National Theatre launches nationwide tour scheme – Francesca Mills, Jill Halfpenny and Paul Chuckle to feature
The National Theatre has announced a new touring partnership with 12 venues across England aimed at increasing access to theatre and reversing the decline in large-scale touring productions.
Called National Theatre Nationwide, the initiative will see one National Theatre production tour annually direct from its London run with its original cast, alongside a new schools touring programme and subsidised ticket schemes supported by Arts Council England.
The first production to tour under the scheme will be The Rise and Fall of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright, directed by the National Theatre’s deputy artistic director Robert Hastie.
The production will run at the National Theatre from 2 December 2026 to 23 January 2027 before embarking on a national tour opening at Newcastle Theatre Royal from 3 to 6 February 2027. Further dates are scheduled for Sheffield Theatres, Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, the Lowry in Salford, Marlowe Theatre and Theatre Royal Plymouth, with an additional engagement at Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.
The cast will include Ian Charleson Award winner Francesca Mills as Little Voice, alongside Jill Halfpenny as Mari Hoff and Paul Chuckle as Mr Boo. Further casting is to be announced.
The creative team also includes set and costume designer Janet Bird, lighting designer Paul Pyant, sound designer Mike Walker, composer and music director David Shrubsole, voice coach Shereen Ibrahim and casting director Alastair Coomer.
The Nationwide partnership brings together Belgrade Theatre, Birmingham Hippodrome, Leeds Heritage Theatres, Curve, Lowry, Marlowe Theatre, Newcastle Theatre Royal, Norwich Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, Southampton Mayflower, Theatre Royal Plymouth and Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall Nottingham.
The initiative will also include a schools touring programme. The first production will be a new adaptation of Bacchae, adapted by Nima Taleghani and directed by Hannah Hauer-King, following the play’s appearance in artistic director Indhu Rubasingham’s inaugural National Theatre season.
A second schools and family production, The Last Wild, adapted by Jude Christian from the novel by Piers Torday and directed by Rachel Bagshaw, will be staged in a co-production with Unicorn Theatre before touring nationally in 2027.
Tickets for The Rise and Fall of Little Voice go on sale from 21 May 2026, with some venues releasing tickets later.
