Deep in the heart of the corridors of power, the Labour Party's Roy Jenkins, Denis Healey and Tony Crosland clash over the soul of British socialism and their own relentless ambitions.

Set against the backdrop of economic crisis, Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky’s acclaimed political drama brings to life the personalities, principles and private tensions that shaped a generation of politics.

Following a sell-out smash hit run in London, this play returns for a major national tour this autumn. A chance to revisit a defining moment in the battle for the soul of the Labour Party, which captures the towering intellects, fierce rivalries and the private tensions behind public power.

The Gang of Three

Oxford Playhouse

There are powers that bind the world together, softer than spirits yet stronger than stone, that tie the river to the tree, the tree to rain clouds, rain clouds to the land, and people to each other.

The award-winning Once Upon a Time in Sokoto tells the epic story of a beautiful but unlikely friendship forged between a slave and her former master. Differences in faith, culture and heritage are overcome in the face of new enemies, in a gripping family drama set against the backdrop of events leading to the creation of Nigeria.

Once Upon a Time in Sokoto

'Some people build fences to keep people out, and other people build fences to keep people in.'

Our Associate Company Headlong returns to the stage with August Wilson's landmark play, Fences. From one of America's most influential 20th-century writers comes a story of ambition for our time. Set in the 1950s, this vital new production is directed by the award-winning Daniel Bailey (Red Pitch, West End).

Troy Maxson has cheated death once, but the past keeps closing in. On Pittsburgh's streets, he cracks jokes and spins stories, yet at home, the pressure is building.

His wife, Rose, holds the family together. She sees a changing world and hopes their son Cory might step into it with more freedom than Troy ever had. But when dreams collide, and tempers flare, the Maxsons edge towards a reckoning that could reshape everything they know.

August Wilson's Fences

Our Man in Havana follows the hilarious exploits of James Wormold, a British vacuum cleaner salesman in pre-revolutionary Havana, Cuba.

Struggling financially to support his spoiled daughter, Wormold is recruited by MI6 agent Hawthorne to be a spy. Lacking any actual spy skills or intentions, Wormold fabricates an entire network of fictional agents and reports, using his imagination and local bar conversations.

Our Man in Havana

The closing party of SPOT Festival, presented by Kaleido festival. 18+ and requires a SPOT wristband. Lineup: Mbizo, Flexitrax, Deb Foam.

SPOT Afterparty – Kaleido Edition

Volume Village

RBAN party at RUST Nightclub celebrating their upcoming collaboration with RUST. DJ lineup: SELMA, Karlitas Way & Fuad. Free entrance until 00:00, 60 DKK 00:00-04:00. 21+.

RBAN – RUST Nightclub

RUST

The Shame Disco. DJ Reform94 throws a youth disco for adults, with the best/worst music from the nineties.

Reform94

Union Scene

A free, family-friendly street dance on the west side of the Stadium of Fire site, featuring a Miner Music DJ spinning tunes from across the decades, held after the fireworks on Independence Day.

Street Dance: Post-Stadium of Fire Celebration

LaVell Edwards Stadium

We all want to meet people from history. The trouble is everyone is dead!

So it’s time to prepare yourselves for two amazing shows with Horrible Histories live on stage! Using actors and eye-popping 3D special effects, these two astounding shows are guaranteed to thrill you and your children. Historical figures and events will come alive on stage and hover at your fingertips!

Horrible Histories 3D: Tudors & Egyptians

In the struggling town of Güllen, hope arrives. Claire, once dismissed, now returns; impossibly wealthy and, promising prosperity — hospitals restored, schools revived, lives rebuilt. But her generosity carries a chilling condition. With vengeance in her heart, she delivers the ultimatum forcing the town to confront its past. As temptation tightens its grip, morality wavers. Friedrich Dürrenmatt's The Visit is a searing tale of politics, past loves and revenge. Salvation has never seemed so sinister.

The Visit

When a widowed count tries to marry off his daughter to the son of his best friend, it seems like a perfectly sensible plan. But with both young lovers secretly pining for others, their entangled affections cause chaos.

Just as their scheme to break free begins the Countess, Raoul’s former love, the spirited Marquise Eloise de Kestournel, bursts back into their lives, wielding her wit and charm, she turns their carefully laid plans upside down, reminding everyone that love truly can conquer all.

This is a sparkling and sophisticated tale of old secrets, impulsive passion and eternal youth.

The Marquise

People have come from all over to start their lives again on the Isle of St Jude - a namesake that means hope.

When an American doctor comes to take a break from his stressful job to stay with a cousin, he says he will only stay a while. But the longer he stays the more he finds himself wrapped up amid the tales of the locals - an ex-policeman, a drunkard, a mother and her son…

Have pasts really been left behind, or are the people of St Jude still running?

No Peace on St Jude

In a faded guesthouse in Blackpool, four sisters return to the home where their mother once dreamed of turning them into stars. Moving between the 1950s and 1970s, long-buried memories, rivalries and old songs resurface as the Webb family confronts the price of ambition.

The Hills of California

The North Wall Arts Centre Oxford

The Theatre Chipping Norton and Selladoor Worldwide present a new version of the West End classic – rebooted and reimagined for 2026.

All 37 plays. Three actors. One wildly funny show.

The worldwide comedy hit returns with a brand-new, updated version of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged), a fast, furious and gloriously absurd sprint through all of the Bard's tragedies, comedies and histories.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged)

In A Beautiful Thread, Oxford Playhouse favourite, Anton Lesser(Endeavour, Wolf Hall, Game of Thrones) tells the story of Thomas Hardy’s life – as dramatic as any of his books – in Hardy’s own words, through his sublime poetry, letters, and great novels, including Far From the Madding Crowd, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure.

Anton Lesser and Lucia Bonbright bring a hugely varied cast to dazzling life: from Hardy’s immortal characters, Hardy himself, his mother, Jemima and wives, Emma and Florence, to George Bernard Shaw and Virginia Woolf! The show highlights Hardy’s humour (often overlooked!), his modernity, the astonishing time-span he lived through, and his global reach, from Japan to Hollywood. Adapted by Deirdre Shields, Hardy’s extraordinary writing shines bright as ever.

A Beautiful Thread

William Street is a gripping drama set in Derry during the Troubles. The O’Shea family is thrown into crisis when Sean, a high-ranking IRA member, discovers his wife’s dangerous connection to an English soldier. As tensions rise, their daughter Jane enters a secret relationship across enemy lines, while her brother Ruairi is drawn deeper into violence. Loyalties fracture, and trust unravels.

A bold new play, William Street blends intimate family drama with political tension, offering a powerful and unmissable theatrical experience.

William Street

Settle beneath the soft canvas of our open-air tent and let mischief, magic, and moonlight transport you. In true English summer fête style, expect bunting, blossoms, and just a hint of fairy dust as Shakespeare’s most playful comedy comes to life on the picturesque lawn of the Wolfson College cricket ground.

Wander into a world where lovers get lost, fairies meddle, and nothing is quite as it seems. Bring a picnic, grab a Pimm’s, and prepare for a beautiful evening of laughter, wonder, and theatrical magic.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Wolfson College

Two young women plot to escape their controlling guardians. But will the nosy Marplot – the “busy body” – ruin the plan? A clever and hilarious exploration of how women might find freedom of choice in an age of the marriage contract, Susanna Centlivre’s comedy (first performed in 1709) was hugely popular on the 18th-century stage – not least, for its brilliant cast of characters. In a script-in-hand performance, Oxford’s Creation Theatre, the Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond, and the R/18 Collective partner with the Oxford’s Cultural Programme to revive this rip-roaring play for the 21st century.

The Busy Body

St Hugh's College

Orange Tree Theatre

Cancer B*tch! is a new play written by Hannah Ali Khan and directed by Lydia McKinley.

Inspired by the writer’s own experiences, the play explores the realities of having cancer as a young adult, providing a fresh and authentic perspective.

Cancer B*tch!

Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1883 classic is brought to life with theatrical magic on the beautiful South Lawn of Wycliffe Hall.

Jim has three visitors and life is never the same again. This journey of discovery and betrayal is re-imagined in an inventive theatrical adaptation by Gari Jones, whose ‘Christmas Carol’ for Creation delighted audiences last Christmas at the North Wall.

Whilst retaining the narrative of Stevenson’s classic, with depth, integrity, a dash of thriller and a large amount of silliness, Gari Jones’ adaptation zips along like a wacky race brimming with pirate speak, off-the-wall characters and a whole heap of sea shanties. Treasure Island will be performed on the beautiful lawn in front of Wycliffe Hall, as well as on tour in Oxfordshire and beyond.  Suitable for all ages.

Treasure Island

University of Oxford

Join us for an unforgettable evening as Lucy Pitman-Wallace, the award-winning director of  productions for the RSC, Lord Chamberlain’s Men, Nottingham Playhouse, and Salisbury Playhouse, brings a fresh twist to Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, As You Like It.

Transport yourself back to the 1970s, the era of peace, love, and endless summer nights, in an enchanting outdoor setting, a perfect backdrop for this tale of love and laughter.

Bring your friends, pack a picnic, and get ready to be transported to a world where romance and revelry reign supreme. As You Like It will be performed on the beautiful lawn in front of Wycliffe Hall.

As You Like It

We’re delighted to welcome you to George Orwell’s classic political fable in an adaptation bristling with satire. The animals have thrown off their human oppressors, but a new political elite are rising, and want to make Animal Farm ‘great again’. But at what cost? Join us for a riotous retelling of this timeless novel featuring Creation’s rep company.

Play events in Oxford

The Gang of Three

Oxford Playhouse

Once Upon a Time in Sokot...

Oxford Playhouse

August Wilson's Fences

Oxford Playhouse

Our Man in Havana

Oxford Playhouse

SPOT Afterparty – Kaleido...

Volume Village

RBAN – RUST Nightclub

Rust

Reform94

Union Scene

Street Dance: Post-Stadiu...

America's Freedom Festival at Provo

Horrible Histories 3D: Tu...

Oxford Playhouse

The Visit

Oxford Playhouse

The Marquise

Oxford Playhouse

No Peace on St Jude

Oxford Playhouse

The Hills of California

The North Wall Arts Centre

The Complete Works of Wil...

Oxford Playhouse

A Beautiful Thread

Oxford Playhouse

William Street

Oxford Playhouse

A Midsummer Night's Dream...

Creation Theatre

The Busy Body

Creation Theatre

Cancer B*tch!

Oxford Playhouse

Treasure Island

Creation Theatre

As You Like It

Creation Theatre

Animal Farm by George Orw...

Creation Theatre