Announcing our 2026 Summer Performance Programme
Published March 27, 2026
Summer is just around the corner, and with it awaits an assortment of wondrous live performance and entertainment in our Summer Performance Programme!
Fresh perspectives take centre stage as we platform stories and voices that have previously been overlooked in mainstream media. Developed with Complicité, Nine Sixteenths revisits controversial moments in early noughties music history, that were whitewashed over, sharing them from the perspective of those who were profoundly affected and marginalised, whether that be Janet Jackson, other black female artists, and black women in general. Both deeply poignant and highly entertaining, the show elevates the voices of black women in the arts and beyond through a skillful blend of devised theatre, dance, lip sync, and integrated BSL. This performance will be presented on Tue 05 May as part of the Diverse Artists Network's DIASPORA! Festival, which celebrates cultural diversity, community and creativity across Bristol and the South West region during the first 10 days of May.
Nine Sixteenths (Christa Holka)
Doohickie Productions and Exeter Phoenix are thrilled to launch the inaugural Open Door Festival. This new festival has been created to provide opportunities for emerging and returning artists. From selecting performances out of a hat, to guaranteed payments for all artists involved (regardless of ticket sales), this festival is doing things differently. Join us at Exeter Phoenix on Sun 17 May for workshops about theatre making, dance and theatre performances from emerging artists and a long table discussion with local creatives. This will be an event to remember!
Marie Hamilton brings us babes-in-arms friendly performances of her Edinburgh Fringe hit, Madonna on the Rocks on Tue 19 May as part of Matrescence Festival. Sitting somewhere between a musical and cabaret, the show draws upon Marie's own lived experience by tackling the darkness and complexity of new motherhood with raw honesty, humour and heart. A special daytime performance with a post-show Q&A will be hosted by Lizzy Humber (Matrescence Festival & Daylight Sessions), with space to spread out during the show, as well as mats, cushions and an offering of toys at the front of the auditorium for little ones accompanying their entertainment-hungry adults. Marie will also be leading a Making Art After Making Life workshop for new(ish) parents looking to reignite their creative fire as part of the Open Door Festival programme on Mon 18 May.
Madonna On The Rocks (Mihaela Bodlovic)
Family-friendly circus arts can be found in the form of feel-good shows Rabbits Out of the Hat and Balance. Set during a pivotal moment in the Suffragettes movement, the hilarious and heartwarming Rabbits Out of the Hat is a Vaudevillian comedy magic show for people of all ages, featuring showstopper songs, incredible contortion and dance. In Balance, Jared and Toffy find a physical language of trust using the inventory of a pub cellar. Merging acrobatics, theatre, dance, and a jaw-dropping walk across glass bottles, Brainfools strips the circus back to its essentials: weight, friction, and the quiet negotiation between two people, with plenty of wow factor. It’s a show for anyone who has ever felt a wary standoff turn into a friendship, or anyone who has had to find their centre in a world that keeps tipping over.
Throughout June, we are partnering with Exeter Comedy Festival and Out There Queer Fest to present a number of exciting new shows, featuring drag, comedy, cabaret, theatre and music, including DYKE Systems on Fri 05 Jun, by Fag Packet who were selected as part of The Stage Fringe Five, theatre makers who made the biggest impact at Edinburgh Fringe 2025.
DYKE Systems
Headlining our 3rd annual Green Phoenix Festival is Dr Matt Winning, a stand-up comedian and acclaimed climate scientist. The set will start with highlights from his previous show based on his best selling book Hot Mess (what on earth can we do about climate change), followed by a performance of his Edinburgh Fringe hit Solastalgia.
Theatre in the Park is back! The wonderful Sun & Moon Theatre return with one of Shakespeare's most beloved comedy plays Twelfth Night (or What You Will) following their sell-out run of A Midsummer Night's Dream last year. Spork! Summer Special brings us another line-up of the best wordsmiths in the form of sumptuous spoken-word, poetry, silliness, and songs. Finally, young people and their families will get the chance to rummage through the rubble with BIN RAT!!! to discover where all the junk goes! Find out what literally happens to litter in this outdoor interactive puppetry show.
Twelfth Night (or What You Will)
All this and SO MUCH MORE coming to Exeter Phoenix this summer!
All tickets are offered on a Pay What You Can basis, which includes our Theatre in the Park programme for the very first time! You can find out more about our Pay What You Can ticket scheme here, or explore our Summer Performance Programme here.