Unity Theatre announces shows for Spring 2026 season

Liverpool’s Unity Theatre announces its first release of shows for 2026, showcasing the best in theatre, comedy and performance.

A new year brings a brand new programme – and a renewed vigour for platforming some of the most innovative, inclusive and downright exciting theatre in the North West. Renowned for championing radical, pioneering and underrepresented productions, 2026 is shaping up to a be a huge year for Unity Theatre.

Following universal acclaim for the Unity’s December programme – including their own Christmas Cabaret and festive family show Sleep Can Wait – 2026 begins with a suitably abstemious start to the year. Reopening the theatre on Wednesday 21st January is Sober Scribbles: Scratch Night – a safe and supportive community for sober and sober-curious writers to come together in Liverpool and be able to create and share work in alcohol free spaces. Following a series of online courses, the next generation of emerging playwrights will present extracts of their developing work, giving audiences the chance to potentially see a new masterpiece in the making…

Unity’s first theatre presentation of the year comes in the form of KITTEL: Doktor Faustus of the Third Reich – a brave and caustic telling of the true story of renowned German theologian, Professor Gerhard Kittel, who sold his soul to Satan. Presented by Heirs of Banquo, this new production offers a shocking and uncompromising account of how reputation, personal honour and religion can be appropriated in the service of radical evil.

Showing from Wednesday 28th to Saturday 31st January, The Ghost of Graves End is perfect post-Christmas not-Panto entertainment. A parody of those classic Victorian ghost stories – think Woman in Black meets A Turn of the Screw, with the high-energy comedic silliness of The 39 Steps.

Charles is a penniless poet who takes a position as a tutor to a peculiar orphan boy. The previous tutor left in a hurry, and everyone is reluctant to say why. Afflicted by strange dreams, things that go bump in the night, and increasingly dire circumstance, Charles has to decide whether to stay or get the Hell out of there.

The Ghost of Graves End is a spooky Victorian comedy – inspired by classic ghost stories of the genre, with its tongue firmly in its’ cheek, but at the same time, genuinely scary. “A great night out with lots of jokes” – from the same team who brought you 2025’s acclaimed Stella.

February see’s a mesmerising and intensely moving play begin it’s first run in the UK, following a sold out 2024 tour across the North of Ireland, garnering both standing ovations and critical acclaim.

The Marian Hotel is based on Caitriona Cunningham’s lived experience of being in Marianvale Mother and Baby Home, Newry – a searing portrayal of a dark time in Irish history with a 70s/80s soundtrack. This play is a call to all impacted to come forward and raise their voices so that they may never again be silenced and shamed for being human.

For 2026, Unity Theatre are thrilled to be partnering with the Liverpool Doc Club to host premiere screenings of brand new documentary cinema. The first two events are proof of their intention to align with Unity’s ethos: ‘Motherboard’ and ‘Folktales’ are both films that engage with other offerings by the Unity and explore what it means to be human today.

Motherboard (Wednesday 11th February) is a smartphone feature exploring motherhood, filmed over 20 years by BAFTA award-winning director Victoria Mapplebeck. It charts the joy, pain and comedy of raising a child alone – navigating the highs and lows of unromanticized parenting, where chaos rules. Honest, funny and infinitely relatable, Motherboard is the antidote to the unrealistic expectations we have about motherhood, and a film for anyone who wants to see family life in all its unfiltered glory.

Folktales (Wednesday 11th March) tells the timely and emotional story of teenagers who choose to spend an unconventional “gap year” learning to dog sled and survive the Arctic wilderness, in hopes of finding connection and meaning in the modern world. Guided by patient teachers and a yard full of Alaskan huskies, they discover their own potential and develop deep relationships with the land, animals and humans around them. Through intimate verité storytelling and exhilarating cinematography, Academy Award®-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady examine humans on the cusp of adulthood, finding themselves at the edge of the world.

March heralds the beginning of festival season – well, at the Unity Theatre at least – as both the Unity Comedy Festival and their own Up Next Festival of new work take place towards the end of the month.

Launching on March 14th with an already sold out performance by Joe-Kent Walters – 2024’s Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer – Unity Comedy Festival begins in earnest on 19th March in the capable hands of Alex Stringer, who brings her new show Happy Hour to Liverpool for the first time. This is a show about what it’s like once you get sober, discovering who you really are without substances, and what if who you really are is actually also a dickhead? A Chortle Hotshot 2025, Alex Stringer has been lauded by Rolling Stone as one of the “12 Rising Stars of Comedy”.

The following night – Friday 20th March – sees “Master Clown” Dru Cripps present his phenomenally successful loopstation-based shenanigans in Juicy Bits – a show so good it earned five 5-star reviews, sold out Edinburgh completely, and added extra dates. This quadruple award-winner (British Comedy Guide, Malcolm Hardee, Comedy Store King Gong, Solo FX Sponsorship) and BBC New Comedian of the Year nominee transforms audience suggestions into improvised songs, spontaneous musical sketches, and “utterly winning” chaos in real-time.

Keeping the laughs ringing throughout the building, Dru’s show will be immediately followed by a performance from sign language user, seasoned traveller, and weary father of three, Gavin Lilley – sharing painfully funny stories of awkward moments, cultural mishaps, and the quirks of everyday life in Signs of The Times. Gavin has entertained audiences across the UK and Europe, performing everywhere from the London Palladium and the Edinburgh Fringe to the Helsinki Apollo — and even supporting John Bishop on tour. His comedy bridges deaf and hearing worlds, giving audiences a unique perspective on the habits we all share (but rarely admit!).

Bringing the Unity Comedy Festival to a close on Saturday 21st March is Motion Sickness – the latest show from Rachel Barry and Nina Levy. Join two men on a journey to escape the mediocrity of everyday life and themselves, and watch as it quickly unravels into a surreal, chaotic, and joyful exploration of the strange characters we encounter throughout our life and in our own heads.

There’s also a second show from Joe Kent Walters (still with tickets available!) as well as a showcase of the finest up and coming working class comedy talent in Best In Class. Hosted by award winning comedian Sian Davies (“Compelling and distinctive” The Scotsman), Best in Class features a mixed bill of the very best new comic voices, who just so happen to be from working class backgrounds. Graduates of the project have had nominations for Best Comedy Show at the Edinburgh Fringe Awards, created shows for BBC Radio 4, signed for agents, gained TV credits and toured sell out shows.

The following weekend see’s the return of Unity Theatre’s annual celebration of Merseyside creativity – Up Next Festival – featuring brand-new shows from the region’s most exciting artists and companies. Across three days expect to encounter newly commissioned works across a range of artforms including world premiere plays, poetry, cabaret, installations, drag and music. More details coming soon!

Get tickets for all of these shows and productions on the Unity Theatre website here.

Find out more theatre news in Liverpool here.

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