dome
17 - 21 November 2026
On sale soon

Bristol Old Vic
2-13 February 2027
On sale soon