Wilton’s Music Hall announces 2026 season – including new musical about Ruth Ellis

Wilton’s Music Hall has announced its spring 2026 season.

New musical Ruth (18 to 28 March), from Ruth Theatre Productions, will dramatise the life of Ruth Ellis, the last woman executed in Britain, marking 70 years since her death. With a score by John Cameron, Francis Rockliff and James Reader, and lyrics by Caroline Slocock and Cameron, it reimagines her story as a noir-inspired piece about class and gender.

The season begins with The Fourth Choir’s adaptation of The Dead by James Joyce (20 to 22 January), combining Irish folk songs and contemporary compositions under music director Jamie Powe. Comedian Rob Newman follows (23 January) with Where the Wild Things Were, and Steve Pretty presents On the Origin of the Pieces (24 January), exploring global musical traditions, with a family-friendly matinee version earlier in the day.

Later in January, the Brian Clemens Jazz Orchestra featuring Francesca Confortini (27 to 28 January) performs a programme of cinematic classics, and Dillie Keane returns with Still Curious (29 to 30 January), an evening of songs and reflections.

February opens with Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley (3 to 7 February), presented by the american vicarious, restaging the 1965 Cambridge Union debate between author James Baldwin and conservative thinker William F Buckley Jr. Liza Pulman and Joe Stilgoe’s Hooray for Hollywood (10 February) celebrates film musicals, while Dead Poets Live stages Wallace Stevens (11 and 13 February), bringing the poet’s work to life.

The Players’ Theatre presents Magnificent Music Hall: Love is in the Air (12 February), and Charles Court Opera returns with Iolanthe (17 to 28 February), Gilbert and Sullivan’s satire of power and politics.

John Godber’s Do I Love You? (3 to 7 March), a Northern Soul-inspired musical, follows three young people through Britain’s club scene from Hull to Blackpool. OneTrackMinds (10 March) returns with personal stories inspired by music, and Tiddley Pom! (11 March) offers a music hall variety show led by Ida Barr and Tom Carradine.

Comedy continues with CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation (12 March), where audiences help create a live whodunnit, and By a Lady: The Life and Wit of Jane Austen (13 to 14 March) from Hambletts Productions explores Austen’s life and characters through storytelling and song.

RABBLE Theatre’s Glitch: The True Story of the Post Office Scandal (31 March to 2 April) follows subpostmistress Pam Stubbs’ fight for justice, while Crafty Fools’ Adventures in Science (7 April) offers a family show combining magic and learning.

The season closes with Kate Butch: Choose Your Own Cabaret (8 to 9 April), where audiences help shape each night’s performance.