PRODUCTION NEWS
The latest news from our Production teams
HIGH SOCIETY’S DAZZLING CAST (AND FANCY NEW ARTWORK!) REVEALED
Clear your diary, because you’re invited to the most swell party of the year, Cole Porter’s High Society.
Helen George (Call the Midwife, The King and I) leads the cast as the glamorous Tracy Lord, joined by stage and screen favourites Felicity Kendal (Rosemary and Thyme), Freddie Fox (Slow Horses), and Julian Ovenden (South Pacific). Carly Mercedes Dyer (Anything Goes, A Chorus Line) and Nigel Lindsay (Kiss Me, Kate) returning to the Barbican, joined by Malcolm Sinclair (Pie in the Sky).
Performed alongside a full-size orchestra, this lavish new production features a score overflowing with the best of Cole Porter’s songbook, including Just One of Those Things, Let’s Misbehave, I Love Paris, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Well, Did You Evah!, True Love, and many more.
Following the Barbican season, the musical will immediately embark on a major 20-week UK & Ireland tour – starring Helen George, Freddie Fox, Julian Ovenden, Nigel Lindsay, and Malcolm Sinclair – opening at the Wycombe Swan Theatre.
Join the 28-strong cast for this lavish new production as plans for the society wedding of the year descend into chaos, with old and new flames vying for attention as a sharp-eyed tabloid reporter hunts for scandal at a waterfront estate.
Brought to life by a multi award-winning creative team, including Rachel Kavanaugh and choreographer Anthony Van Laast, High Society declares the summer season officially open!
STEPPING OUT IN EASTBOURNE
Eastbourne Theatre’s summer production returns for 2026 with Richard Harris’ warm and witty tap-dancing comedy, Stepping Out, bringing joy and laughter to the Devonshire Park Theatre stage this summer for an extended run Thursday 13 – Saturday 29 August 2026. Tickets on sale now.
The Eastbourne Theatre production team are proud to present this feel-great comedy which will bring the joy so book now and tap into something special!
Chris Jordan directs this warmly funny Richard Harris comedy which follows a group of seemingly mis-matched amateur tap dancers as they prepare for a charity gala performance.
Proving ordinary people can do something extraordinary this delightful theatrical experience shows that a series of missteps and mishaps can lead to something truly special.
Mavis Turner runs a weekly tap class in a draughty church hall for a group of enthusiastic but decidedly amateur dancers. Among them are the shy, the anxious, the outspoken and the over-confident and each with their own reasons for being there. As the class prepares for a public charity performance, tensions rise, friendships form and hidden talents emerge. Under Mavis’s patient guidance, what starts as a series of missteps and mishaps, gradually transforms into something quite special.
Directed once again by Chris Jordan, working alongside the creative teams behind previous summer productions including The Invisible Man, The Play What I Wrote, The Hound of the Baskervilles, and many more. Stepping Out is a wonderfully funny and touching story, this feel-good comedy is guaranteed to delight.
HEN NIGHT HORROR RETURNS!
Hen Night Horror is returning for a new autumn/winter tour, bringing its unique blend of musical comedy and high‑energy horror back to audiences after an incredibly successful run across Scotland produced by 5 Brick May Productions in association with Imagine Theatre.
Written by Fraser Boyle and Ali Cleland, Hen Night Horror has earned a reputation as a fearless, laugh‑out‑loud night at the theatre — described by critics as “utterly unhinged in the best possible way” (The Reviews Hub, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐).
Amanda’s dream wedding is only days away, but her hen night is already spiralling out of control. Her best‑friend bridesmaids have declared war on each other — with dirty secrets, broken noses and old grudges bubbling to the surface. Hoping to patch things up, the group heads to a remote Highland lodge for a last‑minute hen night… but the girls soon realise the feud is the least of their problems. Because they are not alone. They are definitely not alone. This isn’t a hen night… it’s a horror story.
Packed with fast‑paced farce, hysterical dialogue, outlandish songs and moments of genuine terror, the show has been praised for its “hilarious lyrics and great melodies” (Theatre Scotland, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) and hailed as “genuinely wonderful theatre” by Broadway World (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐). A proven hit with audiences.
AND ON THE BIG SCREEN THIS MONTH…
The Met: Live in HD 2025-26 Eugene Onegin
Broadcast live to cinemas Saturday 2 May
Following her acclaimed 2024 company debut in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, soprano Asmik Grigorian returns to the Met as Tatiana, the lovestruck young heroine in this ardent operatic adaptation of Pushkin, which will be broadcast live from the Metropolitan Opera stage to cinemas worldwide on May 2. Baritone Iurii Samoilov is the urbane Onegin, who realizes his affection for her all too late. The Met’s evocative production, directed by Tony Award–winner Deborah Warner, “offers a beautifully detailed reading of … Tchaikovsky’s lyrical romance” (The Telegraph). This live cinema broadcast is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to cinemas across the globe.
