Spring season at Storyhouse

A scene from the acclaimed wartime-set musical Operation Mincemeat, at Storyhouse in May

Theatregoers are in for a thrilling New Year at the award-winning Chester Storyhouse for the new spring season.

The 2026 programme includes moving drama, big musicals and hilarious comedy moments.

As well as The Signalman (February 3-7), which has been touring for several months and finally visits Chester, February also brings an exclusive work in progress preview of Seirol Davies’s rags-to-spandex story Babyface: The Fierce Wrestling Musical (February 11), receiving its premiere on the main stage as part of our Storyhouse Queer programme.

Theatre fans should also watch out in February for exciting news about next summer's Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre programme.

Back in the main theatre, Shakespeare's powerful Macbeth comes up from March 6-21, relaunching

the Storyhouse Originals programme, adapted and directed by Jamie Sophia Fletcher. The production promises to bring the text to life with power, pace and atmosphere.

Take a trip to New York City in the company of Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey and Phoebe for Easter 2026 in the hugely entertaining musical comedy FRIENDS! The Musical Parody which runs from March 30-April 4 and blends memorable moments from across the 10 seasons of the much-loved TV series.

Following its world premiere in 2023 and a sell-out UK tour, emotional drama The Beekeeper of Aleppo makes its Storyhouse debut (April 21-25), telling the story of a beekeeper, Nuri, and his wife Afra, whose idyllic life is shattered as they find themselves forced to feel their home and embark on a dangerous search for safety.

Following that, West End smash-hit Operation Mincemeat (May 4-8) bursts on to the Storyhouse stage as part of its first UK tour. The winner of the 2024 Olivier award for Best New Musical is the fast-paced, hilarious and unbelievable true story of the twisted secret mission which helped the Allies win World War II.

Storyhouse will premiere the already-announced (see here) reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s 1925 literary masterpiece Mrs Dalloway (May 29-June 6), a new stage adaptation co-created by director Jen Heyes and Olivier award-winning writer and actor Kit Green, who also plays the lead role.

Then there’s a chance to do the Time Warp again with The Rocky Horror Show (June 30-July 4), when Richard O’Brien’s legendary love letter to B-movies returns to Chester, promising to be the biggest party in town.

Direct from a run in the West End, the Olivier award-nominated The Choir of Man comes to Chester from August 18-22, a foot-stomping, uplifting show packed with hits from artists including Queen, Paul Simon, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Adele, Sia and Katy Perry.

Willy Russell’s iconic tale of nature verses nurture, Blood Brothers, will be staged from October 13-17, affectionately known as the "standing ovation musical", it tells the story of the Johnstone twins who, separated at birth, grow up on different sides of the tracks with fateful consequences.

Family audiences are catered for when the Horrible Histories team brings not one but two shows to Storyhouse (October 22-25), coinciding with autumn half term. The choices are Terrible Tudors or Awful Egyptians – or see both and get a healthy discount on the double-ticket price.

Storyhouse creative director Suzie Henderson said: “I’m delighted we’re able to bring audiences such an exciting range of productions in 2026. It’s shaping up to be a brilliantly busy and memorable 12 months."

Full info and tickets here