Spring/Summer line-up at Ilkley Playhouse

The Spring Summer 2026 Season has arrived at Ilkley Playhouse and we hope there is something for everyone to enjoy over the next six months.

Ilkley Playhouse has a long-standing reputation for performing modern dramas, classics, farce, comedy, musicals - all carefully selected by Ilkley Playhouse’s Casting Committee and all performed to the highest standard. This season six Wharfeside and Wildman productions, along with three fringe productions, will be performed by Ilkley Players and our Greenroom students. Ilkley Playhouse is also a venue for visiting musicians, comedians, singers and touring theatre companies so in addition to our main Ilkley Players productions, we have an exciting line up of events and plays to keep you entertained. You can get your hands on a copy of the Spring/Summer programme at Ilkley Playhouse, in local libraries, in various shops in and around the town and at the Clarke Foley Centre. 

Currently being performed in the Wildman Studio is Big Big Sky, a heartwarming and gently humorous play about love, loss and finding joy in the every day. Set in Kilnsea, East Yorkshire, Angie and Lauren are closing up the café for another winter; the birds have gone south and taken the tourists with them. The last visitor is Dennis, stopping by for his pasty and beans. But there is another arrival – one that’s unforeseen and life changing for them all. Big Big Sky runs until 21^st February.

A story of political and private passions, Lucy Kirkwood's play The Human Body runs from the 12^th to the 21^st March in the Wharfeside Theatre. It’s the winter of 1948, austerity is biting and Iris Elcock, GP, socialist and Labour Party councillor, is working tirelessly to implement Nye Bevan's National Health Service Act and its revolutionary promise of free healthcare for all. At home she is a mother, and wife to a fellow GP, an ex-Navy man scarred by the war. But a chance meeting with George Blythe, a local boy who has made it to Hollywood, turns her quiet, certain world upside down. The Human Body was first performed at the Donmar Warehouse in 2024, featuring Keeley Hawes and Jack Davenport.

Yorkshire blockbuster Calendar Girls The Musical opens on 22^nd April in the Wharfeside Theatre. The true Wharfedale story of the Calendar Girls launched a global phenomenon, a million copycat calendars, a record-breaking movie, a stage play and now a musical written by Tim Firth and Gary Barlow. This is a tale of strong women supporting each other to raise money to defy a disease which touches us all. Expect emotions to run high and a warning: this musical has coined the term "craughing" - the act of crying and laughing at the same time! Calendar Girls The Musical runs until 2^nd May.

Accidental Death of an Anarchist opens in the Wildman Studio on 18^th May and is a fast-paced political farce that exposes police corruption through absurdity, satire and wit. The play has been widely performed around the world since its premiere in 1970 and has been adapted for modern audiences. The plot centres around an anarchist who falls to his death from a window while in police custody, leading to a farcical recreation of the incident that exposes the absurd corruption and idiocy at the heart of the system. The play runs until 23^rd May.

Adapted from Paula Hawkins’ best-selling novel, The Girl on the Train, which opens on the 15^th June, is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps audiences guessing until the final moments. Rachel Watson longs for a different life. Her only escape is the perfect couple she watches through the train window every day, happy and in love. Or so it appears. When Rachel learns that the woman she’s been secretly watching has suddenly disappeared, she finds herself as a witness and even a suspect in a thrilling mystery in which she will face bigger revelations than she could ever have anticipated. The Girl on the Train runs until 20^th June in the Wharfeside Theatre.

Opening on 13^th July in the Wildman Studio is Rona Munro’s intense psychological drama Iron. Fay is serving a life sentence for murdering her husband with a kitchen knife. She is 15 years into her sentence when Josie, her 25-year-old daughter, visits her for the first time. Following her mother's imprisonment, Josie was brought up by her paternal Grandmother whom she calls 'mum'. Josie has no memory of the incident, or of her father, and has come to uncover the past - a past that Fay wishes to forget. Iron runs until 18^th July.

You don’t have to wait too long to see our first fringe production of the season. The Animals, performed by twelve Ilkley Playhouse Greenroom students for the National Theatre Connections Festival 2026, runs between 5^th and 7^th March in the Wildman Studio. The play is set in a secure residential unit for teenagers, where ten youngsters are detained, largely abandoned by their parents, rejected by their schools and incarcerated by an insensitive legal system. Their futures seem bleak and devoid of hope. Enter Sam, an idealistic student teacher – determined to redeem them by introducing them to ancient Greek philosophy. What chance does she have? Sean Buckley’s powerful play treats this difficult subject with empathy and insight, and demands to be heard.

[The Animals opens on 5th March]

Inspired by a real-life story, The Shroud Maker by Palestinian writer-director Ahmed Masoud, runs from the 12^th and 13^th June in the Wildman Studio. The play is set inside modern-day Palestine, where Hajja Souad, an 80-something Palestinian woman living on the besieged Gaza Strip makes shrouds for the dead. A compelling black comedy that delves deep into the intimate life of ordinary Palestinians, the play weaves a highly distinctive path through Palestine's turbulent past and present. It combines comic fantasy and satire with true stories told first hand to the writer, and offers a vivid portrait of Palestinian life in Gaza. This one-woman play is directed by Ilkley Playhouse director Julie Domaille and performed by Jan Thomas, a long-standing actor at Ilkley Playhouse.

Bard in the Yard 2026 returns for its seventh consecutive year this summer and in the same format as in previous years, it will consist of two contrasting Shakespeare plays (yet to be announced), cleverly adapted to last thirty to forty minutes each and played in minimalist style, letting the words speak for themselves. Performances will take place on Saturday 29th August in the Wildman Studio at 7.30pm and on Sunday 30th and Monday 31st August (Bank Holiday) at 2pm in the Manor House Yard.

Stagefright Comedy Clubs have become a regular favourite at Ilkley Playhouse and showcase the finest comedy acts on the UK and international comedy circuits. Over the years, the club has featured well-known comedians Joe Lycett, Chris Ramsey, Gary Delaney, Shazia Mirza and Justin Moorhouse. Our next instalment is on Saturday 28th March, frontlined by comedian Ricky Balshaw. Keep a look out for details of our Stagefright Comedy Clubs on 9^th May and 4^th July.

Our next vintage fair takes place on Saturday 4^th April, featuring twenty stalls selling stunning vintage items from the 1920s to the 1980s. Expect to find beautiful fashion, all types of homeware from the classic to the kitsch, vinyl records, furniture, toys, books, pictures and so much more. Browse the goods on sale and refuel with delicious cakes in the tearoom.

Ilkley Playhouse is well-known for the quality and variety of music events it hosts and this season is jam-packed with musical events to suit all tastes. Join The After Hours Quintet on Friday 17^th April for a scintillating, exhilarating jaunt through the vaults of British Trad Jazz, New Orleans Swing, Gypsy Jazz and Jump Blues. Expect to hear classics from the American song book blended seamlessly alongside 90's anthems; reimagined in the swing style.

On Saturday 18^th April the superb traditional Irish folk band The Hooliemen make their Ilkley Playhouse debut, made up of four seasoned and highly accomplished musicians who have played together for decades. With up-tempo Irish traditional music at their core, The Hooliemen deliver thrilling jigs and reels, heartfelt ballads, tight vocal harmonies, unaccompanied (a cappella) songs, and the unique flair of sean-nós dance. Their set features beautiful renditions of well-known Irish songs as well as high-energy instrumental sets.

On Friday 3^rd July Essence Of Django will raise the roof in the Wildman Studio! A vibrant celebration of gypsy jazz and swing, featuring some of the region’s most exciting and expressive musicians.  Audiences can expect fiery, virtuosic solos, foot-stomping rhythms, burning ballads, and moments of delicate lyricism, alongside the occasional Latin-inspired piece that adds colour and surprise.

Returning to Ilkley Playhouse on Friday 10^th July is the ever-popular Rob Dylan Band. Since its formation the band has headlined at numerous International Dylan Festivals. Through their creative interpretation of the material, they deliver a powerful and dynamic performance featuring some of the greatest songs ever written.

Prepare to be transported on a remarkable musical journey as Fleetwood Shack delivers an extraordinary performance on Friday 24^th July, featuring an impressive repertoire of the biggest and most beloved Fleetwood Mac hits. Their performance is unforgettable, captivating and nostalgic, showcasing hits Little Lies, Everywhere, Landslide, Go Your Own Way and many more.

On Saturday 25th July, Voodoo Room returns to Ilkley Playhouse to pay tribute to some of the greatest names in rock history - Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Cream, to name a few. Voodoo Room is a stunning power-trio featuring some of the UK’s finest musicians. Expect a world-class show, put together in total appreciation of the massive pioneers of classic blues and rock. Hear all the classics including Strange Brew, Hey Joe, Sunshine of Your Love, Fire, Watchtower, Layla, Purple Haze, Foxy Lady and many more.

We have two touring theatre production companies visiting Ilkley Playhouse this Spring/Summer season, starting with A Rise and Howl Production of Bindweed, on 10^th and 11^th April. Four men convicted of domestic abuse offences meet each week to undergo a perpetrator programme. But as Jen, the new group facilitator, starts to make progress with the men inside the room, life outside begins to buckle. A shattering and darkly funny play about responsibility and rehabilitation, Bindweed looks at what can be done to tackle abuse at its root.

John Godber’s Teechers, produced by That’s The Badger Productions, will be performed from the 3^rd to 6^th June.  Follow three cheeky school leavers as they bring their final drama project to life – a riotous play-within-a-play that lifts the lid on life at a struggling inner-city school. This fast-paced play dives into the highs and lows of school life, inspiring teachers, and the unforgettable characters that roam the corridors. It’s witty, rebellious and highly relatable.

For the latest plays and events please check our website, Facebook page and Instagram account. You can also find out more on our website about hiring our venue, costume and prop hire, our Greenroom drama classes and how you can get involved. To book tickets for all our plays and events visit www.ilkleyplayhouse.co.uk or contact Ilkley Playhouse box office on 01943 609539.