What’s playing at the Bush Theatre in London

7 Uxbridge Road
Shepherd’s Bush
London, W12 8LJ

After six years of creating space for new talent in the industry, the final season from Lynette Linton and Daniel Bailey continues their incredible legacy.

World premiere productions.
Breathtaking debuts.
Disrupting the canon – now and forever.

The 2025/26 shows bring you heartfelt, hilarious and unflinching stories from the very best new writing talent in the game.

After Sunday

10 Nov to 20 Dec

“Maybe that’s what cooking is, you know. Home in a pocket.”

Ty, Leroy and Daniel have signed up to a new Caribbean cooking group. It’s led by their Occupational Therapist, Naomi, who really needs it to go well. Believing in the healing power of food, Naomi is brimming with plans to evoke memories of Sunday dinners at home with family, to get the men to talk, share and create something special.

But when you’re locked in a secure hospital, too much food for thought can be a bad thing.

Each Sunday the hospital is transformed with the smells and flavours of home, and together the four embark on a challenging journey of self-discovery where it’s not just the pans that threaten to boil over. As the heat in the kitchen rises, the group is forced to reckon with uncomfortable truths – not only about who they really are, but also to face what they did that led them to become trapped within the system.

The funny and affecting debut play from Bush Writers’ Group alum Sophia Griffin, After Sunday is a searing examination of the intertwining lives of four people as they fight to find hope for a better future. This world premiere production is directed by Belgrade Theatre Artistic Director Corey Campbell (Romeo and Juliet) and features live cooking on stage.

Sweetmeats

7 Feb to 21 Mar

“Their souls are on fire because after all these lonely days, they finally found their own.”

Hema hasn’t indulged in sweet treats for years. She wants to be healthier and hopes the type 2 diabetes course she’s been attending will help.

Everything seems on track. Then Liaquat shows up.

Unapologetic and unafraid to break rules, Liaquat influences Hema to enjoy all the world has to offer and in return, Hema helps Liaquat get his health under control. As the unlikely pair grow closer, they face the aching pull of romance they’d long thought they had outgrown.

An intimate love story between two South Asian elders, this charming world-premiere will pull at your heartstrings. Written by Karim Khan (Brown Boys Swim, Soho Theatre) and directed by Tara Theatre Artistic Director Natasha Kathi-Chandra.

Heart Wall

7 Apr to 16 May

“It’s funny what people do and what they tell. We’re all hiding bits of ourselves. The bits we’re not proud of. I can see that now.”

It’s Friday night and Franky is back at her local pub for the first time in years. Pints are poured, Motown music drifts from the tinny speakers, and karaoke starts at eight. It’s reassuringly familiar. Like nothing’s changed.

But, haunted by grief, Franky’s family are quietly unravelling around her. Her dad is hiding himself away, and buried family secrets are leaking through the cracks in every room.

A bittersweet, tender exploration of the long tail of grief and the fickleness of memory, Heart Wall asks where we go when the walls start closing in and home has become somewhere you don’t know.

Written by Bush Writers’ Group alum Kit Withington (As We Face The Sun) and directed by Bush Theatre Associate Director Katie Greenall.

The Horse of Jenin

20 Nov to 20 Dec

‘The horse in Arabic is a symbol of freedom. But to us, this horse is much more. This horse is us.’

Built from the debris of a major invasion, the Horse of Jenin sculpture became a constant presence in Alaa’s life growing up in Occupied Palestine. It stood proudly in the centre of the city for twenty years, symbolising hope and resistance.

Then, on 29 October 2023, an Israeli bulldozer entered the city, ripping the sculpture from its place — and from its people.

Now, Alaa is left wondering… What happened to the horse?

Constructed from the fragments of Palestinian actor and comedian Alaa Shehada’s own memories, The Horse of Jenin is an ode to the power of imagination and the resilience it brings.

Maggots

27 Jan to 28 Feb

‘She scrubs desperately. Fervently. Furiously. The filth is in the walls and she can feel it in her bones and under her skin.’

As the stench in their building intensifies and infestations spread, a lonely group of tenants starts to ask questions.

But when the housing association barely lifts a finger in support and pest control “don’t deal with maggots”, the neighbours are left to grapple with their suspicions and fears alone – blurring the boundaries of their usually private lives in the process.

An exploration of the importance of human connection, Maggots questions what it really takes to build community. Written by Tony Craze Award winner Farah Najib and directed by Jess Barton, and produced by Jessie Anand Productions (This Might Not Be It).

I’m Not Being Funny

7 May to 6 Jun

‘I’m not gonna stand up in front of a bunch of strangers and tell stories about you and me.’

She’s signed them both up. Her and her husband. For stand-up comedy.

So tonight they’re locking themselves in their living room until they’ve got a ‘tight five’, delving through their past for material. But some jokes hurt and laughter isn’t always the best medicine.

With the clock ticking and nothing but a baby monitor for an audience, they wrestle with the spotlight as questions about their future are forced to the surface.

A new play about hope, endings and how to survive if a knock knock joke hits you in the gut, I’m Not Being Funny is written by Piers Black (Catching Comets, Pleasance & UK tour), directed by Traverse Theatre Associate Artist Bryony Shanahan (Bloody Elle, West End) and produced by Prentice Productions (How I Learned To Swim, Brixton House).

What other theatre shows are playing in London