Citizens Theatre announces first productions for 2026

With doors set to reopen this August, the Citizens Theatre has announced its programme from January - June 2026 as part of its reopening year of productions.

Article Source: Citizens Theatre
Last Updated: 8 July 2025 15:07

The Glasgow theatre marks its first full year back home since 2018, ushering in a major new era for the Citz.

Matthew Kelly and George Costigan will star in a new production of Waiting for Godot, directed by Dominic Hill and co-produced with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and Octagon Theatre Bolton.

A first stage production of Denise Mina’s bestselling true-crime tale The Long Drop, adapted by Linda McLean, based on the case of Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel.

Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Sweat tackles American divides in a timely new co-production with the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh.

A stripped back version of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan reimagined for the 2020s in a close-up staging Studio Theatre staging, directed by Stewart Laing.

Matthew Kelly and George Costigan will headline an exciting new production of Waiting for Godot, co-produced with Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse and Octagon Theatre Bolton. Directed by Citizens Theatre Artistic Director Dominic Hill, the production will premiere on the Citz main stage from 20 February to 14 March.

Set in a shifting, timeless landscape, Waiting for Godot follows two men, Vladimir and Estragon, as they wait for someone who may never come. As they pass the time with scraps of conversation, moments of tenderness and flashes of dark humour, their story becomes a moving reflection on what it means to keep going in a world that rarely offers answers. Beckett’s timeless play endures as one of the defining works of the 20th century and returns to Citz stage in all its strange, funny and heartbreaking brilliance.

Celebrated stage and screen actor, and Olivier Award-winning performer, Matthew Kelly will make his Citizens Theatre debut in the production. George Costigan meanwhile returns to the Citizens Theatre having starred in some of the theatre’s most notable productions of the last 15 years, including Crime & Punishment, This Restless House, and Long Day’s Journey Into Night – the final professional production on the main stage before refurbishment began back in 2018.

A new production of Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Sweat, co-produced with the Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh, will premiere on the Citizens Theatre main stage from 02 to 16 May.

Set in America’s industrial heartland at the start of the 21st century, and based on extensive interviews with residents of a real Pennsylvania Rust Belt town, Nottage’s powerhouse social drama is a deeply moving portrait of the challenges facing America’s working classes – from rapid de-industrialisation to the divisions of Trump-era politics that are shaping the country beyond recognition. Having first premiered to huge critical acclaim at Donmar Warehouse in 2018, this marks the first time the production has been staged in Scotland.

The Long Drop sees a best-seller from one of Scotland’s foremost crime writers come thrillingly to the stage in a new Citizens Theatre production, commissioned during its period of closure.

Written by Denise Mina, and adapted for the stage by award-winning playwright Linda McLean, The Long Drop is an electrifying new play – equal parts psychological thriller and pitch-black comedy – based on the real case of notorious killer Peter Manuel. Gritty and gripping, it plunges us into a world of gangsters, gossip, and half-truths told over one too many drinks, leading to one of the most infamous criminal trials in Scottish history. A sleek and stylish descent into the heart of a city – and the haunted minds of the men who shape it. Directed by Dominic Hill, the play will premiere on the Citz main stage from 05 to 20 June 2026.

This year also marks the welcome return of touring work to the Citizens Theatre's stages, with the theatre once again able to host a range of exciting productions from visiting partner companies.

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical will delight both adults and kids with improvised musical fun from 05 to 07 February, taking audience suggestions and turning them into marvellous musical adventures from scratch before their very eyes. And from 14 to 15 April There’s a Monster in Your Show sees Tom Fletcher’s interactive adventures for big imaginations leap from page to stage, as the much-loved ‘Who’s in Your Book?' series makes it’s a first visit to the Citz.

An inventive adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s classic history play Saint Joan by director Stewart Laing will premiere in the Citizens Theatre’s innovative new Studio space. Based on the extraordinary true story of a sixteen-year-old girl who led France to victory in the Hundred Years War, Saint Joan explores power, gender and youth-led change, taking us on the journey of a marginalised young woman impacting international politics.

This production reimagines the play for the 2020s, and will feature new material created alongside writer and director Adura Onashile. As today’s world faces political unrest and war, Saint Joan speaks powerfully to a new generation challenging authority, reminding us of history’s unlikely revolutionaries. A Raw Material, Perth Theatre and Aberdeen Performing Arts Co-Production in association with Citizens Theatre, the production will be at the Citz from 13 to 28 February.

The Studio Theatre will also host two acclaimed visiting Scottish productions this Autumn: Wonder Fools’ award-winning production Òran, a Fringe First-winner on its premiere in 2024, tours to the Citz from 29 October to 01 November. An urgent and entertaining modern retelling of the classic Greek myth Orpheus, this visceral piece of contemporary theatre is a collaboration between Wonder Fools and the acclaimed hip-hop artist Owen Sutcliffe with music by VanIves.

And from 06 to 15 November Vox Motus bring their multi award-winning immersive experience Flight to the Citz studio for the first time. From a private booth, audiences are drawn in close to a tale of orphaned brothers and their desperate odyssey across Europe, the action unfolding in an exquisite world of miniatures moving before your eyes. Based on the novel Hinterland by Caroline Brothers, adapted by Oliver Emanuel and directed by Jamie Harrison and Candice Edmunds, Flight has delighted audiences all across the world since its first performances in 2017. Now the production returns for its homecoming performances in Glasgow, the city where it was first brought to life back in 2017. More visiting productions will be announced as the year goes on.

Today's announcement further cements the theatre's highly anticipated return to its Gorbals home with audiences set to enjoy all productions from September 2025 - June 2026 in its historic reopening year.

Dominic Hill, Artistic Director, Citizens Theatre, said: “As we celebrate our reopening year, we are launching into 2026 with a season full of energy, imagination and purpose. It’s a bold mix of classic and contemporary work — from enduring masterpieces to powerful new writing and gripping Glasgow stories. It’s everything the Citz stands for – theatre that asks questions, sparks conversation, and speaks to the world we live in. With our reopening in August now tantalisingly close, I am delighted to share more news about the shows and work that will make up our 25/26 reopening programme and this exciting new chapter for the Cit.”

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