Featuring everything from global smash-hits, gripping thrillers, cosmic journeys and poignant historical explorations, Manchester’s upcoming theatre programme delivers another diverse slate of acclaimed productions to suit connoisseurs and first-time audiences alike.
Here’s our pick of the best theatre shows you can book now in Manchester.
Direct from a record-breaking summer season at London’s Barbican Theatre, High Society, starring Helen George and Freddie Fox, comes to the Lowry for two weeks only this autumn.
Audiences will be immersed in a dazzling world of champagne-sparkled evenings, razor-sharp comedy, and the timeless sophistication of Cole Porter in one of the most beloved musicals of all time.
A brand-new production of Shakespeare’s Othello reimagines the great tragedy of jealousy from a new perspective at HOME.
Led by award-winning director Anthony Almeida, the new production takes place in 1980s Britain against the backdrop of the Falklands War, reframing the tale as a tragedy of assimilation.
The reworked take centres on the question: ‘What do we become when belonging depends on performance?’, examining the everyday negotiations that hold communities together…until they quietly begin to tear apart.
Nominated for the New Writing Award at the Buxton Fringe in 2025, Eli Yim’s The Easy Way Out is a poignant and eye-opening exploration of the harsh realities of failing mental health systems. Eli shares a range of personal experiences covering generational trauma, religion, and queer identity through original songs, accompanied by their keyboard, and, sometimes, an inappropriately timed kazoo.
The world-premiere stage adaptation of the cultural phenomenon, The Silence of the Lambs, is coming to Lowry this autumn. Based on Thomas Harris’ gripping literary masterpiece, the new show is written by the award-winning Gina Gionfriddo and directed by the acclaimed Nikolai Foster, and stars John Partridge (EastEnders, Everyone’s Talking About Jamie, Cabaret) as the notorious Hannibal Lecter.
Moving Stories brings Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s Olivier Award-winning play, The Wasp, to The Edge in Chorlton this October. The gripping, comedy-laced psychological thriller explores how childhood trauma lingers and mutates over time; decades after their last encounter, Heather, successful and seemingly perfect, reconnects with Carla, who has nothing left to lose. What begins as a tentative reunion quickly spirals into something far more dangerous.
A new hip-hop and funk-infused production which explores the story of Sylvia Pankhurst is heading to Lowry this October. Starring Beverley Knight as Emmeline Pankhurst and Naomi Katiyo as Sylvia, the show is described as a ‘manifesto set to music’.
Still as thrilling as ever, Agatha Christie’s record-breaking murder mystery, The Mousetrap, embarks on its 75th anniversary tour this year, including a run at Manchester’s Opera House in October.
The best-selling novel turned Netflix hit, The Haunting of Hill House, emerges in its latest iteration, this time reimagined for the stage.
Based on the book by Shirley Jackson, adapted for the stage by Olivier and BAFTA winner Stef Smith and directed by Sky Arts Award winner Martin Constantine, the new stage adaptation is ‘tense, unsettling and darkly playful’, promising heart-thumping supernatural suspense.
Renowned contemporary dance company Rambert has announced a major new dance work inspired by the award-winning Channel 4 series, It’s A Sin, in partnership with Factory International, set to make its premiere at Aviva Studios in the new year. The show sees original series creator Russell T Davies (Queer As Folk, Doctor Who) serving as Executive Producer, alongside legendary pop duo Pet Shop Boys and Glyn Fussell (Sink the Pink, Mighty Hoopla festival).
Lowry has announced that as part of a landmark partnership with the National Theatre, a brand-new production of The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, will come to Saford in February 2027, following a run at the National Theatre in London.
The Rise and Fall of Little Voice will be the first National Theatre production to tour as part of NT Nationwide, supported by funding from Arts Council England. Jim Cartwright’s modern classic, which will be directed by Deputy Artistic Director, Robert Hastie (Standing at the Sky’s Edge), is a joyful, tender and bittersweet celebration of music, ambition and the courage it takes to be heard featuring iconic music from the likes of Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey and more.
The Chichester Festival Theatre, Stage Entertainment and Sheffield Theatres smash-hit production of Singin’ in the Rain will come to Lowry as part of a major new tour and following a summer season at Sadler’s Wells in London.
Journey back to the glamour of Hollywood in the roaring 20’s with high-energy choreography and sumptuous set designs (including over 14,000 litres of water on stage), combined with all the romance and wit of one of the world’s best- loved films.
- Words:
- Wire Editor
- Published on:
- Thu 10 Sep 2026
Narrated by Richard Armitage, audiences are invited to experience the thrill of launch, the challenges of life in space and cutting-edge NASA tech in this spectacular dome show at the iconic UNESCO heritage site, Jodrell Bank, throughout January.