“This is more than just theatre. It is art, activism, political resistance and storytelling — painful, joyous, elemental and essential.” – The Guardian

In APPLICATION 39, two young IT workers in the municipality of Gaza hack the bid process for the 2048 Olympics as a prank — and win. Their “victory” becomes a surreal yet pressing journey through occupation, bureaucracy, absurdity, and reconstruction. Application 39 draws on real‑life testimonies, including from Gaza itself, to pose a radical question: what if Gaza were no longer rubble and siege — but a site of global gathering, resistance and renewal?

By the author of Sunday Times Bestseller, Grief is the Thing with Feathers, Max Porter’s spectral novel Lanny rocked the literary world in 2019. Described as “a joyously stirred cauldron of words”(The Guardian) that is “magically beguiling” (Financial Times), it intertwines reality and imagination to thrillingly eerie effect.

Adapted for the stage by award-winning West Country playwright Bea Roberts (And Then Come the Nightjars), and directed by Nancy Medina (The Beautiful Future Is Coming; A Good House; Choir Boy– Best Director, Black British Theatre Awards 2024), this dark and powerful story of folklore, fable and the nature of belonging is the flagship production of our 260th year.

Artwork by Rosanna Morris

A Bristol Old Vic Production, in association with ETT

Ages 13+

Lanny has Captioned, Audio Described and BSL performances.

The play addresses complex and mature themes including the disappearance of a child.

A play by Sami Ibrahim (with Shakespeare)

A father and daughter, separated by war, scattered across borders; this is a story of survival and hope

Pericles traces their journey from Syria to Lebanon, Turkey, Libya and Greece. Ibrahim’s new adaptation sets Shakespeare’s original verse against modern-day language, asking what happens to love when two people no longer share the words to express it.

A story we have seen play out across the centuries — and one that is still unfolding.

Featuring an international ensemble, this is Shakespeare for today.

An ETT,  Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Bristol Old Vic Co-Production, In Association with MMXX

A pair of teenagers fall madly in love while their families violently tear each other apart. An explosive, urgent tale of forbidden love, secrets, loyalty and grief, where one wrong decision can change everything. What do you do when your fate is already sealed, but you’re falling in love for the very first time? A love that refuses to stay in the past, enduring, unending and unbroken.

These violent delights have violent ends.

Directed by Chelsea Walker, this is a co-production with ETT, The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Leeds Playhouse and Nottingham Playhouse. 

Age: 12+

“Miss struggles to curl her tongue around every syllable of the name my father so proudly gave me. Say it!”

Tobi and Jay, the only two Africans in the class, are lambs to the slaughter.

Newly arrived to England, Sheffield, they are forced to navigate a new life alongside the quiet ache of home. As they struggle to hold onto their names, and themselves, they find connection in unexpected places and in the bonds they form with one another.

A Sheffield Theatres, ETT and Graeae Production

Originally developed through ETT’s Nationwide Voices programme, supported by the John Ellerman Foundation

Written by George Brant & Directed by Monique Touko

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the roof-raising ‘godmother of rock ‘n’ roll’, influenced countless musicians from Elvis to Johnny Cash. This sparkling, intimate portrait of Rosetta and her beloved singing partner, Marie Knight, restores these forgotten musical heroines to the spotlight as one of the most remarkable and revolutionary duos in music history.

Featuring a wealth of joyous rock and gospel hits including Didn’t It Rain and Peace in the Valley, the show will feature live musicians accompanying Olivier Award-winning West End star Beverley Knight (Memphis, The Drifters Girl, Sylvia, Sister Act) as Rosetta Tharpe. Joining Beverley Knight is Ntombizodwa Ndlovu (Cat On a Hot Tin Roof, The Space Between Us, Mixtape, Nothing, and The Mountain Top – Royal Exchange Theatre), an up-and-coming talent making her West-End debut as Marie Knight, Rosetta’s protege and musical partner.

George Brant is an award-winning American playwright whose work includes Grounded (Fringe First and Off-West End Awards).

Monique Touko, winner of the 2022 Stage Debut Award for Best Director, whose acclaimed productions include The Boy at the Back of the Class, School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play, Wedding Band and G, directs this UK premiere.

Jonathan Church Theatre Productions and Chichester Festival Theatre in association with Nica Burns present the Rose Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and ETT production of Marie and Rosetta.

Age guidance: 12+

Imagine yourself in a theatre in 2026. Now picture yourself as a Year 9 student on a school trip. And then, as a citizen of Europe in 1939, as history takes its darkest turn.

While you imagine, Sam will be by your side. Sam is an emotional support dog. Sam is here to look after you. Sam will keep everyone safe.

Contains some strong language, references to death and descriptions of the Holocaust and graphic images which audiences may find distressing.

An ETT, York Theatre Royal and An Tobar & Mull Theatre Production