National Theatre unveils full 2026 plans, with Cate Blanchett, Sandra Oh and more

The National Theatre has announced its full programme for 2026 – with new shows detailed below.

The smaller Dorfman Theatre will host several productions across the year. Francesca Mills will star in a new production of Jim Cartwright’s The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, directed by Robert Hastie, opening in December before embarking on a nationwide tour.

In September, Tiago Rodrigues will make his National Theatre debut with the UK premiere of Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists, presented in Portuguese with English surtitles for a limited one-week run.

The theatre will also stage the world premiere of Some Woman, Helen Edmundson’s first original play since Queen Anne, and later in the year Carmen Nasr’s Samira, directed by Emily Burns.

As part of its international programme, the National Theatre will transfer two productions to New York in 2026. Robert Hastie’s Hamlet will play at Brooklyn Academy of Music, while Alexander Zeldin’s The Other Place will run at The Shed. These transfers coincide with preparations for marking 60 years since the National Theatre first presented work in the United States.

Sandra Oh will make her National Theatre debut in a new adaptation of Molière’s The Misanthrope, directed by Indhu Rubasingham. We’ve covered it in detail here.

In August, Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss will reunite on stage following their work together on film, appearing in Electra / Persona – explored here.

Letitia Wright will lead the cast of Tracey Scott Wilson’s The Story, a newsroom drama directed by Clint Dyer, which begins previews on the Olivier stage in August. Further casting and dates has also been announced. 

War Horse will return, ahead of the production’s 20th anniversary in 2027. Find out more here.

The organisation will continue to expand its digital output, with an aim for each production to have a life beyond the stage through National Theatre at Home or National Theatre Live cinema screenings. Other endeavours include a schools tour of Bacchae, adapted by Nima Taleghani, and the Connections Festival, taking place at the Lowry in Salford.

Tickets for The Misanthrope, War Horse and The Story will go on general sale on Thursday 12 February.