The National Theatre is launching a new touring partnership with 12 venues across England to bring large-scale productions to a broader audience. Its first tour under the scheme will feature The Rise and Fall of Little Voice starring Francesca Mills, Jill Halfpenny, and Paul Chuckle.

The National Theatre has unveiled National Theatre Nationwide, a nationwide tour scheme aiming to increase theatre access and counteract the decline in touring productions. The initiative involves taking one National Theatre production annually on tour from its London run with the original cast, complemented by a schools touring programme and subsidised ticket schemes backed by Arts Council England.

The inaugural production under this scheme is Jim Cartwright’s The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, directed by the National Theatre’s deputy artistic director Robert Hastie. After a run at the National Theatre from 2 December 2026 to 23 January 2027, the show will tour venues including Newcastle Theatre Royal, Sheffield Theatres, Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre, the Lowry in Salford, Marlowe Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth, and Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

The cast includes Ian Charleson Award winner Francesca Mills in the lead role of Little Voice, alongside Jill Halfpenny as Mari Hoff and Paul Chuckle as Mr Boo. Additional casting details are yet to be announced. The creative team features set and costume designer Janet Bird, lighting designer Paul Pyant, sound designer Mike Walker, composer David Shrubsole, voice coach Shereen Ibrahim, and casting director Alastair Coomer.

The partners involved in National Theatre Nationwide span a wide range of regional venues, including Birmingham Hippodrome, Leeds Heritage Theatres, Curve, Norwich Theatre, Southampton Mayflower, and Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Nottingham. This broad collaboration is designed to strengthen touring infrastructure and audience engagement outside London.

Alongside the main production tours, the scheme incorporates a schools touring programme. The first schools production will be a new adaptation of Bacchae by Nima Taleghani, directed by Hannah Hauer-King, following its previous season at the National Theatre under artistic director Indhu Rubasingham. Another schools and family production, The Last Wild, adapted by Jude Christian from Piers Torday’s novel and directed by Rachel Bagshaw, will co-produce with Unicorn Theatre before a national tour in 2027.

Tickets for The Rise and Fall of Little Voice will go on sale from 21 May 2026, with some venues planning later releases. The National Theatre Nationwide initiative marks a concerted effort to revitalise touring theatre and widen cultural access across England.