"More than any other major London theatre, Hampstead has been at the sharp end of recent funding struggles: its last artistic director Roxana Silbert quit in 2022 as a result of the venue losing all of its Arts Council funding. Still, the remaining team have limped on valiantly, in part helped by the patronage of the the late, great Tom Stoppard: annual revivals of his more obscure plays the last three Christmases have guaranteed bums on seats, and the rest of the programme has been no slouch."
"Following on from the first ever UK revival of Stoppard's - which is about to start its run - Hampstead's 2026 season will kick off with the world premiere of Alexi Kaye Campbell's Bird Grove (Feb 13-Mar 21 2026), which is a sort of origin story for the great Victorian author George Eliot, following the then Mary Ann Evans as the teenager comes into conflict with her father, who is determined to marry her off."
"Next up and in quite the coup, the US actor Stanley Tucci directs the world premiere of his countryman Richard Nelson's Springwood (Jun 15-Jul 25 2026), a world premiere based on his screenplay for the film Hyde Park on Hudson, which starred Bill Murray as Franklin D Roosevelt. The stage play would seem to be basically the same idea, following a culture clash meeting between the US president and King George VI as the monarch became the first in history to make a royal visit to the USA on the cusp of the Second World War."
"Finally there's the UK premiere of David Lindsay-Abaire and Jeanine Tesori's Kimberley Alkimbo (Aug 28-Nov 7 2026), which Broadway watchers may know as a massive recent hit that bagged several Tony Awards in 2023 including best musical. It follows the eponymous title character, a 16-year-old who gets up to all sorts of 16-year-old stuff - only she has a rare genetic condition that makes her age four times faster than usual, so she has the body of a 74-year-old."
Hampstead Theatre lost all Arts Council funding, prompting artistic director Roxana Silbert to quit in 2022, and the remaining team continued operations under difficult circumstances. Patronage from the late Tom Stoppard and annual revivals of his obscure plays over three Christmases have boosted audience numbers. The 2026 season opens with the world premiere of Alexi Kaye Campbell's Bird Grove (Feb 13-Mar 21 2026), an origin story of George Eliot. Stanley Tucci will direct Richard Nelson's Springwood (Jun 15-Jul 25 2026) adapted from Hyde Park on Hudson. The season includes the UK premiere of Kimberley Alkimbo (Aug 28-Nov 7 2026).
Read at Time Out London
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