Bolton Octagon announces 60th anniversary season with Sunset Boulevard, Educating Rita and more

The Octagon Theatre in Bolton has announced the first part of its 60th anniversary season.

The season marks six decades since the theatre was conceived by five students and their drama lecturer Robin Pemberton-Billing. The Octagon opened to the public in November 1967 as a producing theatre with a fully flexible performance space.

The season opens with Cinderella: A Fairytale, directed by Sarah Punshon, who previously directed The Jungle Book at the Octagon in 2024. The family production runs from 20 November 2026 to 9 January 2027.

Iqbal Khan directs Romeo and Juliet, a co-production with Derby Theatre and Hull Truck Theatre. Khan began his career at the Octagon and returns for the anniversary season. The production runs from 4 to 27 February 2027.

Artistic director Lotte Wakeham directs a new production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, performed by a company of actor-musicians. The production is a co-production between the Octagon Theatre Bolton, Royal and Derngate Northampton and York Theatre Royal, and runs from 2 April to 1 May 2027.

Kimberley Sykes, who began her career as an assistant director at the Octagon, makes her main stage directing debut at the theatre with Willy Russell’s Educating Rita. The production runs from 3 June to 3 July 2027.

The season’s new writing includes the “Bolton Trilogy”, comprising three world premieres. The first is The Forger by Ben Weatherill, directed by Wakeham. The play tells the story of artist Shaun Greenhalgh, whose art fraud began in a garden shed in Bolton. It runs from 9 September to 2 October 2027.

Egging by Adam Kotwal is the second commission in the trilogy. Directed by new creative associate Jonnie Riordan, the one-person comedy follows Haris on the day before his wedding as he attempts to avoid being egged. Kotwal won the inaugural Lancaster Playwriting Prize, with the production marking his professional playwriting debut. It runs from 16 to 26 June 2027.

The Octagon Young Company will present the third world premiere, A Totally Unbiased History Of The Wanderers – According To My Best Mate by Becky Prestwich. Directed by Ruth Allison, the production explores belonging, community and Bolton Wanderers, and will feature an adult community company. It runs from 19 to 21 August 2027.

The theatre is also launching “social theatre”, a new group for adults designed to provide opportunities to make connections and take part in creative activity.

Wakeham said: “As artistic director of this extraordinary theatre it was always my intention to stay true to the ethos that was set out by its founders. The brilliant tenacity of those five students and their drama lecturer was just the beginning of a wonderful creative journey for Bolton.

“Not only did this ground-breaking team have a unique vision for a fully flexible theatre that would serve their artistic ambitions beautifully, they also knew that without the support of Boltonians, their dreams were a non-starter. The two had to go hand in hand, and I hope that we are keeping that vision alive sixty years on.

“Making and commissioning work for this truly unique space is an honour. Reimaging huge theatrical epics like Sunset Boulevard and Romeo and Juliet is as exciting as it is challenging and I cannot wait to share this work with our audiences.

“Championing new writing has always been at the heart of the Octagon, and I am delighted that this season includes the Bolton Trilogy: three new plays by ambitious playwrights who are all sharing stories that are rooted in Bolton and its communities.

“These stories might be embedded here, but the themes of relationships, passion and community are far reaching. I’m also thrilled to be working with so many incredible artists across the season, both on stage and off.

“It’s been brilliant to reflect on the countless theatrical careers which have been forged here over the last six decades, and we’re committed to helping the next generation of theatre makers to thrive. As part of that commitment, our work with communities continues to grow.

“Working with Gareth, our Director of Creative Engagement and Impact, we want our 60th year to mark an important step towards our long-term ambition: for every young person to have the opportunity to connect with the Octagon, whether through a school trip, a workshop or a programme such as our Young Company.

“I am delighted to celebrate sixty incredible years of the Octagon and cannot wait to see what the next sixty years will bring.”