York Theatre Royal has been shortlisted for The Stage Awards 2026 Theatre of the Year. Nominated alongside Almeida Theatre, London, Nottingham Playhouse, Royal Court Theatre, London, Soho Theatre, London and Watermill Theatre, Newbury. The nomination follows an exciting year of work at YTR.
Over the last 18 months the theatre’s focus has been increasingly on building up an ambitious programme of produced work, a strategy that has been spearheaded by CEO Paul Crewes.
Paul Crewes, CEO of York Theatre Royal said, “2025 has been such an incredible year for York Theatre Royal and we are so proud to be shortlisted for The Stage’s Theatre of the Year. It is the first time for us, and this recognition is a real testament to the remarkable work from the whole YTR staff team, as well as the talented creative, production and technical teams, performers, stage managers, practitioners, producers, collaborators, partners, funders and volunteers who have worked with us and supported us this year.”
This year audiences had a standout experience when the theatre worked with award-winning actor Gary Oldman on a production of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. Gary started his professional career at YTR in 1979 and this would mark a return to the stage where he first performed. This was an amazing opportunity for audiences, and YTR ensured ticket prices remained accessible. The show was a huge success, attracted international press and welcomed people from across the world – 48% of audiences surveyed were coming to the theatre for the first time and every performance sold out. The Royal Court will also stage York Theatre Royal’s production of Krapp’s Last Tape as part of their 70th Anniversary celebrations in 2026.
The world premiere of Military Wives – The Musical, written and directed by BAFTA-award winning Debbie Isitt was another landmark production. A brand-new musical, the show told the story of the first Military Wives choir and the theatre worked closely with choirs across the country to tell their stories through marketing. Feedback for the show was brilliant with 93% of those surveyed giving the show 5 stars.
Continuing with the ambitious plans to expand the programme of produced work, upcoming productions include a revival of The Secret Garden – The Musical, directed by Tony-award winner John Doyle and the world premiere of The Psychic from Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson (the writers of Ghost Stories), both this Spring.
More widely the theatre aims to take their work across the UK and the globe and have recently collaborated with Bradford2025 to bring their Olivier Award-winning stage production of The Railway Children to the tracks as part of Bradford2025 City of Culture.
Community is also at the heart of the theatre. The proactive creative engagement programme reaches people from a wide variety of different backgrounds and ages – from youth theatre which is open to those aged 5+ through to adult acting and participation programmes. A strong example for 2025 was the theatre’s summer community production His Last Report, celebrating social reformer Seebohm Rowntree’s life and work – a local story with national impact. This brought together 300+ local people volunteering on and off stage – including 100+ cast members. To ensure cost was not a barrier, YTR implemented a pay-what-you-can pricing strategy for opening night which resulted in a sold-out performance.
In 2025 the theatre secured funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Garfield Weston Foundation to expand community outreach activities to reach more people through the project Sweet Legacies, putting on fun, free and inclusive activities connected to the Rowntree family and legacy across the city.
Winners of The Stage awards will be crowned at a ceremony held at the Royal Opera House on 12 January, with The Stage’s editor Alistair Smith hailing the variety of work represented in the shortlist.
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