Plenty to see as Salisbury Playhouse celebrates 50 years in 2026

Salisbury Playhouse, part of Wiltshire Creative, has announced its spring 2026 theatre season, marking the venue's 50th anniversary with its busiest theatre season in years.

Salisbury Playhouse opened in 1976, making 2026 a major milestone for the beloved venue. The Playhouse is one of only three producing theatres in the southwest with its own workshop and wardrobe teams crafting sets and costumes on-site. Their creative talents will be on full display in February as the season opens with Rock & Roll Man.

Rock & Roll Man is an original musical about the influential DJ and ‘Father of Rock and Roll’, Alan Freed. It features explosive original songs written for the stage alongside classics from legends such as Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Following a successful run in the USA, this new UK production is co-produced by Salisbury Playhouse, Rose Caiola for Caiola Productions and Julian Bird for Green Room Ents Ltd.

Gareth Machin, Artistic Director, Wiltshire Creative, said: "Rock & Roll Man is the perfect start to the season, filled with the vibrant songs, dancing and costumes one might expect from a rock and roll musical. Audiences often tell us they want musicals, so we’re delighted to deliver this spring. Following a hugely successful New York run, we are working with the American producers and Julian Bird of Green Room Entertainments to bring this brilliant show to Europe. We are delighted to be making it here in Salisbury, where local audiences will be the first in the UK to see it before it heads on to Poole, Windsor and Cambridge."

Alongside home-produced work, the spring season will feature visiting shows from some of the most respected theatre producers in the country.

March brings Original Theatre’s comedy thriller Murder at Midnight starring Jason Durr (Heartbeat, Casualty), Susie Blake (Victoria Wood’s As Seen on TV, Coronation Street), and Katie McGlynn (Waterloo Road, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks). Hot on its heels is the comic phenomenon The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged).

March concludes with the Nottingham Playhouse production of The Beekeeper of Aleppo. This compassionate and beautiful play is adapted from the international number one bestseller by Christy Lefteri. It is presented by Martin Dodd for UK Productions Ltd, who produced the hugely successful West End and Broadway stage adaptation of The Kite Runner.

Fans of literature, stage and screen have plenty to look forward to in April with Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts starring Tom Chambers (Father Brown, Strictly Come Dancing) and The Talented Mr Ripley.

The Spring 2026 theatre season concludes in May with Spitfire Girls, inspired by the extraordinary true stories of the women who dared to fly during World War II. This funny and heartwarming story transports audiences to a time when female pioneers defied expectations and soared through the skies. Spitfire Girls is presented by Tilted Wig and Mayflower Southampton, in association with Theatre Royal Winchester: part of Play to the Crowd.

The spring announcement also features a first look at Romeo and Juliet, the major commission for the 2026 Salisbury International Arts Festival.

Romeo and Juliet, directed by Gareth Machin, will see Shakespeare’s classic tale of rebellion explode onto the streets of Salisbury from Sunday, 24th May until Sunday, 77 June. A professional cast and community ensemble will transport audiences to the Montague vs. Capulet battleground in this gritty and immersive walkabout production. It promises an eye-opening adventure through the 50-year-old Playhouse building and surrounding outdoor spaces.

Gareth Machin continued: "Following the success of The Tempest in 2023, we wanted to bring people together to be part of something creative and enriching. With every new production, Romeo and Juliet takes on new life and opens up Shakespeare to new audiences. This production weaves in music and parkour to excite younger audiences, as well as regular theatregoers. In January we’ll be holding a Discovery Day where we welcome people to come and find out how they can take part in this major production."

Welcoming new audiences to experience joyful and enriching creative opportunities is core to the charity’s work. Alongside the Playhouse’s main house theatre programme, early highlights of family shows in the Salberg and at Salisbury Arts Centre have been announced.

Practically Perfect Pictures will be entertaining families at Salisbury Arts Centre in February with Sir Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really Big Adventure. Anna Harriott and Iona Fleur Sheppard invite young audiences to become storytellers themselves in "Stories in the Dust" at The Salberg Studio in May.    

For more information and to book tickets, visit wiltshirecreative.co.uk/whats-on