National Theatre of Scotland announces 2026 season plans – including Gayle Rankin and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

The National Theatre of Scotland has announced a year-long programme marking its 20th anniversary, featuring new work, tours, revivals and community projects across the country.

A new adaptation of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by David Harrower, directed by Vicky Featherstone, will headline the season. Gayle Rankin will star in the title role.

The production, based on Muriel Spark’s novel, will preview and open at the Lyceum Theatre in October, before touring to Aberdeen, Glasgow, Inverness and Pitlochry. It is produced in association with the Lyceum Theatre and Pitlochry Festival Theatre.

Other highlights include the world premiere of Stand and Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In by Frances Poet, directed by Jemima Levick, inspired by the 1970s factory occupation in Greenock. The production will open at the Tron Theatre before touring nationally from 20 April to 8 June 2026.

Also touring is the previously revealed The High Life, written by Alan Cumming, Forbes Masson and Johnny McKnight, running from 28 March to 16 May 2026 at venues including Dundee Rep, Eden Court and the Festival Theatre.

Martin O’Connor’s Through the Shortbread Tin returns following its success during its 2025 premiere, appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2026 as part of a national tour from 3 August to 14 September 2026.

Among the company’s large-scale community projects is One Hundred Voices, an immersive installation created with Who Cares? Scotland and the National Library of Scotland. The project shares stories from Scotland’s care-experienced community and will premiere at the Scottish Parliament in August before touring.

Further initiatives include True Story, a nationwide storytelling project culminating in a new production in 2027, and Theatre in Schools Scotland: TISS at 10, offering free performances to schools throughout its tenth anniversary year.

New artistic initiatives include Trolleydarity – A Scratch and Sniff Staycation, presented in partnership with NHS Lothian Charity, and a climate response project led by Hannah Lavery and Cora Bissett. The company will also launch the Change-Makers programme and a South Asian Playwrights’ Programme with Bijli, the Playwrights Studio and A Play, a Pie and a Pint, alongside a South Asian Scratch Night at the Citizens Theatre in October.

Internationally, National Theatre of Scotland and Grid Iron are developing overseas touring plans for June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me, written and performed by Charlene Boyd, with details to follow next spring.