Cynthia Erivo is Dracula, Gentleman Jack Performs Ballet, and Phil Wang’s Mega Tour: Theater, Dance, and Comedy in 2026 | platform

stage

Our city

The Welsh National Theater’s inaugural outing brings Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic about everyday life in a fictional American town to Wales. This touring production stars Michael Sheen as the drama’s central character, a stage manager, with Russell T Davies contributing as creative assistant.
Swansea Grand Theatre, January 16-31. Then touring

A grain of sand

Performed by Sarah Agha, this production reflects the war from a child’s perspective, blending Palestinian folklore with real testimonies from children living in Gaza today. The film, written by Elias Matar and produced by Good Chance, has been commissioned to open the Palestine Film Festival in London in 2024.
Arcola Theatre, London, January 21-31. Then touring

My brother is a genius

Playwright Debris Stevenson’s credits have ranged from a dirty musical at the Royal Court to co-writing credits for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Cyrano de Bergerac. Stevenson’s new play is about brother-sister twins who live in a high-rise and will combine her passions for dirt, dance and poetry.
Tanja Moisewicz Theatre, Sheffield January 28 – February 14

Dracula

Cynthia Erivo replaces Elphaba’s on-screen role as the evil vampire in this “movie theater” reimagining of Bram Stoker’s novel. She will play all 23 characters in the gothic drama, written and directed by Kip Williams, who remade his film The Picture of Dorian Gray for the West End, starring Sarah Snook. This play was also first performed in Sydney. The fanged mother of all gender-bending and genre-bending classics?
Noel Coward Theatre, London, from 4 February to 30 May

Broken glass

Artistic director Nadia Fall’s inaugural Young Vic program presents exciting new works, including a curatorial by Alexander Zeldin. But before that, there’s a rarely revived play by Arthur Miller. Set in 1930s Brooklyn, it was written in response to the rising tide of European fascism, and its revival seems like a warning for today. It is directed by Jordan Finn, who directed the thriller Recycling in Oklahoma! To the same theater in 2022.
Young Vic, London, 21 February – 18 April

Witches of Manningtree

Ava Beckett won the 1536 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for her carefully observed drama about three Tudor women in Essex and the insidious nature of misogyny. This was one of the most eye-catching debuts of 2025 and transfers to the West End this year. Meanwhile, Beckett adapted A. K. Blackmore’s novel about the 17th-century witch trials in Essex into a drama about the history of silent women.
Mercury Theatre, Colchester, 28 February – 14 March

Dangerous relationships

Lesley Manville has proven she can do no wrong on screen and stage alike. After a breakout performance in Oedipus in the West End, she returns as the manipulative Marquise de Merteuil in Christopher Hampton’s adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s novel about love, power and deception in 18th-century France. Directed by Marianne Elliott and co-starring Aidan Turner, the film is a tempting proposition.
National Theatre, London, March 21–June 6

Stand and Deliver: Sit-in Lee Jeans

A seven-month sit-in at the former Lee Jeans factory in Greenock in 1981 inspired the play by Francis Boyet. This co-production between the National Theater of Scotland and TRON is about the power of togetherness with a lively 80s soundtrack, partly developed in collaboration with women from the sit-in.
Troon, Glasgow, 24 April – 9 May. Then tcom. ouring

Under the shade

The Persian-language horror film by BAFTA Award-winning director Babak Anvari, on which this production is based, shows a mother and daughter suffering a supernatural haunting in Tehran in the 1980s, during the Iran-Iraq War. Carmen Nasr’s adaptation stars Leila Farzad (of Kaos and I Hate Suzie fame) and is directed by Nadia Latif, whose London production of Fairview caused a stir in 2019.
Almeida Theatre, London, from 2 June to 4 July

Cherry orchard

The combined star power of Helen Hunt and Kenneth Branagh launches an RSC transformation of Anton Chekhov’s 1903 tragicomedy about the dying days of the Russian aristocracy (Branagh also played Prospero in The Tempest at Stratford earlier in the year). This new version is directed by Tamara Harvey, Associate Artistic Director of the RSC, and written by Laura Wade.
The Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, from 10 July to 29 August

Dance

Michael Keegan Dolan: My mother

Irish choreographer Michael Keegan-Dolan and his Kerry-based company Teaċ Daṁsa have performed this energetic show all over the world, but now, thankfully, it is touring England and Scotland. This piece represents an invitation to a society where tradition and modernity coexist side by side, and life moves on in full swing. A wonderful mixture of music and dance, featuring concertina player Cormac Begley.
Lowry, Salford, February 3-4. then Touring

Northern Ballet: Gentleman Jack

This clever commission from Northern Ballet tells the Yorkshire story popularized by Sally Wainwright’s TV show – in fact, Wainwright is a consultant on this ballet about landowner, diarist and lesbian Anne Lister. Choreographed by Annabel Lopez Ochoa, who brought Frida Kahlo to life in ballet form, and created an unforgettable version of “A Streetcar Named Desire.”
Leeds Grand Theatre, March 7-14. then Touring

Schechter II: In the brain

A new piece by Hofshe Schechter for his small company Schechter II. The company recruits a new line-up of young dancers every two years, with only eight selected from 1,200 international auditors – and they are always full of energy. In the Brain is described as “part rave, part ritual,” in keeping with Shechter’s intense, immersive style.
Reilly, Leeds, 10 May. Then touring

Dada Masiello’s Hamlet

The famous South African choreographer died in 2024 at the age of 39. This is the UK’s first opportunity to see her latest work, a reinvention of Shakespeare’s tragedy that places Ophelia at the heart of the story. Masilu explored themes of power, misogyny and descent into madness, using her unique blend of classical ballet and African dance.
Sadler’s Wells, London, May 25-26

This is Rambert

This year marks the centenary of Britain’s oldest dance company, founded by Marie Rambert. The current artistic director, Benoit Swann-Bouvre, has eschewed nostalgia celebrations, instead organizing a night of contemporary contemporary dance, all in small-scale pieces, featuring Dutch choreographer Emma Evelyn and French group (La)Horde.
Sadler’s Wells, London, June 10-13e. then Touring

comedy

Bridget Christie: French fries pizza

She’s received more attention in the past few years for her TV work – Channel 4’s menopause comedy Change, in particular – but stand-up is Bridget Christie’s forte, and she’s always one of its most exciting, sharp and delightfully silly protagonists. Thus, expectations for her 14th solo exhibition – her first in five years – are high.
Corn Exchange, Stamford, January 14. then Touring

John Cairns: Tilting at windmills

His final show, Varnishing Days, was the best of his career, as quirky but old-school comic John Cairns bounced from the popular Taskmaster to the big league. Since then, he’s teamed up with Adam Riches on the new singer’s parody Ball & Boe – but in this new show he returns to solo stand-up. Not to be missed.
Theatre, Chipping Norton, 11 February. then Touring

James Acaster

He’s taken a circuitous route to get there, via the case of Edinburgh’s Marginal Man, a trio of brilliant and eccentric Netflix specials, and a chart-topping food podcast. But James Acaster is now undoubtedly one of our best-loved, least compromised, and most exciting characters – and one whose promise of a new tour in 2026 can’t help but salivate.
Clapham Grand, London, 4 March. then Touring

Phil Wang: Uh oh

Fresh off his film debut in Wonka, one wonders if Phil Wang might have snuck onto the set with a golden ticket in his back pocket: he’s got the stand-up comedy career of a man who’s won the lottery of life, with a new, biggest-ever tour just announced after a previously successful, worldwide, and disturbing Netflix show. This latest offering promises more wit and wisdom from those who describe themselves as “the only cool millennials left.”
Barbican, York, 11 September. Then touring

Flo and Joan: With feelings