Theatre in the North

Creative Tourist

This month’s Theatre Guide brings together work concerned with power, belonging and what it means to act together – whether that’s a community, a partnership, or a version of the future worth defending.

Classic texts are approached with intent: Antony and Cleopatra is rebuilt as a battle between community and corporate greed, Waiting for Godot returns as a stark meditation on endurance, and Mozart’s sparkling Così fan tutte arrives as part of English National Opera’s blossoming partnership with Greater Manchester.

New work takes several forms. Aerial theatre piece Collaborator marks the final time Ockham’s Razor’s artistic directors will perform together as a duo, exploring shared history and artistic trust. Stayin’ Alive, Victoria Oxley’s latest play, brings dark comic relief to grief and survival. The Execution of Private Slovik examines obedience and moral choice under pressure. And Company Chameleon’s Obscura uses dance to investigate hidden lives – from private selves to the lived realities of migration and displacement.

That same attention to power, history and lived experience extends to Leeds, where Small Island, Please Do Not Touch and Relay bring Windrush Britain, contested heritage and queer family-making centre-stage.

Our top picks

Ockham’s Razor: Collaborator at Lowry

Ockham's Razor: Collaborator at Lowry, Manchester, 5–7 February 2026 - Book now

Ockham’s Razor return to Lowry with Collaborator, an intimate duet crafted and performed by artistic directors Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney – the partnership that has shaped the company over the past two decades.

Image by Kie Cummings, courtesy of Lowry.

English National Opera: Così fan tutte at The Bridgewater Hall

English National Opera: Così fan tutte at The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 27–28 February 2026, From £25.00 - Book now

English National Opera takes its first ever bow at The Bridgewater Hall with Così fan tutte – Mozart’s sparkling comedy, presented in two semi-staged concert performances.

An orange background with dark orange balloons in the shape of hearts.
ENO.

Waiting For Godot at Liverpool Everyman

Waiting For Godot at Liverpool Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, 17 March–4 April 2026, From £13.00 - Book now

Waiting for Godot – Samuel Beckett’s revolutionary play that changed modern theatre forever – comes to Liverpool Everyman this spring, with acclaimed actors Matthew Kelly and George Costigan in the lead roles.

Waiting for Godot at Liverpool Everyman
Image courtesy of Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres.

Obscura at HOME

Obscura at HOME Manchester, Manchester, 6 February 2026 - Book now

Company Chameleon return with Obscura, a physically demanding double-bill exploring the hidden corners of self and society.

Image supplied by Home MCR

The Execution Of Private Slovik at 53two

The Execution Of Private Slovik at 53two, Until 24 January 2026, From £12.00 - Book now

This new wartime drama examines obedience and its human cost, asking where duty ends and moral responsibility begins.

The Execution Of Private Slovik poster.
Image courtesy of 53two.

Jarman at Hope Mill Theatre

Jarman at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester, 25 January 2026, From £14.50 - Book now

Mark Farrelly channels Derek Jarman in a vivid solo performance about risk, creativity and living without compromise.

Textured portrait image of Jarman
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Small Island at Leeds Playhouse

Small Island at Leeds Playhouse, Leeds, 11–28 March 2026, From £16.50 - Book now

Journey from the sun-drenched shores of Jamaica to the cold, grey streets of 1940s London in Small Island, presented by Leeds Playhouse.

Small Island
Leeds Playhouse

Stayin’ Alive at 53two

Stayin' Alive at 53two, 5–6 February 2026, From £15.00 - Book now

This new play offers a darkly comic sprint through grief’s unglamorous reality – where memory, music and North West humour collide, and survival slowly becomes an active choice.

Stayin Alive
Stayin Alive, image courtesy of 53two.

Leila Navabi: Relay at Carriageworks Theatre

Leila Navabi: Relay at Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds, 18 April 2026, From £16.50 - Book now

This April, Leeds’ Carriageworks Theatre welcomes Relay to the stage. A riotous collision of stand-up comedy, electro-pop songs and hand-drawn animation, it’s a show that refuses to sit still.

A woman poses as if she's about to start a race.
Leila Nevabi

Please Do Not Touch at Leeds Playhouse

Please Do Not Touch at Leeds Playhouse, Leeds, 12–13 March 2026, From £15.00 - Book now

Please Do Not Touch, a powerful and emotional one-man show at Leeds Playhouse. Tackling contested artefacts, justice and free speech.

A man in a prison cell is stood holding a phone to his ear.
Nicola Young Photography

A Grain of Sand at Leeds Playhouse

A Grain of Sand at Leeds Playhouse, Leeds, 6–7 February 2026, From £17.00 - Book now

Set in Gaza and shaped by real testimonies from children, one-woman show A Grain of Sand insists on one simple principle: that children’s voices matter, and that listening to them is a political act.

Two hands covered in sand are uncovering a piece of red fabric woven with flowers and a black and red repeating geometric pattern which is buried in the sand.
Good Chance

I, Daniel Blake at HOME

I, Daniel Blake at HOME Manchester, Manchester, 21–25 April 2026 - Book now

I, Daniel Blake returns to HOME nearly a decade on from Ken Loach’s 2016 film, depicting conditions that remain an everyday reality for millions across the UK.

Three actors performing on stage, carrying black bin bags.
Pamela Raith

The Memory Of Water at The Octagon Theatre

The Memory Of Water at Octagon Theatre, Bolton, 29 January–21 February 2026, From £15.00 - Book now

A play about families, grief, and the unreliable narratives we inherit. Directed by Bolton Octagon Artistic Director Lotte Wakeham. Starring Vicky Binns, Victoria Brazier, Helen Flannagan and Polly Lister.

Text reads The Memory of Water. A image of three women in black sitting by a coffin, two with cups of tea, one in the middle raising a wineglass
Bolton Octagon

The Fire Raisers at Hope Mill Theatre

The Fire Raisers at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester, 10–15 March 2026, From £15.00 - Book now

Max Frisch’s darkly comic play The Fire Raisers arrives at Hope Mill, courtesy of new Manchester company We Merry Dancers in co-production with HER Productions.

We merry dancers and HER productions.

More Theatre

Katie McGlynn, Max Bowden, Jason Durr, Peter Moreton in Murder at Midnight_Pamela Raith Photography
Until
TheatreMediaCityUK
Murder at Midnight at Lowry

On New Year’s Eve in a quiet corner of Kent, in a single house, secrets inevitably bubble to the surface and a killer lies in wait.

From £25.00
Textured portrait image of Jarman
TheatreManchester
Jarman at Hope Mill Theatre

Mark Farrelly channels Derek Jarman in a vivid solo performance about risk, creativity and living without compromise.

From £14.50
DanceManchester
Obscura at HOME

Company Chameleon return with Obscura, a physically demanding double-bill exploring the hidden corners of self and society.

Experiences

View all
Manchester Destruction after IRA Bomb
TourManchester
Bombed and Besieged: Manchester at War

Marking the anniversary of the Christmas Blitz, this walking tour explores Manchester’s...

Tickets from £20.00
John Rylands External Copyright of The University of Manchester, 2015
Until
TourCity Centre
Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx in Manchester

Explore the ways in which Manchester helped shape and reinforce the ideas...

Tickets from £20.00
Salford Lads Club Exterior
TourManchester
Salford Lads Club Tour

Salford Lads Club shot to global fame as the iconic backdrop on...

Tickets from £20.00
Elizabeth Gaskell's House
TourManchester
The Manchester Literary Tour

On the eve of Elizabeth Gaskell’s birthday, join Jonathan Schofield Tours for...

Tickets from £20.00
2025-06-21-Jonathan-Schofield-MCR-Music-Walking-Tour-(©FionaFinchett)-30-L
Until
ActivityCity Centre
The Manchester Music Walkabout

Manchester’s famous musical legacy comes to life in this walking tour around...

Tickets from £25.00

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