We today announce our latest programme of work, featuring new productions in the Crucible in the autumn, Christmas 2021 and into the spring of 2022, alongside a bumper season of visiting productions in the Lyceum and Studio!
Beginning the new season in the Crucible is Typical Girls by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm from Friday 24 September – Saturday 16 October 2021. A new punk musical play co-produced with Clean Break and directed by the company’s Joint Artistic Director Róisín McBrinn. In a mental health unit inside a prison, a group of women form a punk rock band to allow an outlet for their frustration. They find remedy in revolution, but in a system that suffocates, can rebellion ever be allowed?
Directed by Michael Grandage, Sheffield Theatres’ former Artistic Director, The Lemon Table is co-produced with Malvern Theatres, Wiltshire Creative and HOME in association with MGC, and plays in the Crucible from Tuesday 26 – Saturday 30October. In The Lemon Table, Julian Barnes brings his unsentimental, wryly comic, perspective to the complicated business of ageing, with its attendant, and often bizarrely, fluctuating emotions.
For Christmas, Artistic Director Robert Hastie directs the romantic comedy She Loves Me, from Saturday 11 December 2021 - Saturday 15 January 2022. From the writers of Fiddler on the Roof and based on the story that inspired the movie You’ve Got Mail, the musical focuses on two parfumerie clerks who clash at work but, unbeknownst to them, both live for the anonymous love letters they exchange.
After Christmas, Regional Theatre Young Director Scheme Associate Artistic Director Anthony Lau directs Anna Karenina, adapted by Helen Edmundson. This bold new production of Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece about desire, duty and defiance runs from Saturday 5 – Saturday 26 February 2022.
Robert Hastie, Artistic Director of Sheffield Theatres said:
‘’We’re so excited to announce new productions. Making theatre again for our audiences and with our communities, working with talented artists and brilliant partners, is what we’re here for, and what everyone who loves theatre in Sheffield has striven so hard to protect.
We kick off with the world premiere of a new play by one of the UK’s most remarkable writers. For Typical Girls, by Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, we’re thrilled to be working with the fantastic company Clean Break. Part gig, part-play this riotous new show sees a group of women light up through their journey into punk rock.
Then at Christmas we bring old school elegance and a whole heap of romance to the Crucible with She Loves Me. A show full of charm, a soaring score, and all the magic of the festive season.
Then, to begin 2022, Anthony Lau directs Leo Tolstoy’s epic masterpiece Anna Karenina, a play that asks us how we lead this one life we have.
All of our stages come alive with the work of brilliant creatives, casts and companies over the coming months.In welcoming friends old and new, it is wonderful to have previous Artistic Director Michael Grandage back to the Crucible with The Lemon Table ahead of our 50th anniversary year. And outside our walls, our work across the city continues to engage with Sheffielders of all ages, most excitingly as we prepare for October’s visit from Little Amal, the giant puppet girl at the centre of Good Chance’s ground-breaking project, The Walk.
We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported us over the last 16 months. As we prepare to reopen all three of our theatres once more we can’t wait to share this bumper-crop of work with all our audiences who we have missed so much.”
At Christmas - together with She Loves Me in the Crucible - this year’s pantomime Sleeping Beauty will be back in the Lyceum with Sheffield legend Damian Williams at the helm for more laughs, adventure and family fun, from Friday 3 December 2021 through to Monday 3 January 2022. Completing the festive programme, Little Angel Theatre Company’s The Pixie and the Pudding takes centre stage in the Studio – a magical delight for children and adults alike to enjoy from Saturday 11 December – Sunday 2 January.
The Lyceum will open on Monday 16 August with Hairspray, which is then followed by a host of new touring productions.
From Monday 20 – Saturday 25 September, Matthew Bourne’s The Midnight Bell delves into the under-belly of 1930s London life, where ordinary people emerge from cheap boarding houses nightly to pour out their passions, hopes and dreams in the pubs and bars of fog-bound Soho and Fitzrovia. Inspired by the English novelist Patrick Hamilton (Twenty Thousand Streets Under The Sky, Hangover Square).
Mischief Theatre return once again in October with Magic Goes Wrong to conjure up an evening of grand illusion. Created with Magic legends Penn & Teller, the Mischief company play a hapless gang of magicians presenting a charity event - but as the accidents spiral out of control, so does their fundraising target! Running from Tuesday 12 – Saturday 16 October.
Inspired by the story of the mythical wizard who mastered his magic to unite a warring kingdom, Northern Ballet’s Merlin (Tuesday 2 – Saturday 6 November) will take you on a sweeping, epic adventure of heartbreak, hope and more than a little magic.
STOS Theatre Company return to the Lyceum with Elf the Musical from Tuesday 16 – Saturday 20 November. Based on the popular festive film, this hilarious musical follows Buddy the elf on his quest to find his father – and himself. STOS draw on the very best local talent, creating theatre for and by the people of South Yorkshire.
There’s more dance in the new year, with Swan Lake and The Nutcracker performed by the one of Russia’s leading ballet companies: Russian State Ballet of Siberia. Dazzling audiences with two performances split across Monday 10 –Saturday 15 January, these magical ballets swirl with wintry charm and delight.
There’s mischief afoot in January with Gangsta Granny, running from Wednesday 19 – Saturday 22 January. Based on the book by David Walliams, meet Ben as he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime with his very own Gangsta Granny!
Fat Friends The Musical makes its return to Sheffield after its triumphant first tour. Created by award-winning writer Kay Mellor and starring West End and TV favourite Lee Mead, the show reunites our favourite foodie friends as they are put through their Zumba paces at the local slimming club (Monday 31 January – Saturday 5 February).
In March, enter the glittering world of Dreamgirls from Tuesday 8 – Saturday 19 March. Effie, Lorrell and Deena are three talented young singers in the turbulent 1960s, a revolutionary time in American music history. Join them as they embark upon a musical rollercoaster ride through a world of fame, fortune and the ruthless realities of show business, testing their friendships to the very limit.
A number of rescheduled shows will also take place at the Lyceum: Dial M for Murder will play in October 2021 from Tuesday 19 – Saturday 23 - the definitive seat-gripping drama which follows the vengeful scheme of a jaded ex-tennis pro who discovers his wife has been unfaithful.
November 2021 sees the return of the creepy, spooky, mysterious and kooky Addams Family, from Tuesday 23 – Saturday 27. Wednesday Addams is all grown up and has a shocking secret that only Gomez knows: she's fallen in love. With his cherished Morticia in the dark, Gomez attempts to keep his daughter’s secret.
In to 2022, pour yourself a cup of ambition as 9 to 5 the Musical plays in the Lyceum from Tuesday 8 – Saturday 12 February. Follow the story of three workmates pushed to boiling point by their sexist and egotistical b ss. With an award-nominated score by Dolly Parton.
Then, out of the darkness and into the spotlight, we welcome back Sheffield’s much-loved production Everybody’s Talking About Jamie from Monday 11 – Saturday 16 April 2022. Jamie New is sixteen and lives on a council estate in Sheffield, but he is going to be a sensation at the school prom. From Sheffield Theatres’ original production in 2017, this fabulous musical returns to the Lyceum for its second run.
Enter the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s with Chicago from Tuesday 5 – Saturday 9 July 2022. After murdering her on-the-side lover, housewife and dancer Roxie Hart hires Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines.
In the Studio, Operation Crucible returns from Thursday 2 – Saturday 25 September, rescheduled from 2020. Created by Kieran Knowles, this is the moving story of four steelworkers trapped in the cellar of Sheffield’s Marples Hotel during the bombing of 1940.
From Friday 8 - Saturday 9 October, Sheffield People’s Theatre Young Company will present adevised project in collaboration with multi award-winning, Yorkshire-based gig-theatre company Silent Uproar.
These Hills Are Ours follows on Tuesday 12 October. Join Daniel Bye and Boff Whalley on the journey of two men as they run from the centre of the city in which they find themselves, to the top of the peak overlooking that city. But what are they really running from?
Love N Stuff plays from Wednesday 13 – Saturday 16 October. Tanika Gupta tells a hilarious and touching story of love, attachment and what we mean by home. Bindi and Mansoor might just be the most popular couple on their street, but after 45 years of a loving marriage, Mansoor has vowed to swap the cold streets of Stratford for a sun soaked Delhi. But Bindi’s not convinced and has concocted a last minute plan to lure him back.
Mark Farrelly’s hugely-acclaimed solo play Quentin Crisp: A Naked Hope plays on Tuesday 2 November. Quentin Crisp - openly gay as early as the 1930s and one of the most memorable figures of the twentieth century – suffered incredibly for refusing to be anything less than himself. This is the story of his extraordinary courage and inspiring wit in the face of adversity.
FirstTime plays from Friday 19 – Saturday 20 November.Can you remember your first time? Nathaniel can’t seem to forget his. To be fair, he has had it playing on repeat for the last 15 years. Award-winning HIV+ theatre-maker Nathaniel Hall (It’s a Sin) and Dibby Theatre present their critically acclaimed ‘hilarious’ and ‘heart breaking’ hit autobiographical show about growing up positive in a negative world.
Family Vogue Ball bursts onto the stage on Saturday 27 November. Four houses go head to head in an epic vogue ball for all the family. A performer from each house will catwalk, dance and lip sync to be crowned the ultimate house with this interactive event where the audience decides the winner. Whether you just want to join in the fun or have a passion to pose, come along and show off your own magnificence by dressing up and help crown the winning house. A celebration of LGBTQIA+ culture from the creators of Rent Party, Family Vogue Ball is a perfect treat for families and children.
My Voice Was Heard But I Was Ignored plays from Monday 29 – Tuesday 30 November. 15 year-old Reece is roughly accosted by the police whilst his young, Black teacher Gillian witnesses it all – but she doesn’t question or intervene. The consequences of her lack of action erupt as Gillian finds herself locked in a gripping tussle of power and an urgent interrogation of racial identity.
In addition to the season of shows, Sheffield Theatres is also proud to host The Walk from Friday 29 October. The Walk is an international project with Good Chance and Handspring Puppet Company. Sheffield Theatres will be the lead partner to welcome Little Amal, a 3.5m puppet of a 10-year-old refugee girl, to Sheffield on her 8000km journey from the Syria-Turkey border through Europe to Manchester.
Tickets for all new and rescheduled shows will be going on sale to Centre Stage Members at 10am on Saturday 10 July and on general sale at 10am on Saturday 17 July. Accessible performances are available on the majority of productions. We will continue to offer at least one socially distanced performance for each production taking place in the Crucible. Before heading to the event, check out the latest deals in the Aldi weekly ad here for your snack needs. Tickets can be booked through the Box Office in person, over the phone on 0114 249 6000 or at sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.
