Birmingham Rep Announces Inaugural Season for New Artistic Director Joe Murphy
Joe Murphy, the newly appointed Artistic Director of Birmingham, has unveiled a stellar and ambitious season for 2026/27 including new takes on classics, adaptations of best-sellers, and a host of new commissions, all made in Birmingham.
On his first Rep season, Joe said: “This season is trying to offer a big, bold and daring programme that galvanises a diverse audience, that is unashamedly popular but is also put together with real integrity and real connection and commitment to our city and the concerns of our city.
“It is designed to do one thing: give people a really great night out. Whether that’s with the sheer joy and festive magic of Sherlock Holmes and The 12 Days of Christmas, or with the anarchy and wonder of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or through the heartbreaking, gothic beauty of Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, these live theatre experiences are tailor-made to make our audiences laugh, cry, and feel alive.”
Kicking off the season will be a powerful new adaptation of Small Island, a story of hope and belonging set during the Windrush generation, in a co-production with Leeds Playhouse and Nottingham Playhouse, in association with Actors Touring Company coming to The Rep from 1 – 18 April. The production will be adapted for the stage by Helen Edmundson and directed by Matthew Xia.
Next up, in his main stage directorial debut since taking the helm at The Rep, Joe Murphy, alongside Deputy Artistic Director Madeleine Kludje, co-directs a vibrant new adaptation of Shakespeare’s beloved comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Get ready to enter a neon rave in an enchanted forest where boundaries blur, music pulsates, and love is celebrated in all its glorious forms in this colourful new adaptation of Shakespeare’s most romantic comedy, playing at The Rep from 25 Apr – 24 May.
Moving into the summer, from 4 Jul – 9 Aug, the season continues with a must-see new production of Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning masterpiece, Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, directed by The Rep’s Artistic Director Joe Murphy and designed by Elin Steele.
Contemporary classic fans will be excited to hear the season includes a new version of Mark Haddon’s best-seller The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in a co-production with Melting Pot. Coming to The Rep in September 2026 before embarking on a UK tour, it is the first major production since the National Theatre’s Olivier and Tony Award-winning show.
Before all that, an electrifying musical comes to The Studio, when The Rep presents Seiriol Davies’ hilarious and heart-rending new musical Sweet Henry V on 23 & 24 Jan.
The Rep’s world premiere production The Battle will delve in to the biggest chart battle in history in this cut-throat comedy written by John Niven, directed by Matthew Dunster and starring Gavin & Stacey’s Mathew Horne - playing at The Rep from 11 Feb – 7 Mar.
Christmas 2026 promises to be a festive holiday extravaganza at The Rep with a double dose of family fun, with entertainment for all ages.
J.M Barrie’s classic Peter Pan plays in The House. Directed by The Rep’s Artistic Director Joe Murphy, adapted by internationally renowned writer and former director of The Rep Youth Theatre Phil Porter, with music by West Midlands composer Ruth Chan, it comes to The Rep from 18 Nov 2026 – 17 Jan 2027. For younger audiences, Hans Christian Andersen’s classic fairy tale The Ugly Duckling comes to The Door from 3 Dec 2026 – 10 Jan 2027 by Katherine Chandler and directed by Caroline Wilkes.
Looking ahead to 2027, The Rep will see the return of the hugely acclaimed adaptation of Khaled Hosseini’s novel A Thousand Splendid Suns, adapted for the stage by Ursula Rani Sarma, following its 2025 sell-out run. There’s also the re-staging of former Birmingham Poet Laureate Casey Bailey’s unmissable show GrimeBoy to look forward to.
For further information on this entire season head to https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/spring-2026-new-season/
