DRAMA PLAYS IN MANCHESTER
DRAMA PLAYS IN MANCHESTER
Most Popular Drama Plays in Manchester
TINA - The Tina Turner Musical
Palace Theatre
Tue 25 Nov 2025 - Sat 3 Jan 2026
New Dawn Fades: A Play About Joy Division and Manchester
RNCM
Sat 4 - Fri 10 Oct 2025
Death of a Salesman
Lowry, Salford
Wednesday 30 April - Saturday 3 May 2025
One of the greatest plays of the twentieth century, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman explodes onto the stage in this fresh new production led by acclaimed actor David Hayman (Sid and Nancy, Dad's Army). This timeless, powerful story tak...Hamlet Hail to the Thief
Aviva Studios, Manchester
Wednesday 30 April - Sunday 18 May 2025
A frenetic adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet haunted by Radiohead's Hail to the Thief. Shakespeare's great tragedy and Radiohead's seminal album collide for a feverish experience that fuses theatre, music, and movement. In this frenetic di...Abigail's Party
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Wednesday 30 April - Saturday 24 May 2025
Mike Leigh's tragicomic masterpiece ABIGAIL'S PARTY has garnered cult status across the decades. In the Royal Exchange's distinctive space, award-winning Director Natalie Abrahami draws on the unique in-the-round stage to create an intima...North By NorthWest
HOME, Manchester
Wednesday 30 April - Saturday 10 May 2025
Theatre legend Emma Rice takes on film legend Alfred Hitchcock in this riotously funny reworking that turns the original thriller on its head. It would be strange, would it not, if, in a city of seven million people, one man were never mist...The 39 Steps
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Wednesday 30 April - Saturday 10 May 2025
Brilliantly bonkers and hilarious adaptation of Hitchcock's iconic thriller. Follow the dashing Richard Hannay as he embarks on a thrilling adventure filled with daring antics, romantic encounters and ghastly murders. Get set for a whirlwin...Gods of Salford
Lowry, Salford
Wednesday 30 April 2025
In their 25th year, Lowry celebrate the trailblazers, dream chasers and change makers who have been part of our story so far and will undoubtedly shape our future, the inspirational young people in our city. GODS OF SALFORD is a Lowry Comm...Vignettes - Letters to the NHS
Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Wednesday 30 April - Sunday 4 May 2025
Presented by HER Productions, Vignettes is an evening of six short plays by established and emerging female-identifying Manchester-based playwrights, inspired by whatever they choose. Vignettes returns in 2025 with a very special 'Lette...Little Gem
Altrincham Garrick, Altrincham
Wednesday 30 April - Sunday 4 May 2025
An Altrincham Garrick production of Elaine Murphy's multi-award winning play. Love, sex, birth, death and salsa classes. Three generations of Irish women. One extraordinary year. Happy-go-lucky Amber, fresh out of school, is high on life, d...The Lowry Dance & Drama Workshops
Lowry, Salford
Wednesday 30 April - Thursday 31 July 2025
The Lowry offers a diverse and inclusive creating learning offer for Primary and Secondary Schools. With a variety of workshops linked to curriculum areas, mental health and wellbeing and project work. Held either at The Lowry or in scho...Imaginary Friends
HOME, Manchester
Thursday 1 - Saturday 3 May 2025
Welcome to the warped mirror world of Imaginary Friends, the new solo show by award-winning writer-performer Daniel Bye, exploring everything from grief, morality and the end of the world, to authenticity in the contemporary media landscape...Hedda Gabler
Grosvenor East Theatre, Manchester
Thursday 1 - Saturday 3 May 2025
By Henrik Ibsen, version by Patrick MarberDirected by Sean Aydon Just married. Bored already. Hedda longs to be free... This is the story of a woman so unhappy, she'll set the world on fire just to watch it burn. Ibsen's masterpiece is re-i...Murder Mystery Evening
East Lancashire Railway, Bury
Friday 2 May - Friday 19 December 2025
Nothing works up an appetite like exercising those brain cells. So bring your best detective skills and join us for a night of mystery and murder on one of our stunning heritage steam trains. If you love Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes -...Remythed
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot
Friday 2 - Saturday 3 May 2025
The debut show of Bet'n Lev Theatre, Remythed takes myths and legends, reshapes and retells them. Stories in ways you've never seen them before; full of insight, dreams and wisdom that'll leave you joyfully questioning every story you've e...Oracle - A New Writing Anthology
Waterside, Manchester
Friday 2 May 2025
Enjoy seven short scripts from up-and-coming new writers, from the politically poignant to the utterly nonsensical. 'Oracle' follows radical, queer, groundbreaking Quantum Egg Theatre's pioneer anthology night, 'Algorithm', with another gen...Playreading Sessions
HOME, Manchester
Friday 2 May - Friday 5 December 2025
HOME's popular Playreading group meets on the first Friday of most months. The sessions, which are open to all, offer an opportunity to read and discuss plays that are linked to our theatre productions, or discover new plays from local tal...
A Beginners Guide to Widowhood
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot
Tuesday 6 May 2025
A Beginner's Guide to Widowhood is a dark, but uplifting one-woman show exploring the experiences of young widows, loss, and why it's okay to talk about death. Suria has lost her husband (she hasn't misplaced him or anything - he's dead) J...Little Reads
Z-arts, Manchester
Tuesday 6 May - Tuesday 1 July 2025
Little Reads with Manchester Literature Festival. Join Ged for an interactive Storytelling session in our new Children's Library. 10am session - Pre-school/Family session 11am- Inclusive session (If you require a BSL interpreter please do l...Of Mice and Men (Garrick Production)
Altrincham Garrick, Altrincham
Thursday 8 - Sunday 18 May 2025
"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place... with us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us." George and...This is Not my Beautiful House
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot
Thursday 8 - Friday 9 May 2025
A story of myth, legend and identity, This Is Not My Beautiful House is a one-person play in the Irish language, with English surtitles. Suitable for anyone interested in queer identity, Irish history, or theatre generally, the show revolv...The Jury Experience - An Immersive Courtroom Case
The Stoller Hall, Manchester
Friday 9 May 2025
Step into the heart of a high-stakes trial with The Jury Experience in Manchester. In this live theatre show, YOU are the jury-the power to deliver justice is entirely in your hands. You'll examine every piece of the puzzle, from witness t...Egging (Script-in-Hand Rehearsal)
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Friday 9 May 2025
A script-in-hand rehearsed reading of Adam Kotwal's brand new play, Egging. This is a work in progress piece supported by the Octagon Theatre, followed by a Q&A session with the writer and creative team. Haris is on the run from his friends...Kook Ensemble - Sand
Lowry, Salford
Saturday 10 May 2025
Sand is Circus Theatre group Kook Ensemble's second show, hard on the heels of their critically acclaimed tour of 'Filibuster' in 2024. Dylan has dementia. Heather must watch the love of her life drift away and battle with the erosion of hi...Austentatious - An Improvised Jane Austen Novel
Lowry, Salford
Sunday 11 May 2025
The award-winning smash-hit comedy, as seen in the West End every week since 2022, and heard on BBC Radio 4, comes to you on a strictly limited tour. For one delightful evening only, the all-star Austentatious cast will improvise a hilariou...Plaza Murder Mystery Fundraiser
Stockport Plaza, Stockport
Tuesday 13 - Thursday 15 May 2025
The Plaza's very own 'Plaza Players' are back with another fundraising Murder Mystery event that will be.... deadly! Lights..... Cameras..... Murder! Mr Cyril G De Thrill is filming his latest and greatest Silver Screen spectacular at The P...Murder, She Didn't Write
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Thursday 15 May 2025
Don your deerstalker, grab your magnifying glass and get your 'finger of suspicion' at the ready because Edinburgh Fringe favourites, Degrees of Error, are bringing back their multiple sell-out show for your sleuthing pleasure. They'll crea...Buff
Waterside, Manchester
Thursday 15 May 2025
Funny yet poignant, this solo-performed play tackles body image pressures, social media jealousy, and one gay man's journey to self-acceptance head on, whilst navigating the toxic universal world of online dating. After a bad break-up from ...The Dad's Army Radio Show
Lowry, Salford
Friday 16 May 2025
The nation's favourite sitcom returns! The boys are delighted to head to Lowry with three new episodes. Two actors, two microphones, over twenty-five characters - and lots of sound effects! Dad's Army Radio Show bring's Perry and Croft's cl...Jock Night
Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Tuesday 20 - Saturday 31 May 2025
Following a critically acclaimed run at London's Seven Dials Playhouse, Hive North bring Adam Zane's uncut and extended version of his outrageous Offie-nominated comedy-drama back to Manchester. Welcome to Jock Night - Manchester's wildest...Dracula
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Wednesday 21 - Saturday 24 May 2025
A powerful stage adaptation of Bram Stoker's gothic classic The time is 1897. Mankind is on the cusp of vast technological change, scientific mastery and media innovation. But poised between traditional beliefs, the threat of the unknown an...Barton Theatre Company - Under Milk Wood
Lowry, Salford
Thursday 22 - Saturday 24 May 2025
Barton Theatre Company returns to The Lowry with its production of "Under Milk Wood", Dylan Thomas' poetic portrait of the small, fictional Welsh town of Llareggub. Guided by two mystical voices, see the 'long littleness' of everyday life...
The Taming of The Shrew: The Experiment
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot
Friday 23 May 2025
This Taming of the Shrew is a high octane comedy that punches in the gut. One of Shakespeare's most controversial works, "The Taming of the Shrew" sees an immovable object and an unstoppable force meet when fierce Katherine (labelled a veno...Taming Of The Shrew
HOME, Manchester
Tuesday 27 - Saturday 31 May 2025
HER Productions remount their highly successful rendition of one of Shakespeare's most polarising comedies. A drunken patron (Sly) falls victim to our gang of Unseemly Women. As Sly wakes from his wild night of Cabaret, he is told a story...Carmilla
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot
Wednesday 28 - Thursday 29 May 2025
Paying homage to it's 19th-century roots, Carmilla is a timeless reflection on the complexities of human emotion and the shadowy borders between life and death. A twilight world of gothic horror recieves a queer reimagining from Chalice Pri...Dear England
Lowry, Salford
Thursday 29 May - Sunday 29 June 2025
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "A theatrical spectacle as uplifting as any England victory." (Telegraph). The National Theatre's Olivier-Award winning smash hit head out on a national tour, following a record-breaking run in the West End. The country tha...Myra's Story
Lowry, Salford
Thursday 29 - Friday 30 May 2025
Direct from London's West End, where every performance received a huge standing ovation and the smash hit of four Edinburgh fringes. The incredible story of middle-aged homeless alcoholic, Myra McLaughlin living rough on the streets of Dubl...Orton: Fallen Angel
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot
Friday 30 - Saturday 31 May 2025
This new play from Grin Theatre Company, written by Wes Williams, re-imagines the turbulent relationship between the iconic gay writer Joe Orton and his partner Kenneth Halliwell. Based on true events and incidents the play explores thei...An Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo
Waterside, Manchester
Friday 30 - Saturday 31 May 2025
This is not a coming out story, it is not a gay tragedy, and it is not porn. It is life through the lens of a queer young man, navigating masculinity, Grindr and institution that is rife with shame; doing it all with a sensational soundtrac...Breathe
Waterside, Manchester
Sunday 1 June 2025
Part gig, part puppet theatre and part live film, Breathe explores the inner workings of trees, beautifully realised with a combination of stunning puppetry, breathtakingly detailed sets, and groundbreaking live camerawork. Underscored th...Vardy v Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial
Altrincham Garrick, Altrincham
Monday 2 - Saturday 7 June 2025
A story stranger than fiction that blurs the boundaries of tabloid scoop, court case and soap opera, The Wagatha Christie Trial explores privacy and celebrity in modern Britain. On 9 October 2019, Coleen Rooney publicly accused Rebekah Var...The Gentleman of Shalott
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot
Tuesday 3 - Wednesday 4 June 2025
The Gentleman of Shalott is a queer adaptation of Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shalott, influenced by Theatre of the Absurd, exploring isolation; social media-induced anxiety; neurodiversity and our unwillingness to confront the climate cris...The Play's The Thing: A One Person Hamlet
Lowry, Salford
Wednesday 4 June 2025
'Mark Lockyer has absolute commitment and mastery of this timeless classic' Rufus Norris. Artistic Director, Royal National Theatre With all the characters played by one actor, stunningly simple staging, and all the language we love, we ...Cock
Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Wednesday 4 - Saturday 7 June 2025
Following its Northern premiere in 2024, COCK by Mike Bartlett and Directed by Rupert Hill returns as part of a large 2025 tour. The play centres on John, a man who finds himself torn between his long-term boyfriend and a woman he unexpe...Pride & Prejudice
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Thursday 5 - Saturday 28 June 2025
Jane Austen's most iconic love story is brought dazzlingly to life on stage When it comes to the subject of marriage, headstrong Lizzy Bennet is determined to resist the mounting pressures and expectations from society. But can she resist l...Ockham's Razor - Tess
HOME, Manchester
Thursday 5 - Saturday 7 June 2025
A groundbreaking adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney of Ockham's Razor, a contemporary circus company who combine circus and visual theatre to make work that is arresting...Unseemly Women - Macbeth
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot
Thursday 5 - Saturday 7 June 2025
Manchester-based feminist theatre collective Unseemly Women go red and bring you the power of Shakespeare's Macbeth, adapted by Hannah Ellis Ryan for HER Productions. Something wicked this way comes... Scotland is at war with Norway. Whil...
Sorry (I Broke Your Arm and Legs)
Lowry, Salford
Thursday 5 June 2025
A riotous debut PowerPoint presentation from James Akka (Thanks A Lot, Milton Jones!), combining all the thrills of World Book Day with the hilarity of the Maths Olympiad. Sam's obviously the correct choice for Head Boy. He's got the Powe...National Theatre Live - A Streetcar Named Desire (15)
HOME, Manchester
Thursday 5 - Sunday 8 June 2025
Gillian Anderson, Vanessa Kirby, and Ben Foster lead the cast in Tennessee Williams' timeless masterpiece, returning to cinemas. As Blanche's fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace - but her downward spiral brings...Terminal 2
Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot
Friday 6 - Saturday 7 June 2025
With their plane delayed due to a power cut, George and Lynda Sumner debate the meaning of life, the common bluebottle, sex tapes and the pros and cons of WH Smith... but it soon becomes clear that Lynda's journey is one way and that George...Local
Lowry, Salford
Friday 6 June 2025
A show about home, belonging or not, and letting go. 'Local' is a solo show where storyteller Liz Richardson revisits her childhood memories and home in West Cumbria in an attempt to understand whether she still belongs there, or ever did. ...Altrincham Garrick Play Reading Club
Altrincham Garrick, Altrincham
Friday 6 June - Friday 5 December 2025
If you like theatre... no, if you love theatre, drama, comedy, musical theatre, play reading, poetry and much more and would relish the opportunity to meet new people, then the new 'Altrincham Garrick Play Reading Club' is for you. Here is ...Translations
