Young Vic Announces a Bold and International 2026/7 Season

The Young Vic has unveiled its 2026/7 season, and it’s a strikingly ambitious programme that blends world premieres, major revivals, and international work with real urgency.

Under Artistic Director Nadia Fall, the new season runs from September 2026 to July 2027 across the Main House and the Maria Studio, bringing together globally recognised artists alongside emerging voices. The result is a line-up that feels both expansive in scope and sharply tuned to the present moment.

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A blockbuster musical leads the season

Opening the Main House is Thelma & Louise, a brand new musical adaptation of the iconic film. With music by Neko Case and starring Amy Lennox and Rachel Tucker, the production promises a fresh and politically resonant take on the story of female friendship and defiance.

It’s a bold choice to open the season, signalling a willingness to blend large-scale appeal with meaningful storytelling.

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Star casting and European storytelling

Later in the year, Eurotrash brings Ben Whishaw and Kathryn Hunter together on stage, reuniting a celebrated creative team for a darkly comic road trip through Europe.

Meanwhile, La Distance by Tiago Rodrigues arrives fresh from the Festival d’Avignon, offering an intimate, sci-fi-tinged exploration of family, distance, and survival in a collapsing world.

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New writing with bite

The season also includes the world premiere of dissent by debbie tucker green, a writer known for uncompromising, politically charged work.

Closing the Main House programme is August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean, directed by Nadia Fall, marking the play’s first major UK staging in two decades and continuing the Young Vic’s engagement with classic texts that speak powerfully to today.

The Maria Studio embraces Fringe energy

The Maria Studio continues to evolve as a space for experimentation.

The headline event here is Shedinburgh, which transfers the spirit of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe into an intimate London setting. Featuring over 40 shows, it promises a fast-moving, eclectic mix of theatre, comedy, and music from artists including Inua Ellams and Sara Pascoe.

Also in the Maria, Theresa Ikoko’s Girls returns in a new production directed by JMK Award winner Ewa Dina, telling a powerful story of friendship and survival set against the backdrop of the 2014 Nigerian kidnappings.

Beyond the stage

Alongside the productions, the Young Vic is expanding its programme of one-off events, including a talk from Professor Daisy Fancourt on the science of arts and health, and a special R.A.P Party celebrating the legacy of D’Angelo.

A season shaped by the world we live in

Across the programme, there’s a clear through-line: stories that grapple with division, identity, and connection in an uncertain world.

As Nadia Fall puts it, this is theatre designed to ignite dialogue between artists and audiences, bringing together stories that are cathartic, poignant, wickedly funny and profoundly human.

If this season delivers on its promise, the Young Vic will once again prove why it remains one of London’s most exciting and risk-taking theatres.