Leeds Playhouse have announced Tom Wright’s inaugural season of shows as Artistic Director, with new productions running from autumn 2026 to summer 2027 in the Quarry theatre and Courtyard theatre.
“My first season begins with a simple idea – that theatre should entertain and challenge in equal measure, and speak directly to the world we’re living in. Across the programme are four new works – including two original stories and two bold adaptations – alongside landmark plays, reimagined classics and large-scale theatrical spectacle. This season brings together artists with deep connections to Leeds and the Playhouse, alongside acclaimed voices joining us for the first time – reflecting our ambition to celebrate the extraordinary talent rooted in this city while welcoming some of the most exciting theatre-makers working across the country.” – Tom Wright, Artistic Director of Leeds Playhouse
August Wilson’s Fences opens the season in the Courtyard theatre. This classic by one of America’s most influential 20th century writers is set in the 1950s and is a story of ambition for our time. The co-production between Leeds Playhouse, Headlong, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre and HOME Manchester is directed by Daniel Bailey and runs at Leeds Playhouse from 11th to 26th September 2026 before going on tour.
Following a sell-out world premiere in 2024, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan’s Peanut Butter & Blueberries invites audiences to explore how to love when the weight of the world is on your shoulders. Based on the Kiln Theatre production and directed by Sameena Hussain, it will play in the Courtyard theatre from 22nd October until 7th November 2026.
Artistic Director Tom Wright is set to direct a new production of Dr Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical, produced by Leeds Playhouse in association with Running Subway. The show has a book and lyrics by Timothy Mason and music by Mel Marvin and is packed full of Seussian charm and humour. The musical runs in the Quarry theatre from 19th November 2026 until 16th January 2027.
A fresh production of William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet will run in the Quarry theatre from 3rd to 20th March 2027, before Leeds Playhouse and Rose Theatre Kingston present an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, adapted and directed by Jeff James. This new version will interrogate AI, creation and the role of humanity in shaping technology and will run in the Quarry from 12th to 29th May 2027.
Debuting in the Courtyard theatre will be Sirens. This witty, intimate new piece of work written by Artistic Director Tom Wright is presented in association with the Belgrade Theatre. It is a warm, tense and deeply human story in which ordinary people are bound together by unexpected danger. It opens on 15th March 2027 and runs until 3rd April 2027.
This will be followed by a Linda Marshall Griffiths’ reimagining of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s much-loved classic The Secret Garden. The co-production with Theatr Clwyd will be directed by Amy Leach and plays the Courtyard theatre from 23rd April 2027 until 15th May 2027.
The season will conclude with Leeds Playhouse Associate Artistic Director Jamie Sophia Fletcher directing Little Shop of Horrors in the Quarry. The musical will play from 23rd June 2027 until 17th July 2027 and is produced in association with Oxford Playhouse.
Tickets are already on sale for Fences and How The Grinch Stole Christmas. General booking opens for all other productions on 7th May 2026.
