When Jane Austen forgets the ending, the characters write it themselves...

What happens when the writer loses the plot? Emma Watson is 19, new in town, and newly cut off by her wealthy aunt. Sent back to the family home, she and her sisters must marry — and quickly. Otherwise, they face poverty, spinsterhood, or worse: a lifetime trapped with their boorish brother and his dreadful wife. So far, so Austen. But here’s the twist — Jane Austen never finished The Watsons. Who will write Emma’s happy ending now? Brimming with wit, mischief, and a touch of theatrical magic, this sparkling play peeks under the bonnet of Austen’s world and asks: What can characters do when their author abandons them?

The attic burns with secrets untold in our 800th Production!

In Polly Teale’s bold reimagining, Bertha Mason - the infamous “madwoman in the attic”- steps from the shadows and emerges as the living embodiment of Jane’s suppressed longings and rage. A daring interpretation that reveals the storm beneath Charlotte Brontë’s classic. Dive into Jane’s inner world and unearth the psychological battles between passion and restraint, duty and desire. Arresting and emotionally charged, this adaptation breathes raw, urgent life into one of literature’s most enduring heroines — a Jane Eyre like no other.

The attic burns with secrets untold in our 800th Production!

In Polly Teale’s bold reimagining, Bertha Mason - the infamous “madwoman in the attic”- steps from the shadows and emerges as the living embodiment of Jane’s suppressed longings and rage. A daring interpretation that reveals the storm beneath Charlotte Brontë’s classic. Dive into Jane’s inner world and unearth the psychological battles between passion and restraint, duty and desire. Arresting and emotionally charged, this adaptation breathes raw, urgent life into one of literature’s most enduring heroines — a Jane Eyre like no other.

A collection of Short Pieces, featuring local writers.

We all strive for connection, for validation, and to be seen. Connecting with each other is vital for everyone. Yet how often do we connect, even when we try our hardest? A wonderful and inspiring collection of shorts about the things that connect us or disconnect us from each other and ourselves.

Youth@theLittleJuniors—The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
Step into the magical world of Narnia with Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter as they journey through the wardrobe into a land of wonder, danger, and adventure. Will they find the courage to defeat the White Witch and bring hope to Narnia? A timeless tale of bravery and friendship brought to life by our talented young performers.

Youth@theLittleSeniors—a thrilling double bill  
In Sam Holcroft’s The Wardrobe, history comes alive as a single piece of furniture witnesses centuries of secrets, survival, and the stories of those who hid within. Then, Sondheim’s Into the Woods Jr. twists classic fairy tales together in a magical, musical adventure where wishes come true—just not always as expected. Two unforgettable journeys, one extraordinary evening, showcasing the talent and imagination of our brilliant teenagers.

Shipwrecks, sorcery, and second chances. 

The Tempest whirls together magic, betrayal, revenge, and redemption on a mysterious island. Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, has lived in exile with his daughter Miranda after his own brother’s treachery. When he conjures a mighty storm to wreck his enemies on the shore, the stage is set for tangled plots, wild spirits, and schemes of power. With the ethereal Ariel carrying out Prospero’s designs and the rebellious Caliban plotting, every moment teeters between chaos and wonder. One of Shakespeare's most enchanting and thought-provoking plays.

Power. Passion. Betrayal. Christmas with the Plantagenets is no holiday — it’s war. 

A sibling rivalry, betrayal, and scheming in the dungeons — The Lion in Winter by James Goldman roars with wit and passion. Both comedic and dramatic, this modern classic plunges us into the turbulent world of the Plantagenets. At its centre is Eleanor of Aquitaine — the brilliant, imprisoned queen and richest woman in the world — who is released for Christmas only to spar with her formidable husband, King Henry II. As their sons claw for the crown and lovers complicate loyalties, the royal family turns yuletide cheer into a war of words, wills, and power. After all, as Eleanor wryly observes: “Every family has its ups and downs...”

Step into the Wonderland where the impossible becomes possible! 

Alice takes a daring plunge down the rabbit hole and finds herself in a topsy-turvy world of curious creatures, puzzling riddles, and delightful 
surprises. Join her on a whirlwind journey through Wonderland, where tea parties never end and every corner hides magic. This enchanting adaptation unfolds in lively episodes from Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.

A kaleidoscope of colour, laughter, and imagination, the adventure brims with whimsy, wonder, and just enough mystery to keep dreamers of all ages joyfully entertained.

Albert's Bridge

The year is 1968, and Clufton Bay is spanned by a huge cantilevered railway bridge which requires painting endlessly. Albert has a degree in philosophy and with a job as bridge painter has a new perspective on life up high. Through CPSs and programmed efficiency, he replaces four painters and the bridge is all his. He has a wife, a child, and all seems well in the world. But his distant perspective soon begins to alter his view of life on the ground…

Trigger Warning: this play includes conversations about suicide.

Women Only

Newly divorced Laura drags her recently widowed mum, Ruth, to a dreary holiday “chalet” for what’s meant to be a relaxing and restorative mother-daughter holiday. But as the rain pours and the gin flows, Ruth lets loose a litany of "truth-bombs" that blow Laura’s world to smithereens. Family secrets and shocking revelations derail this hilariously disastrous getaway - because it’s not just the weather that’s about to break. Written by David Tristram, acclaimed author of The Extraordinary Revelations of Orca the Goldfish and the Little Grimley series.

Arthur Miller’s play written in the early 1950s, is set in Salem, Massachusetts, during the infamous 1692 Salem Witch Trials. This era was marked by paranoia, hysteria, and deceit, which tightly gripped the Puritan communities of New England. Miller's narrative not only meticulously captures the historical backdrop of the witch trials but also serves as a potent commentary on the perils of mass hysteria and the dire consequences of unquestioning conformity.

The themes explored in The Crucible resonate strongly today, offering a cautionary tale about the fragility of justice and how easily fear can be exploited for political or personal gains. This riveting and powerful play is now regarded as a modern classic, demonstrating the timeless relevance of its message.

Look out, the wild washerwomen are coming! Once upon a time there were seven unhappy washerwomen. They had far too much washing to do and the owner of the laundry, Mr Balthazar Tight, was simply dreadful! So they decide to go on strike. They are so happy with their newfound freedom that it seems nobody can control them. Until along come seven woodcutters, eager to teach them a lesson. But perhaps the washerwomen will teach the woodcutters a thing or two instead, and everyone might just live happily ever after...

A brand new musical adaptation of this popular children’s picture book.

Oh if we can just quiet the world for a moment. And listen within. There's a voice guiding you. I promise it's there. And until you can hear it, I'll be it for you.

The men are all fighting, again. An endless war. From nowhere, an unexpected leader emerges. Young, poor and about to spark a revolution. Rebelling against the world's expectations, questioning the gender binary, Joan finds their power within, and their belief spreads like fire. I, Joan is a powerful and joyous new play originally written for the Globe, which tells Joan of Arc's story anew. It's alive and queer and full of hope.

A series of random nocturnal assaults in the back streets and alleyways of Victorian London are spreading fear and panic. Meanwhile, the friends of a highly respected doctor are beginning to wonder why he goes missing on exactly the same nights...

Neil Bartlett’s inventive and theatrical adaptation explores male violence, guilt and privilege at the dark heart of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Jekyll and Hyde.

The Secret Garden

Sour and bad-tempered, 10-year-old Mary Lennox is orphaned and sent from India to Yorkshire to be put into the care of an uncle she has never met. At Misselthwaite Manor, a broken-hearted house full of secrets and strange noises, Mary discovers a garden as lost and neglected as she is. If she can learn to make friends, Mary might be able to bring more than just the garden back to life. Frances Hodgson Burnett's delightful and enduring tale celebrates the power of transformation and healing through nature.

Bleak Expectations

Follow half-orphan Pip's extraordinary exploits with sisters Pippa and Poppy and best friend Harry Biscuit, as they attempt to escape the calculating clutches of the dastardly Mr Gently Benevolent, defeat the hideous Hardthrasher siblings, and deflect disaster at every turn! Will evil be vanquished by virtue? Can love triumph over hate? Based on the award-winning BBC Radio 4 series, Mark Evans' stage play Bleak Expectations is a hilarious, chaotic caper, featuring dastardly villains, preposterous names, pulse-quickening romances, heart-rending death scenes, and definitely, probably, hopefully a happy ending. Would Dickens approve? Maybe after a glass or two …..

It’s 1950, and communists are not considered the only threat to American society. Two U.S. State Department employees, Bob and Norma, are tasked with identifying sexual deviants. There’s just one problem: they are gay, and married to each other’s partners as a carefully constructed cover. Inspired by the true story of the early American gay rights movement, madcap classic sitcom-style laughs give way to provocative drama as two “All-American” couples are forced to confront the closet door.

The Voyage of the Carcass

1899, somewhere in the Arctic — the remaining survivors of the shipwrecked Carcass are on their last thread of sanity after years stranded in the ice. Starving, paranoid, and haunted by the ghosts of their cannibalised crew, they must decide whether to wait for rescue or venture out into the endless, deadly expanse… If they don't kill each another first. This absurdly dark comedy takes us to the very ends of the earth in a slapstick battle between humanity and hubris.

Bobby and Amy

A sleepy Cotswold town in the the late nineties. For 13-year-old outsiders Bobby and Amy, it’s a world of sunshine, Take That and Tamagotchis. But as their friendship blossoms, devastating foot-and-mouth disease looms. And when the cows begin to burn and families to fracture, the town’s very way-of-life is threatened. In the face of such catastrophe, the young pair emerge as unlikely champions. This dark and tender comedy explores friendship and coming-of-age, heartache, and the ultimate importance of shared community.

On the train Kay meets an old magician, Cole Hawlings, who charges Kay with safeguarding a wondrous device that has time-travelling powers. It’s an instrument that Cole’s nemesis, the wicked sorcerer Abner Brown, will stop at nothing to steal for himself. And so when the old man mysteriously disappears, Kay faces the fight of his life. He must protect both the Box of Delights and, with it, the people he loves.

The Box of Delights is a magical and festive adventure in which one boy must confront the secrets of the past to defeat the evil in his present. The future of Christmas itself depends upon him.

From high farce to poignant observation the laughs keep coming!

Confusions is a set of short plays: Mother Figure, Drinking Companion, Between Mouthfuls and Gosforth’s Fête. Each play deals riotously, but with sharply pointed undertones, with human eccentricities and the universal dilemma of loneliness; a mother unable to escape from baby talk, an unsuccessful seduction attempt, a fraught dinner encounter and a disastrous fête.

This is a classic Alan Ayckbourn comedy presented on the 50th anniversary of it's first production.

The Real Inspector Hound is a parody of murder mysteries onstage, featuring plays within plays and twists within twists. Critics Moon and Birdboot attend a whodunnit at the theatre. Moon is standing in for a more successful critic, whom they dream of usurping. Birdboot seems more interested in attracting female actors with promises of stardom. However, not all is as it seems, and the two critics are dragged into the action onstage. You’d be a madman to miss the madman!

Contractions is an ink-black comedy about the boundaries between work and play. Emma's been seeing Darren. She thinks she's in love. Her boss thinks she's in breach of contract. The situation needs to be resolved. Contractions is brutally entertaining and ferociously funny whilst also being grotesque and chilling to the bone. Please note the play makes reference to child death, pregnancy and verbal abuse.

A timeless story of forbidden love, temptation and a fight for personal freedom.

The enigmatic Sarah Woodruff gazes out to sea, rumoured to be waiting for the return of the French Lieutenant she nursed back to health. Intrigued and in a quest to discover the truth, the aristocratic Charles Smithson throws himself into dangerous waters and risks everything he has for this mysterious woman.

Like Fowles’ ground-breaking novel and film before it, Mark Healy’s profoundly inventive adaptation of The French Lieutenant’s Woman, plays with convention to create something unexpected, evocative and exciting.

Join us in the village of Dibley for the shock arrival of it’s first female Vicar Geraldine Granger. Watch on as she charms her way into the less than impressed parish council. As time passes the naive lovable Alice and the questionable trouser wearing Hugo get engaged. After what will seem just an interval away you are invited to come and celebrate the wedding of the century. What will Alice's dress look like, what will Letitia Cropley make the cake from and will the groom's father even let it happen? Find out in June 2024.

Louisa May Alcott's 1868 classic and moving 'coming of age' story is accepted as ‘revolutionary' and for many years has been one of the most widely read novels. Cunningham's faithful and exciting adaptation follows the trials and triumphs of the four March sisters,  Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy and their mother, 'Marmee', living in somewhat impoverished circumstances in a small Massachusetts town while their father is away during the Civil War. Loosely based on the lives of the author and her publisher, this adaptation is underpinned by important conversations between Louisa May Alcott, and Thomas Niles Jr.

We’re delighted to announce a brand new co-production Adrian Bunting’s (BOAT’s founder) seminal play Kemble’s Riot, in a co-production with Brighton Open Air Theatre. Kemble’s Riot uproariously dramatizes the 66-night riot in 1809 when, having rebuilt the Covent Garden Theatre after a fire, its manager John Kemble and his sister-star Sarah Siddons put the entry price up by sixpence to pay for it. Kemble’s Riot won the Best Play Award on its debut at Brighton Fringe in 2011 and rave reviews followed from its run at Edinburgh Fringe in 2012.

Queers celebrates a century of evolving social attitudes and political milestones in British gay history, as seen through the eyes of individuals. Poignant and personal, funny, tragic and riotous, these monologues for male and female performers cover major events such as the Wolfenden Report of 1957, the HIV/AIDS crisis, and the debate over the age of consent through deeply affecting and personal rites of passage stories. A collaborative evening of performances to remind you how far we’ve come, and how far we still have to go. This is a fundraising production to support the BrickByBrick campaign to renovate our theatre.

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

In the heat of civil war a mother abandons her son, and the responsibility to rear the child falls upon Grusha, a servant girl. She sacrifices everything in order to respectfully raise the young boy as her own, but when the biological mother returns a debate arises as to who the rightful mother of the boy is. This is a fresh and powerful translation of Brecht's incendiary masterpiece by one of the most respected translators in modern literature.

The Little Tempest

Shakespeare’s classic tale of revenge, love, mischief and forgiveness is brought to life in a riot of colour, music and magic in an adaptation for all the family. When the sorcerer Prospero conjures up a storm to shipwreck his enemies, he sets the scene for an enchanting tale of spells, monsters, revenge and romance.

Once grande dames of Hollywood, by 1962 arch-rivals Bette Davis and Joan Crawford were in danger of becoming has-beens. Then an opportunity came along; to appear together in a new movie called Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?. While Joan manages her anxiety by lacing her Pepsi with vodka and signing photographs for her beloved fans, Bette chain smokes and muses on her love life, and her ability to pick a decent script, never a decent man. Behind the bitching and the practical jokes we see each woman's insecurities and regrets, and their rivalry is revealed to be underpinned by grudging respect as they attempt to identify their new roles in life as well as in their careers.

Tony and Greg seem to have love all figured out. They're in a committed relationship, but there has always been room in their relationship for other people to pass through - as long as that's all they're doing! Their only rule is they don't sleep with the same man more than once. But when Robert becomes a fixture in their lives, it will test their relationship as everything they thought they knew about each other is thrown into jeopardy.

Quarantined in his aunt's and uncle's stuffy flat, ten-year-old Tom is restless and bored. Intrigued by a grandfather clock, Tom is startled one night to hear it strike 13! Slipping out of bed he discovers a beautiful 1880s Victorian garden, which before was just a small back yard. In the garden he meets unhappy orphan, Hatty. A special friendship develops between Tom and Hatty as they share fun and adventures together in the magical garden. Philippa Pearce's 1950s classic is brilliantly adapted for the stage by David Wood.