{"id":567770,"date":"2025-11-13T14:18:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/567770\/"},"modified":"2025-11-13T14:18:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T14:18:21","slug":"liverpool-everyman-playhouse-theatres-announce-huge-programme-of-shows-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/567770\/","title":{"rendered":"Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres announce huge programme of shows for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse have announced a huge 2026 season, bringing the very best of theatre from the region and beyond to the city. <\/p>\n

The new season features five compelling productions from some of the UK\u2019s most exciting playwrights and creatives, continuing the theatres\u2019 commitment to launching, establishing, and sustaining outstanding theatre talent. Highlights include the\u202fworld premiere\u202fof Alexandra Wood\u2019s\u202fThe Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, a darkly funny and dangerously tense psychological thriller adapted from Hilary Mantel\u2019s incendiary 2014 short story; Julia Cranney\u2019s heartfelt Liverpool drama \u202fAttachment; a radical reimagining of\u202f Jekyll & Hyde\u202fby Evan Placey for Young Everyman Playhouse; a powerful new adaptation of Arthur Miller\u2019s\u202fDeath of a Salesman; and the Everyman\u2019s Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll panto\u202fBeauty and The Beast.<\/p>\n

\u200bThe Everyman begins with an unmissable event, the world premiere of\u202fThe Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, a darkly funny and dangerously tense psychological thriller created for Liverpool and the Everyman by writer Alexandra Wood and based on the short story by Hilary Mantel, first published in 2014.\u202f<\/p>\n

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\nJohn Young<\/strong>, who will direct the play, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis\u202fisn\u2019t just a play for people who have an opinion or strong feeling towards Maggie Thatcher. It\u2019s about class, about lives that collide, people trying to understand, asking questions, coming together, and bridging that divide. I also think it\u2019s a play about what happens when people feel they don\u2019t have a voice, and how dangerous it is when they feel they don\u2019t have anything to lose.<\/p>\n

There are big questions about what Thatcher means to us now, and what she meant, and her relationship to a divided Britain. And of course, the relationship between Thatcher and Liverpool. One of the gorgeous things about the Everyman space is that it can do both intimate and \u2018massiveness\u2019 really well. I think that\u2019s what this play does. You\u2019re in a small flat with just two people, but the ideas and subjects they\u2019re talking about are enormous. It\u2019s about this flat, but it\u2019s also about so much more.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u202fAttachment\u202fcontinues the theatre\u2019s recent success in producing new stories, often with new artists, and exploring new ways of working.\u202f The\u202f fifth show in this strand, following\u202f Tell Me How It Ends, A Billion Times I Love You, and\u202f Our Town Needs A Nandos,\u202f Attachment\u202fallows The Everyman to create opportunities for graduates of its Young Everyman Playhouse programme and early career theatre makers from the Liverpool City Region, nurturing and empowering local talent that reaches nationally.\u202fAttachment\u202fis a heartfelt Liverpool drama developed alongside adoptive families from Merseyside. It explores parenthood, hope, adoption, and the ways relationships can grow.\u202f\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\u202fWriter\u202fJulia Cranney<\/strong>\u202fsaid:<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m interested in the fact that there\u2019s a \u2018Disneyfied\u2019 view of adoption. People who adopt are often put on a pedestal, but it\u2019s so hard to be on a pedestal when you\u2019re asking for help and nobody\u2019s there on your level to help you. These people, who are so vulnerable, are picking up the pieces for an underfunded service because we assume that parents\u2019 love will fill that gap. I hope Attachment goes some way to starting conversations around our system, and perhaps how it can be changed for the better.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u202fLiverpool Everyman\u2019s Young Everyman Playhouse (YEP) 18\u201325 Company presents\u202f Jekyll & Hyde, a daring and radically reimagined version of the gothic classic by award-winning writer Evan Placey. Dragging Stevenson\u2019s tale into the digital age, this electrifying production rips through Victorian respectability. Not for the faint-hearted, expect violence, strong language, and plenty of fake blood as YEP\u2019s emerging talents bring this dark, contemporary reinvention vividly to life.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In September, the Everyman revisits another timeless classic with\u202fArthur Miller\u2019s\u202fDeath of a Salesman\u202f\u2014 one of theatre\u2019s most enduring and powerful stories. A decade after last staging a Miller work, his \u201clost\u201d film script\u202fThe Hook, the Everyman return to the playwright whose words continue to resonate with audiences today.\u202fDeath of a Salesman\u202flays bare a family at breaking point and a man wrestling with his own sense of worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Already announced for the Everyman are two co-productions for Spring 2026. A major revival of Shelagh Stephenson\u2019s Olivier Award-winning comedy\u202fThe Memory of Water, a poignant yet hilariously sharp tale of three sisters reuniting for their mother\u2019s funeral in 1996. Directed by Octagon Theatre Bolton\u2019s Lotte Wakeham the cast includes Vicky Binns, Victoria Brazier, Helen Flanagan, and Polly Lister. While George Costigan and Matthew Kelly return to the Everyman stage where their careers began in the 1970s to take on Samuel Beckett\u2019s timeless masterpiece\u202fWaiting for Godot, in a co-production with Octagon Theatre Bolton and Glasgow\u2019s Citizens Theatre, directed by Dominic Hill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"War<\/p>\n

The Liverpool Playhouse\u2019s 2026 season promises a year of theatrical brilliance too, packed with beloved classics and bold new productions. Leading the lineup is Liverpool\u2019s own Jodie Comer taking her final bow in\u202fPrima Facie. Audiences can also look forward to\u202fInspector Morse, the return of\u202f The Woman in Black, imitating the dog\u2019s innovative\u202fWar of the Worlds, the RSC\u2019s\u202fThe Constant Wife, and powerful stage adaptations of\u202fThe Shawshank Redemption\u202fand\u202fSingle White Female.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New additions include the return of Emma Rice\u2019s acclaimed company with\u202fMalory Towers, alongside thrilling new productions of\u202fDouble Indemnity\u202fstarring Mischa Barton and\u202fThe Spy Who Came in from the Cold. The Playhouse also continues to inspire younger audiences with family favourites\u202fThe Dinosaur That Pooped,\u202fA Squash and a Squeeze, and\u202f ZOG, while comedy lovers can enjoy the ever-popular\u202f One Night With The Take That Experience, Mike Wozniak: The Bench, Sindhu Vee: Swanky, John Kearns\u2060: Tilting at Windmills and Maisie Adam: Whatsherface, a programme featuring some of the UK\u2019s top stand-ups.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2026 will end in\u202fmonstrous style\u202fas Liverpool\u2019s theatres deliver two spectacular festive treats. At the Everyman, a brand-new Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll Panto Beauty and the Beast\u202f\u2014 written by Joe Ward Munrow and directed by Nathan Powell \u2014 will take to the stage, while the Playhouse unleashes the cult classic\u202fLittle Shop of Horrors, serving up catchy tunes, dark comedy and one very hungry plant for a monstrously good holiday season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\nNathan Powell<\/strong>, the Everyman & Playhouse\u2019s Creative Director, said:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis season celebrates everything we love about making theatre in Liverpool \u2014 bold, heartfelt, and rooted in the stories that connect us. From thrilling new writing to reimagined classics, and the joyful chaos of our Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll panto, 2026 showcases the best of our city. Central to this is our\u202fMade in Liverpool\u202fprogramme, championing homegrown talent and ensuring that the stories, voices, and creativity of this city take centre stage. We want audiences to feel excited, challenged, and proud of the work being made here \u2014 because these are Liverpool\u2019s theatre, and its energy runs through everything we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of our continued commitment to inclusivity and accessibility, we\u2019re proud to spotlight our homegrown productions under the \u2018Made in Liverpool\u2019 banner. For 2026, audiences can take advantage of a fantastic ticket offer: see\u202fThe Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, Attachment,\u202fand\u202f Death of a Salesman\u202ffor just \u00a360, with a complimentary poster-gramme or memento for each performance. We continue to offer a broad range of ticket prices\u2014from \u00a311 to \u00a361\u2014to ensure theatre remains open to all. Our accessible performance programme includes relaxed, captioned, BSL-interpreted, and enhanced shows, the latter developed in collaboration with Extant to better serve visually impaired audiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Book your tickets on the Everyman & Playhouse Theatre website<\/a>.
\nFind more theatre shows across Liverpool on our calendar<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Find out what\u2019s good up North on our new platform, The Northern Guide.<\/strong>\u00a0
\nFrom the best hotels, beauty spots, days out, food and more up North \u2013 visit\u00a0thenorthernguide.com<\/a>\u00a0and follow The Northern Guide on Instagram\u00a0HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n