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
Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch
Lowry
Fri 5 Dec 2025 - Sun 11 Jan 2026
New Dawn Fades: A Play About Joy Division and Manchester
RNCM
Sat 4 - Sat 25 Oct 2025
Two Doctors - Two Ghost Stories by MR James
The Portico Library, Manchester
Monday 3 November 2025
M R James is acknowledged as the master of the English Ghost Story. He first performed his supernatural tales to friends at Christmas in King's College, Cambridge. M R James's ghost stories often involve the rediscovery of haunted objects. ...Fawlty Towers - The Play
Manchester Opera House, Manchester
Tuesday 4 - Saturday 8 November 2025
Nearly 50 years since it first hit our TV screens, the "Greatest British sitcom of all time" (Radio Times) is now a brand-new stage play, adapted by comedy legend John Cleese and directed by Caroline Jay Ranger. Featuring your favourite ...Barrier(s)
HOME, Manchester
Thursday 6 - Saturday 8 November 2025
Eloise Pennycott's Barrier(s) is a powerful and intimate love story. Love has no single language. Alana and Katie come from different worlds. One is hearing, one is deaf. Together, they navigate the joys and struggles of love, communicati...Coram Shakespeare Schools Theatre Festival
Contact, Manchester
Thursday 6 - Friday 7 November 2025
Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation presents the world's largest youth drama festival, an evening of live theatre, featuring a series of unique abridged Shakespeare productions by local schools. ...Frantic Assembly - Lost Atoms
Lowry, Salford
Tuesday 11 - Saturday 15 November 2025
Following sell out tours of Othello and Metamorphosis contemporary theatre company Frantic Assembly returns with a brand-new play for its 30th Anniversary year, written by Anna Jordan (Succession, Killing Eve, The Unreturning, Yen). ...National Theatre Live - Inter Alia (15)
Stockport Plaza, Stockport
Wednesday 12 November 2025
Rosamund Pike (Saltburn) makes her National Theatre debut as Jessica in this searing examination of modern masculinity and motherhood. Written by Suzie Miller and directed by Justin Martin following their global phenomenon, Prima Facie. Jes...The Talented Mr Ripley
Lowry, Salford
Monday 17 - Saturday 22 November 2025
This electrifying new stage adaptation of The Talented Mr. Ripley brings Patricia Highsmith's iconic 1955 psychological thriller to life like never before. With razor-sharp dialogue, simmering tension, and a dangerously charismatic antih...Let The Right One In
Lowry, Salford
Tuesday 18 - Saturday 22 November 2025
Trafalgar Theatre Productions presents the Royal Exchange Theatre Production of the international sensation Let The Right One In, which returns to the stage in a new UK & Ireland tour, following a smash-hit sold-out run at the Royal Excha...Perfect Show for Rachel
Contact, Manchester
Wednesday 19 - Saturday 22 November 2025
Step into Rachel's unique, often hilarious world in this critically acclaimed show, a "joyous celebration of theatre without the rules" (★★★★ The Stage) combining physical theatre, live music, family memories, massive fights and f...Census
HOME, Manchester
Thursday 20 - Saturday 22 November 2025
Award-winning duo Malandra Jacks introduce you to what happens when a working-class community tells its own story.A bus ride. A bingo card. A memory you didn't know you shared. This is our neighbourhood, not the one in the media, but the on...Tina - The Tina Turner Musical
Palace Theatre, Manchester
Tuesday 25 November 2025 - Saturday 3 January 2026
West End mega-hit TINA - The Tina Turner Musical announces its first ever UK & Ireland tour. From humble beginnings in Nutbush, Tennessee, to her triumphant transformation into a multi award-winning global superstar, Tina Turner didn't just...Ordinary Decent Criminal
HOME, Manchester
Wednesday 26 - Saturday 29 November 2025
A brand new play from the writer of the Fringe First winning England & Son and A Political History of Smack & Crack, Ed Edwards reunites with renowned political comedian Mark Thomas to tell a tale of freedom, revolution and messy love. Se...National Theatre Live - The Fifth Step (15)
HOME, Manchester
Thursday 27 - Saturday 29 November 2025
Olivier Award-winner Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk) is joined by Emmy and BAFTA-winner Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Responder) in the critically acclaimed and subversively funny new play by David Ireland. After years in the 12-ste...Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch
Lowry, Salford
Friday 5 December 2025 - Sunday 11 January 2026
The critically acclaimed parody musical, Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch returns to the Lowry for a five-week Christmas season. This splash-hit show has sold out twice previously, so get your tentacles round tickets fa...A Christmas Carol
HOME, Manchester
Thursday 18 - Saturday 20 December 2025
After the success of last year's Nightmares, The Book of Darkness & Light return with their ghostly adaption of this most beloved festive classic. Join Ebenezer Scrooge on a supernatural journey into the past, present and yet-to-come. The c...
Little Bear and the Christmas Lights
Lowry, Salford
Sunday 28 December 2025 - Sunday 4 January 2026
Join Little Bear on her magical adventure as she searches for the perfect Christmas lights. Filled with sensory wonders, puppetry and music this is the perfect theatrical experience for your Snowbabies. From the team that brought you Little...National Theatre Live - The Fifth Step (15)
Stockport Plaza, Stockport
Thursday 8 January 2026
Olivier Award-winner Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk) is joined by Emmy and BAFTA-winner Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Responder) in the critically acclaimed and subversively funny new play by David Ireland. After years in the 12-ste...National Theatre Live - Mrs Warren's Profession (12A)
Altrincham Garrick, Altrincham
Friday 9 January 2026
Five-time Olivier Award winner Imelda Staunton (The Crown) joins forces with her real-life daughter Bessie Carter (Bridgerton) for the very first time, playing mother and daughter in Bernard Shaw's incendiary moral classic. Vivie W...National Theatre Live - The Fifth Step (15)
Altrincham Garrick, Altrincham
Friday 9 - Saturday 10 January 2026
Olivier Award-winner Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk) is joined by Emmy and BAFTA-winner Martin Freeman (The Hobbit, The Responder) in the critically acclaimed and subversively funny new play by David Ireland. After years in the 12-ste...To Kill A Mockingbird
Lowry, Salford
Tuesday 13 - Saturday 24 January 2026
The powerful and enduring coming-of-age story of racial injustice and childhood innocence is set in 1930s Alabama where lawyer Atticus Finch tries to prove the innocence of Tom Robinson, a Black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman. ...Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote
Altrincham Garrick, Altrincham
Saturday 17 January 2026
Pit your wits against Jessica B. Fletcher at this interactive screening of an episode of Murder, She Wrote. Can you solve the crime before Cabot Cove's best amateur sleuth? Celebrating all things 80s television mysteries had to offer - con...Murder at Midnight
Lowry, Salford
Monday 19 - Saturday 24 January 2026
A comedy thriller by Torben Betts starring national favourites Jason Durr (Heartbeat, Casualty) and Susie Blake (Victoria Wood's as Seen on TV, Coronation Street).. A killer night out! From the writer of Murder in the Dark comes a del...Noel Coward’s Private Lives
Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester
Wednesday 28 January - Sunday 8 February 2026
From the creative team behind 'Blithe Spirit' and 'The Taming of the Shrew' comes HER Productions next classical takeover: Noel Coward's PRIVATE LIVES! Embracing Coward's trademark banter and elegance, HER's production peels back the fro...National Theatre Live - Hamlet (12A)
Altrincham Garrick, Altrincham
Sunday 8 February 2026
Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) is Hamlet in this fearless, contemporary take on Shakespeare's famous tragedy. Trapped between duty and doubt, surrounded by power and privilege, young Prince Hamlet dares to ask the ultima...Single White Female
Manchester Opera House, Manchester
Tuesday 10 - Saturday 14 February 2026
Based on the iconic 90's psychological thriller, the world premiere stage production of Single White Female is a bold and modern reimagining of the best-selling book and hit movie, that coined a phrase and led a generation to fear a stilett...Road
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Friday 13 February - Saturday 14 March 2026
By Jim Cartwright, featuring Lucy Beaumont, Shobna Gulati, Johnny Vegas, and with special guest Sir Tom Courtenay on film. 'Road's coming round us!' It's 1986. Your rumbustious chaperone Scullery guides you down the road, picking up the rau...Macbeth
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Wednesday 4 - Saturday 28 March 2026
Shakespeare's iconic tragedy is brought to life in a powerful new production. In a country ravaged by war and rebellion, a fragile peace has finally broken out across an exhausted amd wounded land. Macbeth, returning from battle, meets thr...National Theatre Live - Hamlet (12A)
Stockport Plaza, Stockport
Wednesday 4 March 2026
Olivier Award-winner Hiran Abeysekera (Life of Pi) is Hamlet in this fearless, contemporary take on Shakespeare's famous tragedy. Trapped between duty and doubt, surrounded by power and privilege, young Prince Hamlet dares to ask the ultima...Murder Trial Tonight IV Death Of A Landlord
The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester
Sunday 8 March 2026
Murder Trial Tonight is back for it's fourth season with a brand new show "Death of a Landlord". Victor Sloane, a powerful landlord, is discovered dead in his office - his young child the only witness. Tenant, Tre Bennet, struggling with me...The Constant Wife
Lowry, Salford
Tuesday 17 - Saturday 21 March 2026
David Pugh and Cunard present The Royal Shakespeare Company productionPrior to London's West End THE CONSTANT WIFEBy Laura WadeBased on the comedy by W Somerset Maugham 1927. Constance is a very unhappy woman. "Nonsense" says her mothe...
Murder Trial Tonight IV Death Of A Landlord
Pyramid and Parr Hall, Warrington
Thursday 26 - Friday 27 March 2026
Murder Trial Tonight is back for it's fourth season with a brand new show "Death of a Landlord". Victor Sloane, a powerful landlord, is discovered dead in his office - his young child the only witness. Tenant, Tre Bennet, struggling with me...Private Lives (Royal Exchange Production)
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Friday 27 March - Saturday 2 May 2026
'I think very few people are completely normal really, deep down in their private lives.' In Noel Coward's savage comedy, there's nothing a cocktail can't cure as lovers battle to get the upper hand. Wit has never been so razor sharp and pa...The Second Best Bed
Waterside, Manchester
Friday 27 March 2026
Liz Grand ("Where is Mrs Christie") stars as Anne Hathaway on the night of Shakespeare's funeral in this superb one-woman play, written by Avril Rowlands and directed by Chris Jaeger. Full of both humour and pathos, it has received great c...Murder, She Didn't Write
Lowry, Salford
Thursday 2 - Saturday 4 April 2026
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...Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts
Lowry, Salford
Tuesday 7 - Saturday 11 April 2026
Starring Tom Chambers (Father Brown, Strictly Come Dancing) as Inspector Morse, in the first-ever stage adaptation of the iconic detective. ITV's long-running Inspector Morse, hailed by Radio Times as 'The greatest British crime series of a...Noughts & Crosses
Lowry, Salford
Tuesday 21 - Saturday 25 April 2026
This gripping Romeo and Juliet story by acclaimed writer Malorie Blackman and adapted by Sabrina Mahfouz from Pilot Theatre is a captivating drama of love, revolution and what it means to grow up in a divided world. Winner of Excellence i...Even These Things
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Friday 15 May - Monday 15 June 2026
'Do you think the city's forgotten?' Three centuries. Three moments in time. An epic story of Manchester and Ireland by multi award-winning playwright Rory Mullarkey comes to the Royal Exchange Theatre 30 years after an IRA bomb devastated ...Midsomer Murders: The Killings at Badger's Drift
Manchester Opera House, Manchester
Wednesday 27 - Saturday 30 May 2026
Murder comes to the countryside in the theatrical world premiere of the critically acclaimed television favourite Midsomer Murders. When well-loved spinster Emily Simpson is found dead in the picturesque village of Badger's Drift, her frien...Plaza Murder Mystery Fundraiser
Stockport Plaza, Stockport
Tuesday 9 - Thursday 11 June 2026
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...Punk Rock
Altrincham Garrick, Altrincham
Tuesday 9 - Sunday 14 June 2026
From Manchester power-house playwright, Simon Stephens, Punk Rock is a brutal and urgent examination of contemporary adolescence. "I hate normal people. Normal people should be eviscerated." Tucked away in a library in a Stockport grammar s...King Lear
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Friday 2 October - Sunday 15 November 2026
David Threlfall returns to the Theatre after 27 years to play Lear 'You see how full of changes his age is' Shakespeare's most elemental tragedy charts a kingdom where power corrupts, families become enemies and prosperity devolves into war...Shooters
Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
Friday 12 February - Saturday 13 March 2027
Harlem, New York, 1948. The war is over, but another one is brewing 'These are memories frozen in time, for all eternity.' African American photojournalist, Gordon Parks is on the precipice of international renown as he attempts to document...Locomotive For Murder - The Improvised Whodunnit
