Lowry announces its 2026 autumn contemporary season

Lowry announces its new Contemporary season, bringing together an ambitious programme of theatre and performance by artists working at the forefront of contemporary practice. Spanning bold new work, returning favourites and partnerships with companies whose work speaks directly to the world we are living in now, this season reaffirms Lowry’s commitment to artist‑led, relevant and socially engaged performance.

Lowry’s Director of Theatre and Performance, Matthew Eames says: “This Contemporary season showcases extraordinary artists making work of real urgency and ambition. It’s great to see the return of both our partner company LUNG, with Woodhill, as well as the incomparable Bert & Nasi. These shows reflect the richness and diversity of contemporary performance and our commitment to work that is bold, relevant and rooted in the world around us.”

• Blaze FM: The Big House made its Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut in 2025. Co-written by acclaimed grime MC Jammz and playwright James Meteyard (Electrolyte) and directed by Maggie Norris, the show is an explosive piece of political theatre, weaving grime, garage, drill and jungle tracks through an electrifying 80-minutes of powerful performance. Thu 17 – Sat 19 September. Age guidance 16+

• SELENE is a radical explosion of an ancient myth about the moon, from internationally award-winning company Wright & Grainger – the artists behind HELIOS, ORPHEUS and THE GODS THE GODS THE GODS. Based in rural North Yorkshire, the duo weave immersive worlds from music and spoken word, and since 2016 their wild retellings of Ancient Greek myths have toured internationally. Written and created by Alexander Wright and Phil Grainger, and made with and told by Megan Drury. Fri 25 – Sat 26 September. Age guidance 14+

• Madonna On The Rocks is Marie Hamilton’s wild, neon-lit musical offering a darkly funny and fiercely honest insight into motherhood. Diving headfirst into the chaos of life as a mother, the show follows her as she juggles ambition, artistry and her baby in arms. Inspired by Hamilton’s own experience of postnatal depression, this raw and hilarious performance captures the messy reality of keeping dreams alive while raising a child. Directed by Hildegard Ryan, with a soundtrack blending pop bangers and punk electronica from award-winning composer Ben Osborn. Wed 30 September – Thu 1 October. Age guidance 14+

• Mistero Buffo Rhum + Clay present Dario Fo’s devilishly funny masterpiece, Mistero Buffo. A tour-de-force that won Julian Spooner The Stage’s Award for Best Performance, this is an extraordinary, virtuosic romp through a hundred characters and locations. Our 21st century travelling storyteller, yet another employee of the gig economy, rushes from his last job of the day to deliver a subversive, gleeful rallying cry for the disillusioned and disenfranchised… . Fri 2 October. Age guidance 12+

• Thanks for Being Here by legendary experimental theatre company Ontroerend Goed serves as a thank-you note to the audience. The note may not come with flowers, but with a gentle invitation to embrace the diversity of perspectives around us – to see the strangers beside us and listen to their thoughts and concerns. The performance is a celebration of togetherness, whether within the confines of a theatre or out on the streets. Tue 6 – Wed 7 October.

• WOODHILL Three men at Woodhill prison are dead. The families demand answers. This is a call to arms about the crisis facing prisons. Gut punching choreography and unflinching beats shine a light on the hidden story of HMP Woodhill. Lyrically told in their own words, three families investigate what happened to their boys. What they discover is so haunting, it turns their world upside down. Pushing the form of documentary theatre and dance, WOODHILL is an explosive true story by multi-award-winning LUNG and originally developed with The North Wall. Tue 13 – Sat 17 October. Age guidance 16+

• Bert & Nasi: L’Addition Two performers armed with (or trapped in) a single scene – a customer orders a drink from a waiter. And then things go awry. Played again and again, the scene starts spinning out of control. Nightmarish spiral or grotesque farce? Roles flip back and forth. Who’s serving and who’s being served? Directed by Tim Etchells, and created with performance duo Bert and Nasi, L’Addition orchestrates a complex hilarious and explosive performance from simple materials. Together, the three of them play with the mechanisms of theatre as much as with power relationships – but in the end, someone has to pay the bill. Fri 23 October.

• Iterations centres Tom Cassani’s obsession with the skill and precision of sleight of hand magic. It invites us to consider the performance of the seemingly impossible. Through deconstructed routines and text that re-imagines the aesthetic tropes of magic, we are offered time to reflect and re-interpret. This exposé of the practising magician explores how impossibilities emerge through repetition, actions, gestures and self-reflection. Fri 23 October. Age guidance 8+

• Amazons performed by French Brazilian theatre-maker Gaël Le Cornec, the recent sellout show at the Edinburgh Fringe, Amazons presents a compelling and mesmerising retelling of the stories of women from the world’s largest forest. Sat 24 October. Age guidance 12+

Find out more and book now at thelowry.com.