2025 was a special year at York Theatre Royal and in 2026 the excitement continues. With a mix of incredible world premieres, musical revivals and high-quality touring productions, 2026 is set to be our most ambitious year yet.
In February, our studio space will house The Last Picture, a YTR co-production with ETT and An Tobar and Mull Theatre. Written by Catherine Dyson and directed by our Associate Director John R. Wilkinson, The Last Picture is a moving new play which focuses on the power of empathy and its limits, from the unique perspective of emotional support dog Sam.
In Spring, we are producing a new revival of the Tony Award – winning Broadway musical The Secret Garden – The Musical. Directed and designed by Tony Award winner John Doyle. John was Artistic Director at the theatre from 1993 to 1997 and went on to direct award winning productions such as Sweeny Todd (Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical), Company (Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical) and The Colour Purple (Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical, Grammy Award), just to name a few! We are thrilled that John is returning to York Theatre Royal to direct this exciting new production, brought to life by a talented cast of actor – musicians.
April will be a busy month at YTR as we are producing the world premiere of The Psychic, a twisted new thriller from the creators of the international smash hit Ghost Stories, Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman, with design by Tony Award winner Rae Smith.
Our production of Krapp’s Last Tape starring Gary Oldman will be opening at the Royal Court Theatre in London in May, as part of the Court’s 70th Anniversary celebrations. Seeing our own produced work having life beyond York is extremely exciting.
Autumn 2026 will also see a return to the Main House stage for York Theatre Royal’s Youth Theatre company with a production of Wendy & Peter Pan, Ella Hickson’s retelling of JM Barrie’s Peter Pan. Directed by Lydia Crosland and Sophie-Jade Howell with a company of young people involved both on stage and behind the scenes, the show will follow the story of Wendy Darling as she leads the rebellious lost boys, takes on the terrifying Captain Hook and discovers the power of being brave.
In addition to our produced work, we are getting recognition for our Dance programme – with 2026 plans including a world premiere from Phoenix Dance Theatre Interplay and Hofesh Shechter’s new full-length work for Shechter II, IN THE BRAIN, with more incredible dance to be announced soon. We will also be presenting the RSC twice this year.
We’ll end the year with our magical YTR pantomime Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, with York family favourite Robin Simpson returning as the Dame. Written by Paul Hendy and directed by Juliet Forster, continuing our collaboration with Evolution Productions for this enchanting fairytale panto.
There is so much to look forward to at York Theatre Royal in 2026. We can’t wait to welcome audiences and really encourage people to take a leap of faith and see something new. We have lots more exciting YTR productions to be announced soon, so watch this space!
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