National Theatre 2026 shows starring Stormzy and Paul Mescal

Brit Award-winning rapper Stormzy, Gladiator star Paul Mescal, Poldark actor Aidan Turner, and Bridgerton's Nicola Coughlan, are among the names appearing in a whopping 16 dramas across the venue's three stages.

Monica Barbaro, who earned praise for playing Joan Baez in Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Black Panther star Letitia Wright, and Oscar winning actress Lesley Manville will also appear in shows over the coming 18 months. 

Stormzy will collaborate on a yet to be revealed project at The National Theatre. (Image: Adama Jalloh) Indhu Rubasingham, who previously ran the Kiln Theatre in Kilburn, has assembled a programme of classics and brand new dramas that she's calling 'The Next Chapter.'

Mescal will lead a company of actors in two "complementary" plays about dysfunctional families - Tom Murphy's A Whistle in the Dark and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.

Nicola Coughlan will be reunited with her Derry Girls co-star Siobhán McSweeney in Irish classic The Playboy of the Western World.

Paul Mescal will appear in two dramas about dysfunctional families, A Whistle in the Dark and Death of a Salesman. (Image: Christian Tierney) And Stormzy will collaborate on a yet to be revealed world premiere.

He said: "I’ve always been drawn to theatre and over the past few years I’ve loved going to all kinds of plays and musicals. It’s such a unique space where storytelling, music and performance all come together in the most powerful way and there’s something about experiencing theatre that’s always stayed with me.

"When I went to see Indhu at the National Theatre, we properly hit it off and I’m excited to go on this creative journey with her."

Nicola Coughlan and her fellow Derry Girls star Siobhan McSweeney star in Playboy of The Western World. (Image: Billie Scheepers) Elsewhere there is a new commission for immersive theatre specialists Punchdrunk, an adaptation of of Rudyard Kipling's much-loved The Jungle Book with puppetry by Finn Caldwell, and a new musical based upon the award-winning film Pride, with its original director Matthew Warchus.

Letitia Wright stars in The Story by American playwright Tracey Scott Wilson about an ambitious black reporter who defies her editor to pursue an 
incendiary lead, choosing to go to any length to get ‘the story’.

And there's a tantalising line up for a major revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses with Monica Barbaro, Lesley Manville and Aidan Turner.

Rubasingham will the direct season opener Bacchae, by debut playwright Nima Taleghani.

Hiran Abeysekera, who scooped an Olivier award for his role in Life of Pi in the West End, will then appear in the title role of Hamlet.

Rubasingham's vision is to 'bring the world to the National Theatre and take the National Theatre to the world' while telling big stories in bold ways that reflect both the nation and the wider world and offering new perspectives that resonate with global audiences.

Speaking about her inaugural programme, Indhu Rubasingham said: “The National Theatre is a very special place and I am incredibly proud to be its seventh Director.

"I am so excited about the wealth of projects and artists announced. The National Theatre is a beacon of creativity, humanity and possibilities. It holds the stories of so many people who have made this place mean so much to so many. This is just the beginning, a flavour of what's to come, the start of the next chapter."

Tickets for Bacchae, Hamlet and The Playboy of the Western World go on general sale from May 15. www.nationaltheatre.org.uk