HUMOUR, heart and high drama is coming to Salisbury next year as Wiltshire Creative announces its 2027 theatre season.

Stagings of true stories that will move and inspire and evenings of riotous entertainment with famous faces and a family treat for February half term, there’s a huge mix scheduled for the Salisbury Playhouse and Salisbury Arts Centre.

Gareth Machin, Artistic Director at Wiltshire Creative, said: “This spring, theatre will be centre stage at Salisbury Playhouse as our Main House and Salberg Studio provide a rich array of home-produced and visiting work.

“Providing comedy, drama and a great night out, the Playhouse will be alive with laughter and energy over the coming months.”

Housemates is performed by a cast of neurodivergent and neurotypical actor-musicians. Picture: Wiltshire Creative

Wiltshire Creative Spring 2027 season

The season opens with a brand-new play revealing the true story of comedy icon, Larry Grayson.

The Wiltshire Creative and New Wolsey Theatre production by BAFTA and Olivier award-winning playwright Tim Whitnall, titled simply, Larry, charts the star’s showbiz odyssey from trailblazing drag artiste to host of the BBC’s The Generation Game.

Larry is a hilarious yet poignant tale of subterranean lows and stratospheric highs, reflecting on the beauty of dreams and the power of determination. Behind the glitter lies a rich and moving story of enduring bonds, and the painful scars of being gay in a time of criminalisation and stigma.

Produced and developed in Salisbury and directed by Wiltshire Creative Artistic Director Gareth Machin, Larry will premiere at Salisbury Playhouse on February 11.

The main house will also welcome a wide variety of visiting shows including The Other Side of Murder, from the producers of audience favourites Murder at Midnight and Murder in the Dark.

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Madonna on the Rocks is a darkly funny, fiercely honest techno musical about motherhood by Marie Hamilton. Picture: Wiltshire Creative

The show features funnyman Rufus Hound (One Man, Two Guv’nors, Wind in the Willows), national treasure Susie Blake (Coronation Street) and soap star Carla Mendonça (Coronation Street).

There’s another recognisable face in Albert’s Boy, a funny and achingly moving play shining light on one of history’s most enduring figures, Albert Einstein, starring actor, comedian and two-time Olivier Award winner Griff Rhys Jones.

You might also recognise Matthew Kelly (Bleak House, Casualty) who will be playing the titular character in Shakespeare’s enduring tragedy King Lear.

And there’s plenty more besides – Oh Zeus! Promises to take the audience on a ride through Greek mythology, The King’s Speech is an exciting new production adapted from the Oscar-winning film, and, performed by a cast of neurodivergent and neurotypical actor-musicians, And Housemates is being touted as “an exhilarating celebration of courage, community and ordinary people who changed history.”

Matt Freeman and Nick Bunt in Oh Zeus!. Picture: Mark Senior photography

Salisbury Playhouse Salberg Studio

Three shows have also been confirmed for the more intimate Salberg Studio this season, with more to be announced.

First up is stripped-back, stand-up storytelling show The Small Office for Eternal Optimism, followed by Madonna on the Rocks, a darkly funny, fiercely honest techno musical about motherhood and finally, Ode to Joyce, a love letter to the songs and monologues of the extraordinary, influential entertainer Joyce Grenfell.

During February half term, family audiences can enjoy a theatrical treat in the Salberg. Charlie Stinky Socks and the Really Big Adventure is an interactive, inventive and fast-paced show with glorious puppets, live music, and more laughs than you can waft away with a stinky sock.

The spring theatre season opened for booking to Wiltshire Creative Supporters on Tuesday (September 8) and will go on general sale on Thursday (September 10).

For more information and to book tickets, visit the Wiltshire Creative website or pick up a season brochure.

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