Live Theatre unveils new season featuring Our Friends in the North and Sycamore Gap tree play

Live Theatre has announced a new season of productions, including world premieres, festivals and readings, running from May 2026 to May 2027.

The season opens with Astell and Woolf by Shelagh Stephenson, directed by Karen Traynor, running from 14 May to 6 June. The play places the early feminist Mary Astell in a waiting room in the afterlife with Virginia Woolf. In July, the Unearthed Festival returns with a programme focused on female, non-binary and trans artists, alongside scratch performances and workshops.

In September, Alison Carr’s All At Sea, directed by Maria Crocker and co-produced with Stephen Joseph Theatre, runs from 24 September to 10 October before transferring to Scarborough from 16 October. The play is inspired by the case of the “canoe couple”, in which a man faked his own death for insurance purposes.

October will see the premiere of Our Friends in the North 1979 – 84, a stage adaptation based on the television series Our Friends in the North. The production is presented in partnership with Newcastle Theatre Royal and Eastlake Productions, and marks the first time Live Theatre has produced a play for the Theatre Royal stage. Written by Jack McNamara and based on the original screenplays by Peter Flannery, the play focuses on the Thatcher-era period of the story.

The programme also includes anniversary events and readings. These include a 30th anniversary performance of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones, a celebration of playwright Richard Bean’s 70th birthday with a reading of Smack Family Robinson, and a regional reading of August in England by Lenny Henry presented in partnership with the North East of England African and Caribbean Association.

In November, a short season of readings will focus on American plays, including Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks and John by Annie Baker. The theatre will also mark ten years of its Live Tales creative writing programme for schoolchildren during 2026.

The season concludes in May 2027 with The Most Famous Tree in the World by Rory Mullarkey, a new play about the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree on Hadrian’s Wall. The production will run from 6 to 29 May.