Compelling international storytelling from world-class theatre makers and exciting new voices.
The Young Vic Theatre’s Artistic Director and CEO Nadia Fall announces 2026/7 season.
Running from September 2026 – July 2027 across the Main House and the Maria Studio, this new season of work pulls together adventurous new theatremaking and reimaginings of classic work which interrogate the past, confront the future and help to grapple with the here and now.
Welcoming powerful international storytelling into unique shape-shifting spaces, transporting audiences from the American mid-west to Nigeria and from the Swiss Alps, to a red planet in the depths of our solar system.
Each of these new productions are cathartic, poignant, wickedly funny and above all profoundly human stories.
From blockbuster musicals to experimental new work and a celebration of the creativity and anarchy of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Thelma & Louise – A New Musical
3 Sept – 24 Oct 2026
Press Night: 16 Sept, 7pm
Book by Callie Khouri, Music & Lyrics by Neko Case
Directed by Trip Cullman
Young Vic, Main House
I guess I went a little crazy, huh?
On a whim, Louise (Rachel Tucker) invites her best friend Thelma (Amy Lennox) for a spontaneous weekend getaway. After an ill-fated encounter with a stranger at a roadside honkytonk, their lifelong friendship is forged into something dangerous and unbreakable. Propelled by a soaring musical score, they set out on a last-chance adventure in a world where every card is stacked against them.
More than thirty years after the Oscar and Golden Globe-winning film, writer Callie Khouri reimagines her iconic road movie, Thelma & Louise, as a brand-new musical. With music and lyrics by Grammy-nominated artist Neko Case, this electrifying production, directed by Trip Cullman is wild, hilarious and will rip your heart out.
The creative team features:
choreography by Bobbi Jene Smith & Or Schraiber
scenography by Christine Jones & Brett J. Banakis
costume design by Ryan Dawson Laight
lighting design by Natasha Chivers
sound design by Gareth Owen
musical supervision by Kimberly Grigsby
orchestration and arrangements by John Clancy
musical direction by Ed Bussey
additional music by Carl Newman, Paul Rigby and Zoe Sarnak.
Based on the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Motion Picture “Thelma & Louise” written by Callie Khouri.
Shedinburgh
Sat 19 Sep – Sat 10 Oct 2026
Young Vic, The Maria
This autumn, Shedinburgh is bringing the very best of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to the Young Vic.
Your all-time favourite artists including Inua Ellams, Bryony Kimmings, Sara Pascoe and Rosie Jones perform in a shed. From Fringe legends and cult hits to rising stars and world premieres. All runs are strictly limited – blink and you’ll miss them. Expect a mix of old and new, with theatre, comedy, music, and everything in between.
Step inside the Shed and experience the Young Vic as you’ve never seen it before: unplugged, up close, and unforgettable.
Girls
22 Oct – 21 Nov 2026
Press Night: 27 Oct 2026
By Theresa Ikoko
Directed by Ewa Dina
Young Vic, The Maria
They leave a trail of fire and flesh. If they followed it – if somebody followed the stench – they would find us.
Nigeria, 2014. Teenagers Tisana, Haleema, and Ruha are best friends, busy swapping notes on celebrities, sex positions, and dodging carbs.
But when they’re kidnapped by militant insurgents and forced towards an uncertain future, they have only each other to turn to. As fear and religious differences begin to fracture their bond, how far can their friendship be tested before it breaks?
Ewa Dina, winner of the 2026 JMK Award, makes her Young Vic debut directing Theresa Ikoko’s Girls, a powerful story of friendship under fire with set and costume design by Raphaé Memon. Winner of the Alfred Fagon Award (2015), the George Devine Award (2016), and a finalist for the Verity Bargate Award.
Eurotrash
13 Nov 2026 – 09 Jan 2027
Press Night: 19 Nov, 7pm
A novel by Christian Kracht
Adapted by Colin Teevan
Directed by Walter Meierjohann
Young Vic, Main House
You think I’m a stupid, heartless old woman? Well we’re going to give this money away. Really give it away, get rid of it, squander it…And you’re going to help me.
A blocked novelist is summoned to Zurich by his aged mother who is barely keeping it together with vodka, pills and Ferragamo sweaters. Together they embark upon an impromptu journey to give away the mother’s fortune, amassed from arms investments and dairy products, in order to come to terms with their own and Europe’s dark history. With the cash stuffed in a plastic bag, the bickering pair take a chaotic and outrageous road trip through the snowy mountains and valleys of Switzerland.
Starring Kathryn Hunter and Ben Whishaw, Eurotrash, directed by Walter Meierjohann, brings Christian Kracht’s international best-seller in a new adaptation by Colin Teevan to the stage with set and costume design by Lizzie Clachan. Eurotrash is both a darkly comic travelogue and a poignant search for redemption and connection.
Kathryn Hunter said: “The character of ‘the mother’ is one of those unforgettable literary creations that is a real gift for an actor to play. I feel privileged to have been entrusted with bringing her to life – her eccentricities, contradictions, and complexities – opposite the brilliant Ben Whishaw with whom I’ve dreamed of working with since his searing and unforgettable Hamlet and with my long-time collaborators Walter and Colin, ten years on from ‘The Emperor’, our last project at the Young Vic.”
Ben Whishaw said: “I am so excited to perform at the Young Vic, collaborating with such an extraordinary team of artists, whose work I’ve long admired. I am particularly thrilled to be reuniting with my dear friend, the phenomenal Kathryn Hunter, as we delve into the rich, complex relationship between a mother and son that sits at the heart of Christian Kracht’s brilliant, unsettling and very funny novel.”
La Distance
22 Jan – 13 Feb 2027
Press Night: 25 Jan 2027
Written and directed by Tiago Rodrigues
Young Vic, Main House
We no longer believe it’s possible to change the world. We believe that we need to change worlds.
2077, Earth is breaking. As the planet buckles under environmental and societal collapse, part of humanity has launched itself toward Mars, chasing the promise of a new beginning.
Across millions of miles, a father (Adama Diop) fights to hold onto his relationship with his daughter (Alison Dechamps), as her new future unfolds on a distant red planet.
Tiago Rodrigues’ La Distance is a breathtakingly beautiful and profoundly human production about separation, hope, and the bond between parent and child. Performed in French, with English surtitles, this intimate and inventive play arrives at the Young Vic for a strictly limited time, following its acclaimed world premiere at the Festival d’Avignon last year.
La Distance is written and directed by Tiago Rodrigues, with translation by Thomas Resendes and translation for surtitles by Daniel Hahn, set design by Fernando Ribeiro, costume design by José António Tenente, lighting design by Rui Monteiro, and original music and sound design by Pedro Costa. Sophie Bricaire is the artistic collaborator, André Pato the Assistant Director and Thomas Medioni the Assistant Director Trainee.
dissent
05 Mar – 24 Apr 2027
Press Night: 11 Mar 2027
Written and directed by debbie tucker green
Young Vic, Main House
What you don’t know
y’don’t need to know,
what y’don’t need to know can’t hurt you.
State sponsored air conditioning and free cigarettes.
Work hard, go home, chill out. Repeat.
All you have to do is comply. And question nothing.
dissent is the explosive new play from debbie tucker green, one of the most distinctive and influential voices in contemporary British theatre. An Olivier and BAFTA Award winner, her previous work includes ear for eye and a profoundly affectionate, passionate devotion to someone (-noun), random and generations.
Written and directed by debbie tucker green, dissent features lighting design by Paule Constable and sound design by Christopher Shutt.
August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean
14 May – 10 July 2027
Press night 20 May 2027
Directed by Nadia Fall
Young Vic, Main House
I can’t wait. I have to see you now. They say you can help me. They say you wash souls.
Pittsburgh 1904, young Citizen Barlow is restless and camped outside Aunt Ester’s house, desperate for her help. She is said to be 285 years old, a sage and healer of the Hill District community, where slavery and the South are still in living memory.
But the merciless sheriff Caesar is circling, feared for his ruthless reputation. Can Citizen be saved before his past catches up with him?
Following her critically acclaimed production of King Hedley II, Young Vic Artistic Director Nadia Fall directs August Wilson’s moving exploration of resistance, redemption, and the enduring search for freedom.
