🎭 Curtains Up Leeds – 2026 Theatre Preview

January, named after the Roman god Janus – famously blessed (or cursed) with two faces – is all about looking back and looking forward. As I’m limited to a single visage, I’ll do the sensible thing and point mine firmly towards 2026.

January is traditionally a quieter month on the theatre calendar, with festive productions running well into the New Year. So rather than dwell on slim pickings, here’s a forward-looking highlights reel of what’s coming up across Leeds’ major venues over the next twelve months.

As always, keep checking venue websites – or better still, Welcome to Leeds, where monthly updates will catch late additions and one-night wonders.

Leeds Grand Theatre.

The year begins beautifully with Northern Ballet’s Nutcracker, running until 4 January — and if you haven’t seen it yet, I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

Comedy fans should act fast for Fawlty Towers: The Play, arriving on 6 January. Adapted by John Cleese himself and featuring all the familiar characters, it sold out every performance during its London run and looks set to do the same in Leeds.

Opera lovers are well catered for early on with Opera North presenting The Marriage of Figaro (30 January – 20 February) and Peter Grimes (13 – 21 February), with more detail to come in February’s round-up.

One show already firmly in my diary is Sunny Afternoon (24 – 28 February), the hit musical celebrating The Kinks. Named after one of their greatest songs, it’s a little optimistic for February — but we can live in hope.

Northern Ballet returns once again with Gentleman Jack (7 – 14 March), inspired by the much-loved television series, before the Royal Shakespeare Company arrives with The Constant Wife (14 – 18 April), starring Kara Tointon in W. Somerset Maugham’s sharp 1920s comedy.

May brings plenty of crowd-pleasers, including Here & Now: The Steps Musical (5 – 10 May) — ideal if you’re cautious about new musicals but happy singing along — followed by the ever-popular 2:22: A Ghost Story (11 – 16 May). At least this one won’t send you home in the dark.

From 19 – 23 May, The Shawshank Redemption, adapted from the Stephen King novella, hits the stage starring Joe McFadden, Bill Ward and Ben Onwukwe.

The second half of the year leans heavily into musicals, with The Karate Kid, Legally Blonde, Mamma Mia!, The Sound of Music (already with limited availability), High Society, Heathers, Operation Mincemeat, The Ballad of Johnny & June, SIX and Mrs Doubtfire all taking turns on the Grand’s stage.

The year comes full circle — or perhaps full dress circle — on 15 December, with Northern Ballet’s Cinderella running through to 2 January 2027.

In short: something for everyone, especially musical fans, in another packed year at the Grand. Add in plenty of one-night performances and tours, and it’s worth checking the full listings regularly.

City Varieties Music Hall

There are a couple of National Theatre Live screenings confirmed so far, with more expected as the year unfolds.

First up is Hamlet, starring Hiran Abeysekera, on 29 January, followed by The Fifth Step on 8 February, featuring Jack Lowden and Martin Freeman.

Leeds Playhouse

With productions spread across multiple spaces, Leeds Playhouse always has plenty going on — so here are just a few highlights.

Festive favourites A Christmas Carol (until 17 January) and Stick Man (until 4 January) carry us into the New Year, before the first major production lands with A Midsummer Night’s Dream (14 – 28 February). This ambitious adaptation is a collaboration between Leeds Playhouse, Shakespeare’s Globe, Headlong and Bristol Old Vic.

March brings Small Island (11 – 28 March), a powerful Playhouse production following two couples — one Jamaican, one English — navigating life in 1940s London.

Family audiences are well looked after during the Easter holidays with Planet Omar (7 – 25 April), before I, Daniel Blake returns (28 April – 9 May) for those who missed it the first time around.

From 18 June – 11 July, the stage adaptation of Brassed Off takes centre stage — and this is very much one not to be missed.

Carriageworks Theatre

Over at Carriageworks, Sleeping Beauty runs until 4 January, after which there’s a packed programme of family-friendly shows throughout the year. Highlights include Pinocchio, Annie, Zog, The Snow Queen, Sunday in the Park with George and We Will Rock You.

Panto fans can already mark diaries for Jack and the Beanstalk, running from 20 November 2026 to 3 January 2027, while the alternative festive option, Sorry, Christmas Is Cancelled… Katie Saves the Day, runs from 12 – 31 December.

Final curtain call

That’s plenty to be getting on with, and there’s much more to come.

Have a brilliant 2026. With all this on offer across Leeds, it’ll be difficult not to.