Artistic Director and Co-CEO Selina Cartmell has announced a bold new season for the Royal Exchange Theatre Company, featuring eight major productions and the long-awaited reopening of the venue's intimate Studio space. Following its landmark 50th anniversary, the Manchester venue is reclaiming its original historic title, Royal Exchange Theatre Company, while launching a revitalised artistic mission focused on Northern stories and international collaborations.
A major highlight of the upcoming period is the return of the 100-seat Studio, welcoming audiences for the first time since March 2020. The space will house the world premiere of Abbi Greenland’s Bruntwood Prize-shortlisted Talking to Boys, alongside R Lady’s, a new schoolyard drama by Mancunian playwright Daisy Miles. The venue has also introduced the transformed Bruntwood Prize for North West Playwriting, explicitly dedicated to developing regional talent and bringing local voices to a global stage.
The main 750-seat module auditorium opens its season with Emma Baggott directing Brian Friel’s 20th-century masterpiece Faith Healer. The main stage line-up continues with the UK premiere of THISISPOPBABY’s high-octane variety show RIOT, followed by the world premiere of Simon Stephens’ The First Blue Thing, a modern Stockport-set adaptation of the Phaedra myth presented in partnership with Manchester International Festival 2027.
Autumn 2027 brings a new post-WWII Trinidadian staging of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, co-produced with Talawa Theatre Company and starring soul icon Beverley Knight as Beatrice. The festive season will feature Natalie Abrahami’s fresh production of the classic musical Guys and Dolls. Early 2028 marks 70 years since the Munich Air Disaster with the world premiere of Munichs, adapted by Ben Power from David Peace’s novel to explore the event's tragic aftermath on the city.
Photo credit: Andrew Brooks
