Top play revivals to see in 2026

The coming 12 months are already absolutely jam packed with exciting revivals of well-known classics – and we’re struggling to condense our top picks list down to 20! We’ll still be covering everything we can over the year, so please keep watch for even more news and coverage as we progress across 2026.

Our Town

Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning classic is staged by a fully Welsh cast and creative team, marking the inaugural production of the Welsh National Theatre. Star Michael Sheen plays the Stage Manager in this powerful new version, directed by Francesca Goodridge, with Russell T Davies as creative associate.

Begins tour on 16 January at Swansea Grand Theatre, Swansea

Arcadia

Directed by Carrie Cracknell as part of Matthew Warchus’s final season at the Old Vic, Tom Stoppard’s masterpiece will be staged in-the-round. The play weaves between 1809 and the present day, exploring mathematics, landscape gardening, and the nature of truth. Casting is also pretty strong.

The Old Vic, 24 January to 21 March

Road

A 40th-anniversary production of Jim Cartwright’s visceral play about working-class life in Northern England. Directed by Selina Cartmell, the production invites the audience to explore parts of the theatre before the performance begins.

Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, from 13 February to 14 March

Broken Glass

Part of Nadia Fall’s inaugural season at the Young Vic, this Arthur Miller revival is directed by Jordan Fein, who has steered both Into the Woods and Fiddler on the Roof to great success. Set in 1938 Brooklyn, it follows a woman, played by Pearl Chanda, who suffers a mysterious paralysis after reading about the Nazi atrocities in Europe.

Young Vic, 21 February to 18 April 2026.

Summerfolk

A major new revival of Maxim Gorky’s 1904 satire, adapted by playwright siblings Nina Raine (Consent) and Moses Raine (Donkey Heart). Set during the sweltering Russian summer of 1905, the play depicts the country’s privileged elite as they retreat to the countryside to indulge in champagne, romance, and leisure. It is directed by the National Theatre’s deputy artistic director Robert Hastie (Standing at the Sky’s Edge).

Olivier Theatre at the National Theatre, 6 March to 29 April 

Small Island

A major new touring co-production of the hit adaptation of Andrea Levy’s prize-winning novel will launch next year. Adapted by Helen Edmundson and directed by Matthew Xia (artistic director of Actors Touring Company), the play follows three intricately connected stories: Hortense and Gilbert, who migrate from Jamaica to 1940s London in search of a better life, and Queenie and Bernard, an English couple struggling with the changing social landscape. This staging marks the first time the production has toured extensively outside London, bringing the epic Windrush story to regional stages.

Leeds Playhouse, Birmingham Rep and Nottingham Playhouse, from 11 March

Teeth ‘n’ Smiles

A 50th-anniversary revival of David Hare’s play with music, set during the collapse of a 1960s rock band. Rebecca Lucy Taylor (the musician known as Self Esteem) stars as lead singer Maggie, so expect it to be something refreshingly cool.

Duke of York’s Theatre, from 13 March to 6 June 

Henry V

Directed by RSC co-artistic director Tamara Harvey, this production stars Alfred Enoch (How to Get Away with Murder, Pericles) in the title role. It reunites Harvey and Enoch following their successful 2024 collaboration on Pericles.

Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, from 14 March to 25 April

Romeo and Juliet

Directed by the visionary Robert Icke (Oedipus, Player Kings), this production marks the highly anticipated West End debuts of Sadie Sink as Juliet and Noah Jupe as Romeo. Icke’s Shakespeare adaptations are always a theatrical “moment” (remember Andrew Scott’s Hamlet?), so we’re intrigued to see where he takes the two hours’ traffic of the Harold Pinter stage.

Harold Pinter Theatre, from 16 March to 6 June

Murder in the Cathedral

David Suchet returns to the stage for the first time in nearly a decade to play Thomas Becket in T.S. Eliot’s verse drama. Directed by Tom Littler, this site-specific production by the Orange Tree Theatre will be staged inside a church – which will be suitably atmospheric. It explores the final days of the Archbishop as he returns to Canterbury to face certain death.

St John the Divine Church, Richmond (then transferring to Theatre Royal Bath), 12 October to 7 November (Richmond); 10 November to 21 November 2026 (Bath).

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

A major new adaptation of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s 18th-century novel of seduction and moral games. The production stars Aidan Turner and Lesley Manville as the scheming Vicomte de Valmont and Marquise de Merteuil.

Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre, from 21 March to 6 June 

Equus

A co-production between the Menier Chocolate Factory and Theatre Royal Bath. Lindsay Posner directs Peter Shaffer’s psychological thriller regarding a psychiatrist’s attempt to treat a young man with a disturbing obsession with horses.

Menier Chocolate Factory, from 7 May to 27 June, and then Theatre Royal Bath, from 14 to 25 July.

Krapp’s Last Tape / Godot’s To-Do List

A major Beckett revival, first seen in York this year, is to be performed by Gary Oldman in London. The York run marked his first stage performance in 37 years. In the one-act monologue, an elderly man, Krapp, listens to tapes of his younger self on his 69th birthday, confronting his past ambitions and failures. This production is presented as a double bill with Godot’s To-Do List, a new Beckett-inspired comedy by Leo Simpe-Asante, in which a character attempts to complete an absurd and surreal list of tasks.

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court, from 8 to 30 May

End of the Rainbow

In a genuine casting coup, Jinkx Monsoon will be coming to north London for a new production of Peter Quilter’s End of the Rainbow. Plotting the final years of the iconic Judy Garland, it will a theatrical event in Walthamstow.

Soho Theatre Walthamstow, from 15 May to 21 June 2026

Nell Gwynn

Jessica Swale’s feminist comedy follows the rise of the legendary 17th-century actress and mistress to Charles II. This revival is a co-production between multiple regional theatres including Shakespeare North Playhouse and Storyhouse – and is a bona fide crowd-pleasing hit. Swale is having a big moment with her work on Paddington The Musical.

Theatre by the Lake, Keswick then tour, 9 July to 1 August 2026.

The Cherry Orchard

A major new version of Anton Chekhov’s final masterpiece, adapted by Laura Wade (Posh, The Constant Wife) and directed by Tamara Harvey. The production marks a historic return to the RSC for Kenneth Branagh (as Lopakhin) after over 30 years, alongside the RSC debut of Academy Award-winner Helen Hunt (as Madame Ranyevskaya).

Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, from 10 July to 29 August

Man to Man

In another big “moment” for the Royal Court’s 70th anniversary, Tilda Swinton reprises her breakthrough 1988 role in this landmark revival of Manfred Karge’s one-woman play, translated by Anthony Vivis. Directed by Stephen Unwin with design by Bunny Christie, the play follows Ella, a woman in 1930s Germany who adopts her late husband’s identity as a crane driver to survive. The narrative tracks her journey through the collapse of the Weimar Republic, the rise of the Third Reich, and the eventual division of Germany.

Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court, from 5 September to 24 October

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s novel returns for a major UK tour. The play follows 15-year-old Christopher Boone as he investigates the death of a neighbour’s dog, leading to life-changing discoveries. The first new production of the show since the original, so that’ll be intriguing!

Opening at Birmingham Rep on 5 September, then touring extensively

Golden Boy

Being honest, there are so many huge shows programmed in the Almeida season – and we limited ourselves to one pick! Sam Yates directs Clifford Odets’ 1937 drama about a young man torn between his talent as a violinist and the lucrative, violent world of professional boxing. The production stars Josh O’Connor and features a live string quartet. Amusingly, O’Connor’s second role in a year involving being torn over a life as a boxer after the most recent Knives Out. 

Almeida Theatre, from 8 September to 31 October 

Lear

As part of Alan Cumming‘s inaugural season as artistic director, Pitlochry Festival Theatre presents a bold “re-imaging” of Shakespeare’s tragedy. Scottish theatre legend Maureen Beattie takes on the title role of the monarch, with Forbes Masson starring as Gloucester.

Pitlochry Festival Theatre, from 4 July to 1 August

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Directed by Vicky Featherstone for the National Theatre of Scotland, this revival of David Harrower’s adaptation of Muriel Spark’s classic features Gayle Rankin in the title role. It explores the complex, manipulative relationship between an eccentric teacher and her “crème de la crème” pupils in 1930s Edinburgh.

Opening at the Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, from 2 October, then touring