[title]
In an insanely busy week for new season announcements (with the Globe, National Theatre and Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre all revealing programming)… here’s another!
The Donmar Warehouse had already announced a single piece of 2026 programming, Anna Ziegler’s Evening All Afternoon, which will open next month but now artistic director Timothy Sheader has dropped the entire year of shows at the prestigious boutique Covent Garden theatre. Only the Christmas slot is now unoccupied.
The Donmar’s programme is as eclectic as ever, with the opening play being Mass (Apr 18-Jun 6). US actor-writer-director Fran Kranz’s adaptation of his own hit indie film is about two sets of couples – the parents of the victim of a high school shooting, and the parents of the shooter – who attempt a painful reconciliation years after the event. Carrie Cracknell directs a top cast that includes Adeel Akhtar, Amari Bacchus, Monica Dolan, Paul Hilton, Lyndsey Marshal, Rochelle Rose and Susie Trayling.
Next up, Felix Barrett of Punchdrunk fame will tackle Chloë Moss’s new play The Guilty (Jun 20-Aug 15). Like Barrett’s excellent current West End hit Paranormal Activity. Like Paranormal Activity, it’s a film adaptation, being based upon the the Dutch film Den Skyldige and its Jake Gyllenhaal-starring US remake The Guilty. The play will star Russell Tovey (pictured above) as a police officer with a troubled past who takes a shocking 999 call. Expect a Barrett production to be full to the brim with techy trickery.
For the summer, it’s a revival of the legendary Irish playwright Brian Friel’s Chekhov adaptation A Month in the Country (Aug 22-Oct 2). His version of the Russian playwright’s Platanov follows Natalya Petrovna, wife to a wealthy landowner, whose world is thrown into turmoil with the arrival of a penniless but very hot young tutor. It’s directed by the heavyweight Lyndsey Turner.
Finally, actor/writer Danny Lee Wynter’s Ilford Boy (Oct 10-Nov 28) is a drama about growing up mixed race in ’90s east London, and how typical teen Ted’s life is turned upside down by the arrival of the proudly unconventional Patrick. Donmar boss Timothy Sheader directs.
The season will go on public sale on Feb 6. Casting for A Month in the Country and Ilford Boy will be announced at a later date.
The best new London theatre shows to book for in 2026.
The 10 best new London theatre openings in February 2026.
Get the latest and greatest from the Big Smoke – from news and reviews to events and trends. Just follow our Time Out London WhatsApp channel.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out London newsletter for the best of the city, straight to your inbox.