Northern Stage announces spring 2026 season

Northern Stage has announced its spring 2026 season, which features the return of I, Daniel Blake and a new production of the musical Little Shop of Horrors.

The stage adaptation of Ken Loach’s film, I, Daniel Blake, will run from Friday 20 March to Saturday 4 April before starting its second UK tour. The show had two runs in 2023. The revival is a Northern Stage production in association with Leeds Playhouse.

It won Excellence in Touring at the 2023 UK Theatre Awards. David Nellist, who won Best Performing Artist at the 2023 North East Culture Awards for his role, will reprise the title role alongside Kema Sikazwe, Janine Leigh, Micky Cochrane, and Jodie Wild. Director Mark Calvert also returns, saying today that the story of I, Daniel Blake “remains as necessary as ever,” commenting that after government policies that “deepened hardship and division, we find ourselves still grappling with their legacy.” He added that the production “stands as a testament to the need for realignment.”

As already revealed, the premiere of a new revival of the musical Little Shop of Horrors will run from Friday 8 to Saturday 23 May. The show is a co-production with Derby Theatre. It features music by Alan Menken and book and lyrics by Howard Ashman. Derby Theatre’s artistic director and CEO Sarah Brigham will direct.

Brigham stated that she aimed to make the production “as accessible as possible,” and that it will feature B-movie-inspired integrated captions from Ben Glover to support the Deaf and hard of hearing community. The show will feature a company of actor-musicians. Auditions will take place in Newcastle, Derby, and London to secure cast representation from both the North East and the Midlands.

Also returning for the spring season is Pilot Theatre’s revival of Malorie Blackman’s novel Noughts + Crosses, directed by Esther Richardson, which runs from Friday 27 February to Saturday 7 March.

The season includes work for younger audiences. Adaptations of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler stories Zog (Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 February) and Tales From Acorn Wood (Thursday 28 to Sunday 31 May) will play in Stage 1. Tom Fletcher’s There’s a Monster in Your Show arrives in Stage 1 over Easter (Saturday 11 to Sunday 12 April), with new music by Fletcher. Northern Ballet returns with Little Red Riding Hood on Saturday 7 February. Birmingham Stage Company brings Horrible Histories’ Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians to Stage 1 from Friday 12 to Sunday 14 June.

Local company Unfolding Theatre brings Here Be Dragons to Stage 2 on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 April. The show will feature Bridget Marumo, who will also appear in the theatre’s Christmas production of Beauty and the Beast.

Commitment to disability-led work is highlighted with Daisy Donald in Stage 3 on Saturday 25 April. The play, created by local company Blackbird Creative Arts, is adapted from a book by Jade Byrne about a young girl with diabetes.

The season also includes comedy and other entertainment. Comedian Cally Beaton brings her tour Namaste Motherf**kers to Stage 2 on Saturday 7 February. Biff to the Future, a one-man retelling of Back to the Future from Biff’s point of view, is in Stage 1 on Sunday 8 March. Local comedian Ian Younghusband performs his tour IANtrospection in Stage 3 on Friday 20 March, and the improv whodunnit Murder She Didn’t Write returns to Stage 1 from Thursday 9 to Friday 10 April. Magician Pete Firman brings Tricks and Giggles to Stage 1 on Wednesday 15 April. A Star Wars Improv Show is in Stage 3 on Saturday 9 May, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged) plays in Stage 1 from Friday 19 to Saturday 20 June.

New writing and revivals includes Glitch – The True Story of the Post Office Scandal in Stage 2 from Tuesday 10 to Wednesday 11 March, and A Long Day’s Journey Into Night in Stage 2 on Friday 15 May. Poet Luke Wright returns to Stage 3 with Later Life Letter on Wednesday 4 March. Other new writing includes Don’t Call Me China Doll (Friday 27 March), Bus Stop Goths (Friday 24 April), and Of Fire and Flame (Saturday 16 May).