WHAT'S ON AT THE OCTAGON THEATRE, BOLTON
What's On at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Octagon Theatre Bolton is an award-winning venue in the heart of Bolton that opened in 1967. The Octagon Theatre makes, shares, produces, and welcomes an array of popular theatre shows and experiences from classic plays, musicals, comedy, new work, reimagining’s, and premier events. The capacity in the main theatre is up to 390.
The Octagon Theatre Bolton was the first professional flexible theatre in the UK. It proudly works in partnership with the local community to provide numerous opportunities to get involved. With local business woman and CBE Sue Hodgkiss as a Patron and University Of Bolton as their Principal sponsor, the Octagon Theatre truly embodies all aspects of Bolton.
The Octagon has played a pivotal role in many careers, such as Danny Boyle, Vanessa Kirby, Fiona Shaw, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Es Devlin and Maxine Peake. Productions, shows and events coming up include Russell Kane, Fawlty Towers - The Original Dining Experience, Private Lives, King Arthur, Snake In The Grass, A Christmas Carol, and Mrs. Claus saves Christmas. See what’s on at the Octagon Theatre Bolton below and book tickets online.
Octagon Theatre Bolton is an award-winning venue in the heart of Bolton that opened in 1967. The Octagon Theatre makes, shares, produces, and welcomes an array of popular theatre shows and experiences from classic plays, musicals, comedy, new work, reimagining’s, and premier events. The capacity in the main theatre is up to 390.
The Octagon Theatre Bolton was the first professional flexible theatre in the UK. It proudly works in partnership with the local community to provide numerous opportunities to get involved. With local business woman and CBE Sue Hodgkiss as a Patron and University Of Bolton as their Principal sponsor, the Octagon Theatre truly embodies all aspects of Bolton.
The Octagon has played a pivotal role in many careers, such as Danny Boyle, Vanessa Kirby, Fiona Shaw, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Es Devlin and Maxine Peake. Productions, shows and events coming up include Russell Kane, Fawlty Towers - The Original Dining Experience, Private Lives, King Arthur, Snake In The Grass, A Christmas Carol, and Mrs. Claus saves Christmas. See what’s on at the Octagon Theatre Bolton below and book tickets online.
Most Popular Shows and Events at Octagon Theatre, Bolton
What's On at the Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Snake in the Grass
The Theatre
Saturday 11 - Saturday 25 October 2025
A darkly comic thriller about family, secrets and manipulation. Annabel returns home after the death of her cruel father. Reunited with her sister Miriam, the siblings bicker as buried truths resurface. Tensions grow when his former nurse ...Lantern Making and Storytelling Session
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Saturday 11 October 2025
Celebrate Diwali with us!Join us for a FREE lantern making workshop inspired by the story of Diwali. If you would like, your lantern my be used to decorate the Octagon Box Office as we celebrate Diwali. These sessions are open to everyone! ...Family Saturdays
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Saturday 18 October - Saturday 13 December 2025
Join us at the Octagon on selected Saturday mornings for FREE family storytelling sessions, sharing stories in creative ways to spark imaginations! There will be a small soft play area for families with little ones under 4....Theatre Club: Snake in the Grass
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Saturday 25 October 2025
Theatre Club is a chance to chat about Octagon productions in a relaxed and informal discussion group. In our October meeting, we'll be discussing Snake in the Grass. If you would like any further information please contact participation@oc...James Phelan - The Man Who Was Magic
The Theatre
Sunday 26 October 2025
Dare to believe in magic and step into a world where the impossible comes alive! Star of The Greatest Magician, and the BBC's most broadcast magician of the last decade - the award-winning James Phelan - is back with a completely new breath...Black Tie Ball
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Wednesday 29 October - Saturday 1 November 2025
It's the glitziest night of the year, and everyone wants to be there, from the great to the good. The Bentleys are parked, the Jazz band has arrived, and the magician is magic, so pick up your invite for this fundraising frenzy. But behind ...Drumming and Storytelling Workshop
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Wednesday 29 October 2025
Join us for FREE interactive African Drumming and Storytelling Session inspired by Black History Month. An engaging interactive workshop, shining a light on untold stories, through music, rhythm and storytelling. These sessions are open to ...Family Storytelling Sessions
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Thursday 30 October 2025
Join us for FREE interactive spooky storytelling sessions followed by a drama workshop to get all the family ready for Halloween!?Get ready use your spooktacular imagination as our storytellers take you on an adventure of interactive Hallow...Miss Jackson Pulled At Parklife
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Friday 31 October 2025
A brand New Comedy by MaD Theatre CompanyMiss Jackson teaches Dance at a dead rough school and is putting on a production of Bugsy Malone with her dead rough kids. To reward them with their efforts and to show them how cool she is, she join...1985 Black Ball Final 40th Anniversary
The Theatre
Sunday 2 November 2025
Come and join Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor as they recreate the match that gripped a nation - the 1985 World Snooker Final. A record-breaking 18.5m TV viewers stayed up to watch the legendary match and this is your chance to see the r...A Christmas Carol
The Theatre
Thursday 13 November 2025 - Saturday 10 January 2026
A joyful stage adaptation of the festive classic Whilst Christmas cheer and goodwill thrive across Victorian England, tight-fisted Ebenezer Scrooge goes to bed on Christmas Eve with no compassion or love in his heart. However, that night he...How Do I Find The Words
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Saturday 29 November 2025
From over 30 recorded interviews gathered by participants in three groups across the country, a performance is created to platform often unheard stories and experiences.?Working with a trained facilitator, over the last 10 weeks the partici...Mrs Claus Saves Christmas
The Studio
Wednesday 10 - Wednesday 24 December 2025
Step into Mrs Claus' kitchen for a festive bake-off like no other! As she prepares holiday treats, things spiral into a recipe-tangling disaster. With everything going wrong, she'll need help from the children in the audience! A fun-filled,...Rat Pack Live
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Friday 16 January 2026
They were the definition of cool during their Fifties and Sixties Vegas heyday - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jnr. The trio - collectively known as The Rat Pack, had attitude to spare. Rat Pack Live invites you to be part of ...Ultimate Eagles - Tribute to Eagles
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Saturday 17 - Sunday 18 January 2026
Fresh from their hugely successful international tour including shows in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the World's greatest Eagles Show return once again to celebrate their incredible 10th Anniversary, performing their legendary hits a...
The Memory of Water
The Theatre
Thursday 29 January - Saturday 21 February 2026
Starring Helen Flanagan, Vicky Binns, Polly Lister and Victoria Brazier THREE SISTERS AND A FUNERAL... Winter, 1996. The Spice Girls are riding high in the charts, football has failed to come home, and Dolly the Sheep's been cloned. Mean...An Evening with Jeff Stelling
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Wednesday 25 February 2026
An Evening With The MAN OF FOOTBALL - Jeff Stelling. Live and in person, coming to us for an exclusive night of sports stories, banter, no-holds-barred insights and charity work updates. From the kind of football commentary straight to you,...The Rocket Man - A Celebration of Sir Elton John
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Thursday 26 February 2026
 Pack your bags, strap yourself in, for a night like no other and celebrate Sir Elton John with Jimmy Love. The Rocket Man is the world's favourite celebration to a musical icon, playing to audiences all around the world. So, catch a star...Reflections - The Musical Legacy of Diana Ross
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Friday 27 February 2026
Starring multi-award winning Tameka Jackson as Diana Ross with her world class band & backing vocalists under the direction of the renowned, Wendy Richardson? ?Reflections ~ The Musical Legacy of Diana Ross? takes you on a journey through s...Mark Simmons
The Theatre
Sunday 1 March 2026
 Winner of Dave's Funniest Joke of the Fringe Award 2024 and as Seen on Mock The Week, BT Sport and ITV, 'Master of one-liners' Mark Simmons had a groundbreaking 200+ date sell out debut tour lasting two years, spanning the UK, Ireland...Macbeth
The Theatre
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...Theatre Club: Macbeth
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Saturday 28 March 2026
Theatre Club is a chance to chat about Octagon productions in a relaxed and informal discussion group. In our March 2026 meeting, we'll be discussing Macbeth. If you would like any further information please contact participation@octagonbol...Sherlock Holmes and the Hunt for Moriarty
The Theatre
Wednesday 1 - Saturday 4 April 2026
"When you have one of the first brains of Europe up against you, and all the powers of darkness at his back, there are infinite possibilities" London, 1901. As the British Empire wages war in the name of a Queen whose health is failing, a s...There's a Monster in Your Show
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Tuesday 7 - Wednesday 8 April 2026
Tom Fletcher's interactive adventures for big imaginations are leaping from page to stage, as the beloved 'Who's in Your Book?' series makes its debut as a brand-new musical show. A group of performers are preparing to start their show, but...The Bubble Show
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Thursday 9 April 2026
Suitable for ages 3-12, join Mr. Bubbles with his extraordinary soap bubbles in all shapes and sizes! The Bubble Show is a unique blend of magic, storytelling, and bubble art! Enjoy bouncy bubbles, bubbles inside bubbles, smoke bubbles, squ...The Utterly Revolting Science Show
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Saturday 11 April 2026
Brace yourselves for the Rude Science team?s hilarious, high-tech, highly-explosive new journey through the human body, packed with burp biology, fart physics and revolting edible chemistry. Expect enormous bottoms, edible fireworks, burp m...Waiting for Godot
The Theatre
Wednesday 15 April - Saturday 2 May 2026
Matthew Kelly and George Costigan star in a new staging of Samuel Beckett's classic play - in which absolutely nothing happens. Â Â Set in a shifting, timeless landscape, Waiting for Godot follows two men, Vladimir and Estragon, as they wa...Barbara Nice
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Friday 17 April 2026
Join Stockport housewife, cleaner to the stars, Take a Break reader and Britain's Got Talent star Barbara Nice for all the best bits of her 25 years of delighting live comedy audiences, as well as new stuff she wrote on the bus. A playful, ...Teechers
The Theatre
Tuesday 5 - Saturday 16 May 2026
New Year. . . same problems! It is the end of term and Godber's hilarious comedy masterpiece has been reset for our post Covid times. bristling with teenage swagger and outlandish imagination, Salty, Gail and Hobby use their B. Tech Perform...Cassidy Janson: The Songs of Carole King
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Sunday 17 May 2026
?Cassidy literally brought me to tears this evening with her performance of Natural Woman. She was who I was, she felt what I felt. She was me!? Carole King?Join Olivier award winner and leading lady Cassidy Janson as she honours the music ...
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Tuesday 19 - Saturday 23 May 2026
Brand new fully revised version!The worldwide comic phenomenon returns with a totally revised and updated romp through all 37 of the Bard?s plays (with some sonnets thrown in too). Grab your tickets now for a wild and irreverent ride that l...Spitfire Girls
Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Tuesday 26 - Saturday 30 May 2026
INSPIRED BY REMARKABLE TRUE EVENTS"It's built for us, isn't it? The Spitfire. Built for women." New Year's Eve, 1959. Â Decades after answering the call, two women separated by the war meet again as the rain hammers down on the windows of ...How to get to the Octagon Theatre, Bolton
Octagon Theatre Frequently Asked Questions
Howell Croft South, Bolton, BL1 1SB
The nearest car park is the NCP Octagon located on Great Moor Street, BL1 1SN.
The nearest train station to the Octagon Theatre, Bolton is Bolton Station. It is approximately a 7 minute walk. Click here to view.
The capacity of the Octagon Theatre, Bolton is up to 390. Seating plans can be viewed upon booking tickets.
If you have lost your ticket for a show at The Octagon Theatre, please contact the Octagon Theatre directly so their team can assist you.
If you would like to buy a ticket in person from the Octagon Theatre Box Office, they are open Tues - Fri 11am - 5pm and Saturdays 11am - 3.30pm. On performance days, the box office stays open until the performance starts. Alternatively, you can see what's on and book online here.
When we know of a duration of a show, we add it to the description of the show on our event pages. For example, on our Wicked event page, after the description of the show we have added the duration of the show in large capital letters. If the time isn't listed, we do not have the information yet. We update our pages daily so it maybe a case of knowing closer to the performance itself, so keep checking.
Please click here for further information on Access at the Octagon Theatre, including contact details.
Whether you have positive or negative feedback you would like to feedback to the Octagon Theatre, please click here for ways to get in touch.
If you have lost an item during a visit to the Octagon Theatre, click here for ways to get in touch with the team, who will do their best to assist you.
There are plenty of great places to eat in Bolton, including the Octagon Kitchen & Bar situated in the Octagon venue for pre theatre dining.
Bolton has many bars, and the Octagon theatre has it's own pre theatre bars, so why not make a night of it there. Click here for further information.
Either use the map at the side of the FAQ section as it has all types of accomodation or click here for hotels in Bolton
If you need the Octagon Theatre team for more support, click here for ways to get in touch.
Please note that ManchesterTheatres.com isn't the venue itself. We promote what's on at the Octagon Theatre and all other venues in Manchester and the local region. Feel free to contact us if you need more help though and we'll do our best to support you.
