Nottingham Playhouse has unveiled its summer and autumn 2026 programme, highlighting two world premieres and a regional premiere that illustrate the theatre’s commitment to new storytelling and regional audiences.

The 2026 season at Nottingham Playhouse will showcase three major productions alongside the previously announced return of James Graham’s Punch in April. The summer and autumn schedule includes Jane Upton’s Scenes from a Friendship, William Ivory’s The Market Deeping Model Railway Club, and Beth Steel’s Till the Stars Come Down.

Scenes from a Friendship, opening in the Neville Studio from 15 May to 6 June, will receive its world premiere. Written by Jane Upton and directed by Hannah Stone, this two-hander charts the evolving relationship of two lifelong friends from childhood into middle age, exploring how their paths converge and diverge over decades.

The main stage will host the world premiere of William Ivory’s The Market Deeping Model Railway Club from 6 to 25 July. Directed by Nottingham Playhouse artistic director Adam Penford, the play is based on a true story about model railway enthusiasts whose layout is vandalised before a competition. Their efforts to rebuild attract unexpected support, notably from musician and railway fan Rod Stewart.

In September, the theatre will present the regional premiere of Beth Steel’s award-nominated Till the Stars Come Down. Running from 5 to 26 September and directed by Caroline Steinbeis, the play centres on a wedding in Mansfield where family tensions rise throughout the day. The production had earlier runs at the National Theatre and in the West End.

The autumn season further features Isobel McArthur’s adaptation Pride and Prejudice (*sort of), running from 2 to 7 November, and August Wilson’s classic Fences, directed by Daniel Bailey, from 10 to 14 November.

This lineup underscores Nottingham Playhouse’s strategy of blending new commissions with established works, supporting regional premieres and creating opportunities for locally focused stories to reach diverse audiences.