27 Feb -  1 Mar 2026
Chesil Theatre presents
TakeTen Chesil Theatre New Writing Festival

Ten plays. Five performances. One weekend.

We’re celebrating the premiere performances of our ninth biennial nationwide competition to find the best ten 10-minute plays selected from hundreds of entries. This year’s theme ‘Angels’ has inspired interpretations across a range of ideas and genres. Each performance includes all ten works and we’ll be joined by the winning writers, with judges and directors.

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

10 - 14 Mar 2026
RAODS presents
Into The Woods

 Stephen Sondheim’s imaginative and comical musical remix of beloved fairy tales.

A RAODS Main Stage production

Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine.

Into The Woods follows a Baker and his wife, who wish to have a child; Cinderella, who wishes to attend the King's Festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. When the Baker and his wife learn that they cannot have a child because of a Witch's curse, the two set off on a journey to break the curse. Everyone's wish is granted, but the consequences of their actions return to haunt them later with disastrous results.

Originally Directed on Broadway by James Lapine.

Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick.

This amateur production is presented by arrangement with Music Theatre International. All authorised performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.co.uk

www.plazatheatre.com

23 - 28 Mar 2026
Maskers presents
The Scottish Play by Graham Holliday

What price success?

Michael has long harboured an ambition to direct the Scottish Play. His brain is teeming with ideas about the staging of it, the casting and the characterisation. It is becoming an obsession.

Geraldine, stalwart and, in her eyes at least, leading lady of The Shellsfoot Thespians, has long harboured the ambition to play Lady Macbeth….

Meanwhile, Lynn, wife of Michael, has determined to give up her affair with talented actor, Frank, and concentrate on making her marriage work.

Will any of them they get what they want?

Will they learn, with Lady Macbeth, "Naught’s had, all’s spent, Where our desire is got without content."?

Do come and see this witty, humorous play, and find out the answers!

www.maskers.org.uk

24 - 28 Mar 2026
Hamble Players presents
Darkness Falls

Darkness Falls – A Double Bill of Supernatural Tales.

In The Monkeys Paw a family is granted three wishes, all of which come true, but in a macabre and unexpected way

In The Dark, a successful and ambitious novelist meets his Mephistopheles and is dispatched to a sinister fate

hambleplayers.co.uk

7 -  11 Apr 2026
RAODS presents
The Mirror Crack'd by Rachel Wagstaff

A dynamic new adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic mystery.

A RAODS Production

It’s the 1960’s and the sleepy village of St Mary Mead has been thrown into a frenzy by the news that the glamorous Hollywood star Marina Gregg has moved into the Manor House. Miss Jane Marple; confined to her living room after an accident, has plenty of time to think after a vicious murder occurs during a party at the Manor House. It’s only a matter of time before tragedy strikes again and Miss Marple must use all of her skills to unravel the web of lies and deception as someone is out for revenge.  

www.plazatheatre.com

10 -  18 Apr 2026
Chesil Theatre presents
Ladies In Lavender by Shaun McKenna

A gentle tale of longing and loss.

It’s 1937. The quiet lives of two mature unmarried sisters are disturbed by the unexpected appearance of a young man, washed ashore near their cottage after a storm. As they nurse him back to health, he comes to represent all they have missed. And one day he will have to leave …

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

22 -  25 Apr 2026
Cheriton Players presents
Fondly Remembered by Gareth Armstrong

Fondly Remembered? – will Douglas be or will his past overshadow the present? This is a wickedly funny play, full of revelations, revenge and reconciliation. It also asks us a simple question – is it ever too late to make amends and start again?

www.thecheritonplayers.org.uk

27 Apr - 2 May 2026
Maskers presents
Leemosynary by Lee Blessing

"There's something about the Westbrook women. We have this expectation of ourselves. To be extraordinary."

'Eleemosynary' examines the very delicate relationship of three women: a grandmother, Dorothea, who has sought to exert her independence through strong willed eccentric behavior, Artie, her daughter, who has run from her overpowering mother, and Echo, Artie's daughter, who is incredibly smart and equally sensitive.

After Dorothea (who has raised Echo into her teens) suffers a stroke, Echo is forced to reestablish contact with her mother through extended phone conversations, during which real issues are skirted and the talk is mostly about the precocious Echo's unparalleled success in a national spelling bee.

In the end, Artie and Echo need to come to accept their mutual need and summon the courage to build a life together, despite the terror this holds after so many difficult years of estrangement.

Will they succeed?

www.maskers.org.uk

14 -  16 May 2026
Bishopstoke Players presents
Be My Baby by Amanda Whittington

It’s 1964 but the sixties aren’t swinging for Mary Adams: 19 years old, unmarried and pregnant. She is sent in secrecy and shame to St. Saviours, a Church of England mother-and-baby home run by a formidable Matron.

Mary is set to work in the laundry and shares a room with the tough-talking Queenie. The girls in the home bond over a love of girl-group records, which entertain, console and inspire as the birth of their babies approaches. When Mary finds she is expected to give up her child for adoption, she begins a desperate fight. 

This powerful drama promises to be a must-see! Funny, moving and poignant, this play shows some of the grittier side of life in the 1960s.  Not to be missed!

Performances will be in Durley Memorial Hall (Durley Brook Road, SO32 2AR) from Thursday 14th to Saturday 16th May at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £12 (Under 16: £8) and are available via:

Web: https://www.bishopstokeplayers.uk/buy-tickets/ (no booking fee)

Email: boxoffice@bishopstokeplayers.uk 

Phone: 07871 006551

As we are proud to have done every year since 1947, proceeds will be donated to the charity Action for Children.

www.bishopstokeplayers.uk

22 -  30 May 2026
Chesil Theatre presents
Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales, adapted for the stage by Philip Wilson

Beware those who wander in these wild woods …

Journey deep into the wild woods but whatever you do, keep to the path, there are strangers lurking in the shadows. From runaway princesses to sinister stepmothers and resurrecting snakes, it’s a captivating world where magic meets the macabre, secrets fester under trees and justice creeps in unexpected forms. These are no Disney fairy tales, these are dark, dangerous and very Grimm!

Contains use of flashing lights. This production is not suitable for age 12 and under.

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

30 Jun -  4 Jul 2026
Hamble Players presents
Nuns - A Satire

A satire about three rebellious Nuns and how they plot to overthrow the mother superior in order to establish smoking rights for themselves

hambleplayers.co.uk

14 -  18 Jul 2026
Chesil Theatre presents
Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

The war is over. The battle of the sexes is just beginning.

One of the Bard’s most popular comedies re-imagined at the end of WWII. Breaking their journey on the way home from the front, a group of soldiers stop for a few days’ rest, recreation and a little romance. Delivering razor-sharp banter, slapstick comedy and a happy ending, you won’t want to miss this open-air enemies-to-lovers classic!

www.chesiltheatre.org.uk

3 -  5 Sep 2026
Hamble Players presents
Murder Mystery

Enjoy solving the mystery with a delicious supper

hambleplayers.co.uk

1 -  6 Dec 2026
Hamble Players presents
Treasure Island - Pantomime

Following young Jim Hawkins as he discovers a treasure map after a dying buccaneer’s arrival at his parents’ inn. 

With Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney, Jim sets sail on the Hispaniola to find the buried treasure, but the voyage turns perilous when he learns his charismatic friend, Long John Silver, is secretly a pirate leader planning a mutiny

hambleplayers.co.uk