Oxford Playhouse announces its spring 2026 season featuring a brand-new production from the leading regional venue, alongside acclaimed drama, music, dance and family entertainment.

Season highlights include:

• A brand-new Oxford Playhouse production of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, directed by Artistic Director Mike Tweddle.

• Fuel’s production of Khalid Abdalla’s solo show Nowhere.

• The return of Playhouse associate company Headlong and Shakespeare’s Globe for a vivid new staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

• The acclaimed Royal Shakespeare Company production of Somerset Maugham’sThe Constant Wife, adapted by Laura Wade.

• The return of Improbable with the award-winning, sell-out hit Perfect Show For Rachel.

This spring, Oxford Playhouse invites audiences into the home of George and Martha with a bold new staging of Edward Albee’s award-winning play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Disillusioned university professor George and his wife Martha invite an unwitting younger couple, Nick and Honey, into their home. It’s not long before things spiral into the heart of their tempestuous and volatile relationship. What begins as a spur of the moment nightcap soon turns into a psychological showdown.

This production, directed by Mike Tweddle – his first as Artistic Director of the theatre – marks an exciting new chapter as The Playhouse returns to producing high-quality drama. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? will run from February to March, coinciding with the sixtieth anniversary of the 1966 film version starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor – both familiar to Oxford audiences for their performances in the Playhouse production of Doctor Faustus that same year.

The venue's produced programme also includes The Wardrobe Ensemble’s Education, Education, Education, staged by the Playhouse Young Company and directed by Paul Simpson. The acting group of 17 to 25-year-olds return with a comedic love letter to nineties Britain following the New Labour victory.

Fuel presents solo debut play, Nowhere, by actor and activist Khalid Abdalla (The Crown and The Kite Runner). Set against seismic world events, this intricate and playful show draws on his involvement in the Egyptian revolution of 2011, and his experiences of the counter-revolution that followed. Directed by Omar Elerian, it weaves together the personal and the political in an act of anti-biography.

The Playhouse welcomes back its associate company Headlong (A Raisin in the Sun, 2024) and Shakespeare’s Globe for a striking new staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream direct from the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Directed by Headlong’s Artistic Director Holly Race Roughan and co-directed by Naeem Hayat, discover Shakespeare’s tale like you’ve never seen it before.

After delighting audiences in Stratford-upon-Avon, the Royal Shakespeare Company’s acclaimed production of The Constant Wife comes to Oxford. Laura Wade’s stellar adaptation of Somerset Maugham’s classic comedy stars Strictly Come Dancing winner Kara Tointon (Mr Selfridge).

The outstanding drama on the Main Stage this season also includes the return of Susan Hill’s legendary story of The Woman in Black, one of the longest running theatre plays in the history of the West End. Further highlights include the Olivier-nominated comedy Glorious! starring Wendi Peters (Coronation Street) and Matthew James Morrison (EastEnders), as well as The Beekeeper of Aleppo, adapted by Nesrin Alrefaii and Matthew Spangler, from the international number one bestseller by Christy Lefteri. There is also a welcome return to Oxford Theatre Guild who stage T.S. Eliot’s thought-provoking masterpiece Murder in the Cathedral.

The Playhouse hosts multi-award-winning companies Zoo Co and Improbable as they present Perfect Show For Rachel, following sell-out and critical success at the Barbican. Rachel is a theatre-loving, enigmatic, learning-disabled 35-year-old who, at a touch of a button, directs the action as a skilled cast bring each of her choices to life.

Oxford Playhouse also partners with Dancin’ Oxford as the festival celebrates its twentieth anniversary. The programme includes another show from Improbable Sessions in Music to the Dance; the return of Richard Chappell Dance with three new dance works in BLOOM, and a landmark double bill from Ballet Black who celebrate 25 years of creating innovative new ballet.

For younger audiences, Northern Ballet returns with a reimagined version of Little Red Riding Hood, followed by Tales from Acorn Wood from Norwell Lapley Productions, based on the beloved stories by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler.

Musicals this season include the University of Oxford production of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Company, and Musical Youth Company of Oxford’s joyous production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Bringing music and storytelling together, Apphia Campbell returns with her moving portrayal of Nina Simone in the acclaimed play, Black is the Color of My Voice. Then, The Ronnie Scott’s All Stars will celebrate the history of London’s world-famous jazz club in The Ronnie Scott’s Story. Poetry legend Michael Rosen also comes to Oxford with his new one-person show, Getting Through It.

The Playhouse will host a stellar lineup of comedians, including Mark Simmons, Simon Evans, Michelle De Swarte, Mike Wozniak and Alfie Moore. The unforgettable Oxfordshire Mind Comedy Gala also returns, hosted by the city’s own Jericho Comedy.