DANCING AT LUGHNASA, CONSUMED, and More Set For Sheffield Theatres 2025/26 Season

Sheffield Theatres has announced Elizabeth Newman’s inaugural season of shows as Artistic Director, with new productions running from autumn 2025 to summer 2026 in the Crucible Theatre and Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse.

In the Crucible, Artistic Director, Elizabeth Newman will direct Brian Friel’s multi-award winning drama, DANCING AT LUGHNASA, a powerful and moving exploration of reflection and memory, in a co-production with the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester.
 

In the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting Karis Kelly’s CONSUMED is presented by Sheffield Theatres, Paines Plough, Women’s Prize for Playwriting and Belgrade Theatre. The play will be directed by Katie Posner.

A brand new adaptation of A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Aisha Khan and directed by Elin Schofield will play in the Crucible.

In 2026, Sheffield Theatres, Theatre Centre and National Youth Theatre collaborate to present MY BROTHER’S A GENIUS by Debris Stevenson in the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse.

Sheffield Theatres and Utopia Theatre present CROWN OF BLOOD – A YORUBA ADAPTATION OF MACBETH in the Crucible, directed by Mojisola Kareem and adapted by Oladipo Agboluaje.
 

Brand-new production, THE LADIES FOOTBALL CLUB will be directed by Elizabeth Newman, by Stefano Massini, adapted by Tim Firth in the Crucible.

Award-winning Sheffield playwright, Leo Butler’s drama LIVING about the years of our lives will be directed by Abigail Graham in the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse.
 

Especially adapted for Sheffield, SUMMER HOLIDAY, directed by Elizabeth Newman and Ben Occhipinti will be the 2026 summer musical in the Crucible.
 

Looking ahead to 2027, Stephanie Street will adapt Sunjeev Sahota’s award-winning novel THE YEAR OF THE RUNAWAYS for the Crucible stage.

Elizabeth Newman, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres, said: “It has been a great privilege to conceive my first season as Sheffield Theatres' Artistic Director. It’s been an exciting journey to create this year-long programme packed with a mix of new and familiar work, and I really hope there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

We kick off with a beautiful classic drama in the Crucible, arguably one of the greatest plays ever written—Brian Friel'sDancing at Lughnasa, in collaboration with the Royal Exchange Theatre. Consumed by Karis Kelly, in partnership with Paines Plough and Belgrade Theatre, follows and marks both our becoming the home of the Women's Prize for Playwriting and the beginning of a season of entirely new work in the Playhouse. The rest of the year sees us producing My Brother's a Genius by Debris Stevenson, our fifth co-production with Theatre Centre, and now with National Youth Theatre. Into 2026, Living by Sheffield’s own Leo Butler is a moving family drama that spans five decades of life in the City. 

Alongside the new work in the Playhouse— in the Crucible, we will debut a brand-new adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Yorkshire’s Aisha Khan. Our version of A Christmas Carol will highlight Sheffield’s long history of singing the city’s unique Christmas carols. 

After the festive period, we have two more new works. Crown of Blood, a new version of Macbeth by Oladipo Agboluaje, will be our latest collaboration with Sheffield’s Utopia Theatre, followed by The Ladies Football Club by the brilliant Tim Firth. Based on Stefano Massini's drama, this new play celebrates the founding of women's football in Sheffield in a munitions factory in 1917, and tracks the history of the sport, through the period of being banned, to the jubilant heights of the present-day Lionesses.

To wrap up our 2025/2026 programme, we’ll be putting on a fresh version of the 1960s classic musical Summer Holiday. We’re excited to bring this to life, spilling out from the auditorium and into our  Square, where audiences can enjoy the Sheffield Theatres Beach! In fact, across the entire season we’ll be hosting a variety of free special events inspired by our programme, including the Lughnasa Dance Festival, the Montgomery Theatre Summer Party, the Sheffield Theatres Candlelit Carol Concert, and even a theatre football tournament. These outdoor celebrations will bring people of all ages together and reflect our commitment to opening up every door and window, inviting everyone into our theatres—and taking theatre to the streets too! 

It also felt important that, as a big national organisation and now a family of four theatres, we also share a little bit of news for 2027. We are proud to announce in 2027, we will produce a big new adaptation by Stephanie Street of Sunjeev Sahota'sThe Year of the Runaways. This will be with an international partner and will find a home in our Crucible. 

We’re incredibly proud to be powered by our amazing city, and can’t wait to welcome everyone into one of our four theatres this year.”

Elizabeth joined Chief Executive Tom Bird and Deputy Chief Executive Bookey Oshin to form Sheffield Theatres’ Executive Team in December 2024, and succeeded Artistic Director Robert Hastie who left the organisation last summer. Elizabeth - a multi-award-winning theatre director - joined from Pitlochry Festival Theatre, where she had been Artistic Director since 2018, and previously Octagon Theatre Bolton, Shared Property Theatre Company and Southwark Playhouse London.

              
Dancing at Lughnasa begins Elizabeth’s season in the Crucible. Directed by Elizabeth herself, Brian Friel’s multi-award-winning drama is a powerful and moving exploration of reflection, memory and how the future will arrive no matter how much we resist. This co-production between Sheffield Theatres and Royal Exchange Theatre plays from Saturday 13 September – Saturday 4 October 2025 (press performance on Thursday 18 Sept 2025). The production then moves to the Exchange's unique, in-the-round space, with performance dates to be announced very soon.

This festive season, Sheffield Theatres produce A Christmas Carol adapted by Aisha Khan and directed by Elin Schofield.Featuring the Sheffield Carols, redemption, heart, and holiday spirit shine in Charles Dickens’ timeless classic. The play runs from Saturday 29 November 2025 – Saturday 10 January 2026 (press performance on Thursday 4 Dec 2025).

Into the new year, Sheffield Theatres and Utopia Theatre present Crown of Blood – A Yoruba Adaptation of Macbeth,written by Oladipo Agboluaje and directed by Mojisola Kareem. A powerful retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth set during the civil wars of the 19th century Yorubaland. From Monday 2 – Saturday 7 February 2026 (press performance on Tuesday 3 February 2026).

In spring 2026, brand-new production The Ladies Football Club is by Stefano Massini, adapted by Tim Firth and directed by Elizabeth Newman. This play explores the remarkable origins of war-time women workers making football their own. The play will have its debut Saturday 28 February playing to Saturday 28 Mar 2026 (press performance on Thursday 5 March 2026). 

Next summer, the iconic 1960s film adapted for Sheffield, Summer Holiday is directed by Elizabeth Newman and Ben Occhipinti. The musical runs from Saturday 20 June to Saturday 18 July 2026 (press performance on Thursday 25 June 2026).

Coming in 2027, Sunjeev Sahota’s award-winning novel The Year of the Runaways will be adapted by Stephanie Street. Tickets and further details will be announced soon.

In the Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse, Sheffield Theatres, Paines Plough, Women’s Prize for Playwriting and Belgrade Theatre present the winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting, Karis Kelly’s Consumed. A pitch-black and twisted tale of dysfunctional family dynamics, generational trauma and national boundaries will be directed by Katie Posner. The play runs from Weds 24 Sep – Sat 11 Oct 2025 (press performance on Thursday 25 September 2025).

Into the new year, Sheffield Theatres, Theatre Centre and National Youth Theatre collaborate presenting My Brother’s A Genius by Debris Stevenson. Playing from Wednesday 28 January to Saturday 14 February 2026 (press performance Friday 30 January 2026).
 

Award-winning Sheffield playwright Leo Butler’s drama about the funny business of life throughout sixty years of change,Living marks his homecoming to Sheffield Theatres. The play will be directed by Abigail Graham and runs from Saturday 14 March – Saturday 4 April 2026 (press performance on Thursday 19 March 2026).
 

Alongside the new season of productions, participatory work will overflow from the Crucible onto Tudor Square, where various creative projects and community engagement schemes will find a home during the run of productions. AlongsideSummer Holiday, families can enjoy a day at the seaside with the Sheffield Theatres Beach, or during Dancing at Lughnasa, take part in movement themselves in the Lughnasa Dance Festival. Tudor Square will also host the Montgomery Theatre Summer Party, Sheffield Theatres’ Candlelit Carol Concert at Christmas, plus a Theatre Football Tournament to coincide with The Ladies Football Club. 

Beyond Sheffield, the stomp-and-holler Western KENREX which brought a true crime podcast to the Playhouse stage, transferred to London’s Southwark Playhouse Borough where it is currently playing. The production was also nominated forBest Studio Production at this year’s WhatsOnStage Awards, alongside Sheffield Theatres’ staging of The Crucible, which also received nominations for Best Play Revival and Best Direction from their former Associate Artistic Director, Anthony Lau. 

As part of her inaugural season, Elizabeth Newman fronts a new partnership with The Women’s Prize for Playwriting. Produced by Ellie Keel and Paines Plough, Sheffield Theatres joins the scheme as the first ‘Theatre Partner’ for the 2025 Prize, making Sheffield the home for the world premiere of the prize’s winning play, Consumed.

In January 2025, the Montgomery Theatre and Arts Centre joined the Sheffield Theatres family of venues. A leading arts centre for children, families and community groups in Yorkshire, the Montgomery is also home to many of Sheffield Theatres’ participatory strands for children and young people, and will continue to deliver a space for budding creative groups as the theatre joins the Sheffield Theatres complex.

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