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Northern Theatre News
February 2026 - Week 1
Anthony Cawood
February 02, 2026
February 2026 - Week 1
Welcome to Northern Theatre News!
We’re in Feb, not sure how, but here we are!
The move out of winter (almost!) has brought a raft of new shows and casting announcements, check them all out below.
And we have the usual mix of news, listings, competitions and more. I’d love to hear your feedback. So let me know what you’d like to see featured (or not!) in future editions of your newsletter.
Enjoy, and see you in the stalls!
News roundup
News of a new tour for Burlesque The Musical, touring this year and hitting a number of our northern venues.
Casting news just in… Claire Sweeney is to play Miss Hannigan in the new tour of Annie! The tour will hit Blackpool, Newcastle, Hull, Liverpool, Bradford, Sunderland, & Sheffield. Claire will star alongside Alex Bourne as Oliver Warbucks, and the newly announced Tanisha-Mae Brown as Grace Farrell, Christian Cooper as Rooster, and Amber Kennedy as Lily St. Regis. |  Coming soon to a theatre near you! |
Northern Broadsides has announced the cast for their upcoming tour of Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment.
Connor Curren (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, National Theatre) will play the protagonist Raskolnikov, an impoverished former law student. Niall Costigan (The Book of Will, Shakespeare North Playhouse) will play the cunning detective, Porfiry and Marmeladov, the alcoholic former civil servant. Spotlight Prize 2024 finalist Trudy Akobeng (Finding Emily, Working Title Films) will play Raskolnikov’s love interest Sonja and Nastasya, a somewhat intrusive servant.
Coming to Leeds Playhouse 19 Nov 2026 – 16 Jan 2027
Has Leeds Playhouse already won Christmas!?!
Their announcement that they have How The Grinch Stole Christmas - The Musical certainly makes a very strong claim for seasonal highlight!
Sheffield Theatres have announced a series of events to coincide with their new play The Ladies Football Club which will be at the Crucible 28 Feb - 28 Mar.
Throughout February and March, Extra Time at Sheffield Theatres offers further opportunities for communities to join together, come to the theatres and find out more about the incredible women who inspired the play and those who have followed in their footsteps.
Highlights include an exhibition, life drawing, a listening post and more!
Subscriber giveaway
£50 monthly prize giveaway
Every month we give away a £50 Theatre Token to one of our subscribers, usable at over 250 venues across the UK (including loads in the North). Just stay subscribed and you’ll be in the draw.
What’s on over the coming weeks
North East
Newcastle’s Theatre Royal has Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts 3 - 7 Feb and Mamma Mia! 11 - 28 Feb
Sunderland Empire has Fawlty Towers 3 - 7 Feb followed by Matilda 11 - 28 Feb
North West
Liverpool Empire has SIX 3 - 7 Feb followed by Red Shoes 24 - 28 Feb.
Palace Theatre in Manchester has Barnum 10 -14 Feb followed by Priscilla Queen of the Desert 19 - 28 Feb.
Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester has Road 13 Feb - 14 March
Home in Manchester has The Lightning Thief - The Percy Jackson Musical 11 - 21 Feb
Still in Manchester, Hope Mill Theatre has Noel Coward’s Private Lives 28 Jan - 8 Feb followed by The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me 10 - 14 Feb
Over to Blackpool and the Grand Theatre has Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story 3 -7 Feb followed by Midsomer Murders: The Killing at Badger’s Drift 10 - 14 Feb and then Single White Female 17 - 21 Feb.
The Lowry, in Salford has the eagerly awaited tour of Operation Mincemeat 16 - 28 Feb
Storyhouse in Chester has The Signalman 3 - 7 Feb
Over in Crewe, The Lyceum Theatre has The Wedding Singer 4 - 7 Feb followed by Double Indemnity 17 - 21 Feb
Octagon Bolton has The Memory of Water 29 Jan - 21 Feb.
Yorkshire & Humberside
Leeds Grand Theatre has Opera North’s The Marriage of Figaro 30 Jan - 21 Feb with some Peter Grimes mixed in for good measure
Leeds Playhouse has Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Moriarty 10 - 12 Feb followed by A Midsummer Night’s Dream 14 - 28 Feb.
Bradford’s Alhambra has The Rocky Horror Show 2 - 7 Feb followed by Dear England 17 - 21 Feb.
York Theatre Royal has The Last Picture 5 - 14 Feb followed by Annie 12 - 21 Feb.
The Grand Opera House in York has Single White Female 3 - 7 Feb followed by Here & Now - The Steps Musical 10 - 15 Feb.
Hull New Theatre has Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story 12 - 14 Feb
Over in Sheffield at the Lyceum we have To Kill A Mockingbird 27 Jan - 7 Feb followed by The Bodyguard the Musical 10 - 14 Feb
The Playhouse has My Brother’s A Genius 28 Jan - 14 Feb.
The Crucible has Crown of Blood 2 - 7 Feb followed by The Ladies Football Club 28 Feb - 28 March
Northern Theatre News reviews
When we’re lucky enough to be invited to press nights we add the review to the very next newsletter! Here are the shows we’ve seen recently.
Ticket offers not to miss!
Not so much of a ticket offer this time, but an offer to get an additional theatre fix from home with Marquee TV. They have a ton of theatre, opera, concerts and ballet, and they are running a new offer where your first month is subscription is just £1.
Also with a Jan offer we have The Theatre Channel at just £1.99 a month for 6 months! (Before it reverts to £5.99 a month)
Theatre competitions
They’re not all northern, but when they’re not they do involve a hotel stay too, good luck! All are free to enter and run by 3rd parties (not me!), and I will keep them in each newsletter whilst the entry date is still valid.
Theatre spotlight
Epstein Theatre
All images are Northern Theatre News unless otherwise stated.  Entrance in the heart of the city, the theatre is above street level.  The neon signs acts as a beacon for culture vultures  The ‘N’ above the stage harks back to when the venue was named the Neptune Theatre  Incredible decor throughout!  There’s even room for a balcony level | Stroll down Hanover Street and you’ll spy a little gem that has lived more lives than most theatres could dream of. The Epstein Theatre has been through closures, campaigns and comebacks, yet it always finds a way to shine again. It first opened its doors in 1913 as Crane’s Music Hall, perched above the Crane Brothers’ piano shop. At the time it was mainly a place for musical recitals, but as the city’s appetite grew so did the theatre’s ambitions. By 1938 it was known simply as the Crane Theatre, staging full productions and drawing in loyal Liverpool crowds. Then came 1968, and with it the theatre’s first big transformation. Liverpool Corporation bought the building, spent a small fortune on a revamp (complete with a smart new front-of-house bar) and proudly re-launched it as the Neptune Theatre. The name was a nod to Liverpool’s seafaring soul, and even today you can still see little hints of that nautical theme if you look closely at the details. The Neptune years brought plenty of drama both on and off the stage. In 1993, when closure looked likely, theatre lovers refused to give in. Dame Judi Dench herself threw her weight behind the campaign to save it, and for years a professional Snow White pantomime kept the lights on and the auditorium full of families. The theatre fell dark again in 2005, but Liverpool wasn’t about to let go. A huge £1 million restoration project brought the building back to life in 2011. With its Victorian charm polished up and a brand-new name, it reopened as the Epstein Theatre, in honour of Beatles manager Brian Epstein. The connection to Brian is a quirky one - as a youngster he once performed here, and today his portrait by artist Tony Brown keeps watch from the foyer. Even with such a proud history, the story hasn’t always been easy. In June 2023 the council pulled its funding and the operators couldn’t keep the lease, leaving the Epstein dark once more. For many it felt like a heartbreaking full stop in a century-long story. But Liverpool has never been short on fighting spirit. In 2025, Theatrical Times Ltd stepped in with fresh backing and another £1 million to modernise the place. After a run of test shows through spring and summer, the grand reopening took place on 19 September (Brian Epstein’s birthday) with Ricky Tomlinson hosting a gala night that saw The Christians take to the stage alongside other homegrown favourites. I managed to catch Shake It Up Baby! this week, a brand-new musical about the Beatles’ wild days in Hamburg, and the atmosphere was electric. With history, character and sheer Northern determination on its side, it feels like this much-loved theatre is ready to enjoy the standing ovation it deserves. |
Theatre index
I’ve collated an index of all the northern venues I could find, it’s broken down by region so you can find the ones nearest you.
Do let me know if I’ve missed any.
Courses & training
I’ve had a few reader requests to add theatre related courses/training to the newsletter, so when/if I find any I’ll feature them here.
If you know of any more just let me know and I’ll include them
That’s it for this week
I’d love to know what you think about this newsletter, what we could do to make it better, and what else you’d like to see.
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