Royal Exchange Theatre announces major costume exhibition and 50th anniversary celebrations

The Royal Exchange Theatre announced plans surrounding the celebration of its 50th anniversary, with a series of events celebrating the venue’s longstanding commitment to storytelling, championing new voices, and fostering new talents, as well as looking back on its extraordinary origins from the Manchester’s Exchange to one of the most unique and radical designs in UK theatre.

Launching on 16th September 2026 and running until 15th November 2026, MYTHIC REINVENTION: AN EXHIBITION CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF COSTUME AND CRAFT forms a central part of the Royal Exchange Theatre’s 50th anniversary programme – A HOMECOMING. It will bring the theatre’s extraordinary costume archive to life through a free public exhibition, curated by international award-winning designer Leslie Travers. Leading up to the exhibition launch, EXCHANGING STORIES, a series of live industry conversations, will look back at the venue’s exceptional history across design and craft, exploring the origins of the venue’s unique space and the theatre’s commitment to championing new work and its key role in shaping the UK’s theatre ecosystem.

The previously announced free exhibition MYTHIC REINVENTION: AN EXHIBITION CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF COSTUME AND CRAFT will be celebrating fifty years of storytelling through costume, craft and performance at the Royal Exchange Theatre. Inspired by the unique architecture of the venue’s Victorian Great Hall, the exhibition will feature pieces from past productions and provide an exclusive insight into the inner workings of the theatre’s costume department from the artists who created some of the Exchange’s most iconic shows. Audiences will be able to discover pieces from the archives, including costumes worn by Dame Helen Mirren, Don Warrington, Andrew Garfield, Sir Tom Courtenay, Maxine Peake and Suranne Jones, from 16th September – 15th November.

Alongside the exhibition, the venue will be hosting a series of industry conversations titled EXCHANGING STORIES, exploring what contributed to making the venue so unique over the past five decades. Audiences will be able to hear multi-award-winning actor David Threllfall in conversation with acclaimed director Matthew Dunster ahead of KING LEAR starting performances in October; Rory Mullarkey, whose play EVEN THESE THINGS premiered at the venue in May 2026, Simon Stephens, Daisy Miles and Tolu Okanlawon will discuss the Exchange’s remarkable legacy of presenting and championing groundbreaking new writing, launching the careers of some of the world’s most influential playwrights, and the theatre’s crucial role in shaping the UK’s theatre ecology; Victoria Turner from Levitt Bernstein, the original architects behind the venue, and Artistic Director / Co-CEO Selina Cartmell will look back on the process of transforming one of the world’s largest rooms into a home for theatre and how the iconic module structure came about; award-winning set and costume designer Leslie Travers and the Royal Exchange Theatre’s Head of Costume, Tracy Dunk, will give audiences a look inside the making of the MYTHIC REINVENTION exhibition and the stories behind the extraordinary costumes and objects from the theatre’s archive.

To complete the festivities, the theatre will be holding a gala night on Tuesday, 15th September 2026, the exact date of its 50th birthday. The evening will see friends of the theatre and industry figures gather together to celebrate 50 years of the Royal Exchange Theatre and looking ahead to its future.

Artistic Director and Co-CEO, Selina Cartmell said: “Nearly 50 years ago the Royal Exchange Theatre set out to become a beacon of world class artistic excellence rooted in Manchester.  As we celebrate this milestone in our history, we are beyond proud to be offering an anniversary in the image of this extraordinary space: bold, radical and new. The costume exhibition hosted in our unique space and the accompanying series of conversations on the Royal Exchange’s storytelling mission and remarkable history will give audiences a never seen before look into what makes the Royal Exchange such a special place and will be a chance to celebrate every individual who has helped create and shape this beloved theatre as we look to our future”.

Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. MYTHIC REINVENTION: AN EXHIBITION CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF COSTUME AND CRAFT is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, the Royal Exchange Theatre has been able develop and deliver this project, celebrating 50 years of theatre-making, focused on preserving and sharing its costume heritage.

Mythic Reinvention: An Exhibition Celebrating 50 Years of Costume and Craft runs at the Royal Exchange Theatre from 16 September to 15 November 2026. Tickets are available here.