The Royal Court has unveiled its 70th anniversary programme for 2026, with 12 productions – including two world premieres, two European premiers and two revivals – set to be staged across the venue’s two stages.
The world premieres include Luke Norris’ romantic drama Guess How Much I Love You?, starring Robert Aramayo and Rosie Sheehy and directed by Jeremy Herrin; with Ryan Calais Cameron’s Zambian space race epic The Afronauts.
The European premieres include Kimberly Belflower’s John Proctor is the Villain, directed by Danya Taymor, while Rajiv Joseph’s Archduke brings an alternative take on the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in a new production directed by Lyndsey Turner.
The Royal Court revivals feature Tilda Swinton reprising her 1988 performance in Manfred Karge’s Man to Man, and Gary Oldman in Krapp’s Last Tape.
Tickets for all newly announced productions are now on sale to supporters, to Friends and Good Friends at 12pm on Thursday, October 30, and to the general public at 12pm on Tuesday, November 4.
Check out the full programme here:
Guess How Much I Love You?
By Luke Norris, directed by Jeremy Herrin, designed by Grace Smart
Starring Robert Aramayo and Rosie Sheehy, with Lena Kaur
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Friday, January 16 – Saturday, February 21, 2026
‘Everything is going to be all right.’
An expectant couple wait in a hospital room as the future they had planned unravels. A story about impossible choices and enduring love.
John Proctor is the Villain
By Kimberly Belflower, directed by Danya Taymor
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Friday, March 20 – Saturday, April 25, 2026
‘One day, maybe, the new world we were promised will actually be new…’
Five young women running on pop music, optimism, and fury are about to shed light on the darkest secrets in their small town. A story about girlhood, power, and questioning the narratives we’ve been taught.
Krapp’s Last Tape
By Samuel Beckett, directed by Gary Oldman
Starring Gary Oldman
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Friday, May 8 – Saturday, May 30, 2026
‘Perhaps my best years are gone. When there was a chance of happiness. But I wouldn’t want them back. Not with the fire in me now.’
On his 69th birthday, a man sits alone and listens to the echoes of his younger self.
Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape returns to the Royal Court, where it played in 1958, with a new production by York Theatre Royal.
Godot’s To-Do List
By Leo Simpe-Asante, directed by Aneesha Srinivasan
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Friday, May 8 – Saturday, May 30, 2026
‘Could I leave? Please? It’s just, I really have somewhere to be’
A bewildered person wrestles with an endless series of surreal tasks dictated by a snarky, persistent mystery voice.
Archduke
By Rajiv Joseph, directed by Lyndsey Turner, designed by Es Devlin
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Saturday, June 20 – Saturday, July 25, 2026
‘Maybe the world don’t have to end at all. We can just get off the train… go get a sandwich’
Belgrade, 1914. Three hungry young men are offered something to eat (and the chance to change the course of history). Their mission: kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand and set the century alight.
Man to Man
By Manfred Karge, translated by Anthony Vivis, directed by Stephen Unwin, designed by Bunny Christie
Starring Tilda Swinton
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Saturday, September 5 – Saturday, October 24. 2026
In 1930s Germany, a woman puts on her dead husband’s trousers and never takes them off. As the world around her changes, she endures war and dictatorship, hunger and humiliation – always fighting to stay alive. More than 30 years after she first brought the role to life, Tilda Swinton makes a long-awaited return to stage as Ella/Max – the role she originated in the 1988 UK premiere at the Traverse Theatre and Royal Court.
The Afronauts
By Ryan Calais Cameron
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Saturday, November 14 – Saturday, December 19, 2026
‘As long as a man can dream, he can push the limits of what’s possible’
Zambia, 1964: the space race has a new contender. As the world’s great powers set their sights on the moon, a schoolteacher gathers a group of misfit dreamers and trains them for lift-off. The true(ish) story of the Zambian Space Program, and a nation’s defiant dream to reach for the stars.
The Shitheads
By Jack Nicholls, directed David Byrne and Aneesha Srinivasan
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Friday, February 6 – Saturday, March 14, 2026
‘We’re all trapped in a cave, Clare. Each of us, all on our own. Staring out of our own little skull-shaped caves.’
Tens of thousands of years ago, Britain’s earliest inhabitants learn that love and violence feed the same fire. When strangers arrive at a secluded cave, domestic harmony shatters – and survival turns savage.
Between The River And The Sea
By Yousef Sweid and Isabella Sedlak, directed by Isabella Sedlak
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Wednesday, April 15 – Saturday, May 9, 2026
‘Yes, I am an Arab… from Israel… a Palestinian Israeli’
Yousef was raised as a Christian-Arab-Palestinian-Israeli kid in Haifa, and is now raising two Jewish-Arab-Austrian kids in Berlin. Only he’s facing a custody battle, so things are getting complicated… A story about family, fear, and imagining a future beyond borders.
Are You Watching?
By Georgie Dettmer
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Friday, May 29 – Saturday, July 4, 2026
‘He undresses. He stands behind the camera and presses record. He approaches’
Porn. Deepfakes. Disappearing girls. A journalist wired to a machine. A mother’s grief sold for clicks. As the lines blur between entertainment and abuse, technology and sex, violence and voyeurism – who’s complicit and who is in control? And are you watching?
Blood of my Blood
By Joy Nesbitt, directed by Tatenda Shamiso
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Thursday, October 1 – Saturday, November 7, 2026
‘This belongs to me as much as it belongs to you.’
Bullock Creek, South Carolina, 1862: Ginnie Good raises 5 children in a cabin as a war rages outside. Today: A woman rents the cabin on AirBnB to conjure her ancestors.
Monument
By Rhys Warrington, directed by Francesca Goodridge
Jerwood Theatre Upstairs
Thursday, December 3, 2026 – Saturday, January 23, 2027
“…But it’s us that have to live with it.”
With the eyes of the world watching, a Welsh farming community, torn apart by tragedy, gathers to debate a planned memorial. Tonight, you’re in the village hall with them – and every vote counts. With two possible endings determined by the decision you, the audience, make. How, when the time comes, will you vote? A portrait of a close-knit community wrestling with its past, its future and the politics of remembrance.
Top image: Guess How Much I Love You? artwork. All artwork credit Guy J Sanders (all images supplied)