Introducing our Autumn Performance Programme 2026
Comments Off on Introducing our Autumn Performance Programme 2026It's hard to imagine cooler days in this heatwave, but - rest assured - this autumn promises kinder temperatures and high-quality live performance.
We have a wonderful mixture of cutting-edge work on offer: From mystical stories and folk music laced theatre, to fantastical dark comedy and performance peppered with live magic, martial-arts fused contemporary dance, and surreal, dream-logic inspired storytelling.
We're very excited to welcome back a number of artists to Exeter, including Liz Richardson with LOCAL, her new play about belonging (following 2022's sell-out show SWIM), YESYESNONO with their highly relevant dark fable Nation (following 2023's impactful performance of we were promised honey!) and the incredible Beyond Face returning with the We are Here to Share Scratch Night, which showcases exciting new early-stage work from global majority artists based in the South West.
Appropriately kicking off the autumn season is Barleycorn, performed by a troupe of actor-musicians known as Riddlestick Theatre. Set in a fictional South West village, this musical comedy is inspired by English folk customs and songs, folk horror and TV. It is a celebration of community and cultural heritage and a playful ode to the good old British pub!
Barleycorn
Also paying homage to folk music is Batty! by Victoria Firth - an alternative coming of age story about a woman who thinks she might be turning into a witch. The show contemplates this archetypal female character by using it as a metaphor for wildness, power, recognition, and our connection with nature. It's an empowering piece for anyone experiencing or contemplating elderhood, or anybody who has ever been made to feel like a weirdo!
Dance theatre has proved hugely popular with recent audiences, and we continue to platform some of the most talented choreographers and dancers currently on the scene.
Vanhulle Dance Theatre present Orbital, an electrifying dance duet where two performers battle tension, chemistry, and gravity in a mesmerising journey where explosive partner work, breathtaking acrobatic flips, and martial arts-inspired moves collide.
Orbital (image by Jack Thomson)
Choreographer Imogen Reeve returns with Mother Computer (following 2023's Discopia), a bold and visually captivating dance performance where ancient folklore collides with imagined futures. Three performers push their bodies to the limit before embarking on a journey of transformation, creating a physical world that reflects the contradictions of contemporary life; ultimately blurring the boundaries between human and machine, nature and technology, past and future. Plus, a new production from one of our resident companies: Swift Dance Company present THREADS, a rich tapestry of contemporary dance performance, voice, film, sound and intergenerational stories inspired by the history of local textile heritage site Coldharbour Mill, one of Devon's most iconic industrial landmarks.
You will find a few nods to spooky season throughout the autumn performance programme, from Barleycorn and Batty! to Lovett, Forget About Me, Period Drama and the annual Spork! Poetry Halloween Special. Lovett is an instantly recognisable figure from horror literature in regard to Sweeney Todd, and BoonDog Theatre's fresh feminist take on this iconic, world-renowned character, gives her a spotlight of her own, away from the man that accompanied her ultimate journey to infamy. This masterclass in storytelling is a perfect blend of history play, psychological thriller and dark comedy.
Lovett
Twisted tale Forget About Me is part magic show, part ghost story,. This isn't your typical conjuring act: mind-bending mentalism and spine-tingling effects blur the line between reality and fiction. The show will be presented as part of a double-bill (from the creators of 2024's It's the Economy, Stupid!) alongside Copycat, which contemplates the implications of AI by examining the links between art, fascism and rapid technological change. How about a final girl on rollerskates? We're sure you weren't expecting that, but that you will find in multidisciplinary performance artist Olga Kaleta's Period Drama (with integrated BSL by Sherrie Eugene-Hart); a surreal, episodic dark comedy that mixes autobiographical storytelling with circus, drawing upon personal experiences of chronic anxiety and taking a deep dive into the question of wellness through a feminist lens, via slasher flicks.
And, as always, we have some live family entertainment lined up for the October half-term holiday. Following a critically acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe run, the award-winning The Truth About Trees seamlessly blends actors, bunraku puppetry and shadow play, presenting environmental themes with warmth, humour, and theatrical magic.
The Truth About Trees
