Shakespeare’s Globe 2026–27 winter season will open with Julius Caesar, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins, running from 6 November 2026 to 14 February 2027 in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. It is followed by The Seagull, which runs from 17 January to 12 April 2027 and reunites Caroline Steinbeis and Rory Mullarkey after their acclaimed production of Three Sisters (2025). King John then runs from 7 February to 11 April 2027, marking Jaz Woodcock-Stewart’s Globe directorial debut in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. The season is completed by the previously announced return of Pinocchio in the Globe Theatre and the world premiere of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Animals Come to the Table in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Alongside the winter programme, the Shakespeare and Race Festival returns throughout October 2026.
Shakespeare’s Globe Artistic Director Michelle Terry, said, “This new season of plays in our candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is a season of debuts. The premiere of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s new play, the first time Chekhov’s The Seagull has been performed at the Globe, and the first time the epic history plays Julius Caesar and King John have been performed in the intimate indoor playhouse. And we are thrilled to once again bring families together outside in our Globe Theatre for the return of our enchanting musical Pinocchio. This collection of brave and brilliant plays promise us nothing less than a winter of politics, provocation, passion, and pleasure.”
Julius Caesar opens the Winter Season, running from 6 November 2026 to 14 February 2027. Joe Hill-Gibbins (Ghosts, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse) returns to direct Shakespeare’s brutal and timely tale of friendship, betrayal and political violence, staged for the first time ever in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. In the corridors of the Senate, a murderous plot builds amidst concerns over the growing ambition of dictator Julius Caesar. But when the tide of public opinion turns against his enemies, political in-fighting unfolds into civil war. Joe Hill-Gibbins is a theatre and opera director based in London. He directed his first professional production in 2002 as winner of the James Menzies-Kitchen Young Director Award.
Opera credits include: Giustino (Royal Opera House); Powder Her Face, Duke Bluebeard’s Castle (ENO, Olivier Award nomination for Best New Opera); The Marriage of Figaro (ENO/ Wuppertal Bühnen); Lear, Greek (Staatsoper Hannover); Greek (Edinburgh International Festival/ BAM, New York/ Scottish Opera).
The Seagull will run from 15 January to 10 April 2027. The team behind the 2025 production of Three Sisters, Caroline Steinbeis and Rory Mullarkey will reunite as director and translator for Chekhov’s timeless story of ambition and desire, inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
King John runs from 20 February to 11 April 2027. Olivier-nominated director Jaz Woodcock-Stewart (Paradise Now!, Bush Theatre) makes her Globe directorial debut with Shakespeare’s rarely performed masterpiece. Desperate to carve out an identity of his own to escape the shadow of his adored older brother, King John must step into the role he claims the right to, and attempt to rule his England. Jaz Woodcock-Stewart is a director working in theatre and screen.
As previously announced, the premiere of Timberlake Wertenbaker’s The Animals Come to the Table will open on 11 December 2026 and runs until 24 January 2027. Originally conceived as part of Burnt at the Stake, or the Whole of the Truth (2023) where playwrights were invited to share new work anonymously, The Animals Come to the Table marks the latest in a new writing lineage at Shakespeare’s Globe, following on from Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights (2022), Princess Essex (2024), Pinocchio (2025), and Deep Azure (2026). By the candlelight of the Playhouse, animals summon humanity to the negotiating table. Waiting for them are an army of voices from the natural world demanding an end to exploitation and ecological destruction. Timberlake Wertenbaker is one of the UK’s leading playwrights whose work is studied and performed worldwide.
The critically acclaimed new musical Pinocchio returns for the 2026 festive season in the open-air Globe Theatre, running from 28 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Based on Carlo Collodi’s original stories, Pinocchio is directed by Associate Artistic Director Sean Holmes (Romeo and Juliet 2025), with book and lyrics by Charlie Josephine (Cowbois, RSC / Royal Court), and music and lyrics by Jim Fortune (Mr Gum and the Dancing Bear).
Hanh Bui, Head of Research, said, “’Shakespeare and Race’ goes well beyond just thinking about the plays. It’s about bringing together diverse voices and perspectives that open up exciting new meanings. So really, people are the beating heart of our festival, the artists and scholars, students and professionals, who are reimagining what Shakespeare can do today”.
Shakespeare and Race Festival returns for 2026 with a dynamic programme of talks and performances showcasing new and diverse voices shaping Shakespeare today. On 7 October, Research in Action: Global Early Modern Stage reconsiders the global nature of early modern English drama and how playwrights engaged with cross-cultural encounters and identities. Led by Professor Matthew.
Dimmock (University of Sussex) and Dr Sarah Dustagheer (University of Kent), the evening brings together artists and academics in the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse to explore how staging choices shape theatrical meaning.
On 10 to 11 October, Globe Young Company presents Pineapple, a new work by award-winning playwright Anne Odeke (Princess Essex), representing the next generation of theatre-makers.
From 16 to 17 October, Symposium: Contested Futures brings together international scholars, from early career researchers to leading voices in the field, for a two-day hybrid symposium exploring the contested meanings of Shakespeare in our present and future. On 20 October, New Earth Theatre presents a staged work-in-progress, Samurai Othello, inspired by the real life of African samurai Yasuke, with a post-show discussion with members of the cast and creative team.
On 22 October, Shakespeare and Windrush brings together creatives and academics for a roundtable discussion celebrating the British Caribbean community and its contributions to theatre, performance and the study of Shakespeare. The conversation will explore the enduring legacies of Caribbean migration, British identity and their connections to Shakespeare. On 29 October, Youths that Thunder introduces two scholars shaping the next generation of early modern race studies. Dr Eli Cumings (King’s College London) and Dr Lydia Valentine (Shakespeare’s Globe) present new research for anyone curious about Shakespeare, race and performance. The winner of the Globe’s inaugural One Globe First Book Fellowship, sponsored by Cambridge University Press, will also be announced.
Dr Will Tosh, Director of Education, said, “This is a hugely exciting time for Higher Education and Research at Shakespeare’s Globe. Not only are we expanding our free workshops to help applicants into the UK’s leading drama schools, but we’re developing new courses for working theatre artists in voice and movement. Our cohort of students will be working in beautifully renovated spaces, and everyone is welcome in our brand-new Research and Collections Centre, featuring London’s only dedicated Shakespeare library. The Globe is open to all for learning, discovery, challenge and discussion, and I can’t wait for our autumn events and activities including our biennial Shakespeare and Race Festival.”
Led by the Globe’s Voice Faculty, Voice for Classical Performance runs from 5 to 14 November. The one-day course explores how Shakespeare’s language functions, builds thought and carries intention, helping professional actors develop a voice that can carry in any theatre without amplification. From 6 to 8 November, Playing the Globe explores the performance potential of the open-air Globe Theatre, working across acting, voice, movement and text sessions to help actors navigate Shakespeare’s complex texts with confidence, alongside a Q&A with an actor who has performed on the Globe stage.
Movement for Classical Performance, a practical one-day course running 9 to 21 November, turns from analysis to action. Working with the Globe’s Movement Faculty, professional actors will explore how Shakespeare’s language triggers movement and how character and intention land through the body. From 14 November to 7 December, monthly Introduction to Globe Performance Practice workshops offer professional actors a practical introduction to performing in Shakespeare’s wooden ‘O’, exploring the distinctive actor-audience relationship of the outdoor playhouse. three-day course led by theatre director Professor Rob Swain, Directing for the Globe Theatre, runs from 20 to 22 November. Alongside sessions on voice, movement and text, and a Q&A with a Globe director, the course culminates with each director staging two professional actors in a short scene on the Globe stage.
Lucy Cuthbertson, Director of Education, said, “I am so pleased to welcome back Telling Tales this October Half Term. Here at the Globe, we support the aims of the National Year of Reading and want to actively encourage more children and young people to read for pleasure. We have an outstanding line-up of celebrated authors and illustrators who will bring their stories, creativity and passion for reading directly to our young audiences. This year’s spooky Halloween edition with Terry Deary in the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is something genuinely special. Alongside Telling Tales, we offer a rich and varied programme of family workshops, study sessions and young actors’ courses throughout the school holidays, all designed to make Shakespeare’s world vivid and accessible, whether you are five years old or preparing for your A Levels.”
The Globe’s family event series, Telling Tales returns across October Half Term. Celebrated authors and illustrators will host interactive readings, Q&A sessions, and creative writing workshops, with speakers including Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Joseph Coelho, Sita Brahmachari and Jane Ray, Rob Biddulph, and Mariajo Ilustrajo. This year, there will be a spooky edition of Telling Tales with the bestselling creator of Horrible Histories and author of over 150 fiction books, Terry Deary, in the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse on Halloween.
Shakespeare’s Globe offers a full programme of school holiday events and workshops for young people in October and during this festive season. Family Workshops for children aged 5-8 and 9-11 and their grown-ups include As You Like It, Twelfth Night and Pinocchio, with additional workshops on Pinocchio designed for the Deaf and British Sign Language users. Workshops use storytelling, interactive games and practical drama activities to explore the language, characters and themes of each play, and are led by the Globe’s highly experienced educational practitioners, who include actors, teachers and directors. Many workshops also include a peek behind the scenes on a Globe Theatre Guided Tour, giving participants a unique insight into the theatre’s history.
Providing the perfect accompaniment to GCSE and A Level English Literature studies, On Stage Workshops and Young People’s Workshops will take place either in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse or Globe Theatre, covering Macbeth (12-16), The Tempest (12-14), Romeo and Juliet (14-16), Hamlet (14-16), and Othello (17-19). These sessions combine discussion, practical drama activities and performance exercises to develop a deeper understanding of the plays. For students revising for exams, GCSE and A Level Revision Boosts offer intensive, interactive workshops on Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and Othello, offering practical tools for studying Shakespeare as a performed text.
Young people can also take part in the Young Actors Short Courses for ages 8-10 and 11-13, running from 15 to 19 February 2027. Participants will spend the week working with Globe practitioners in an immersive, interactive experience designed especially for aspiring actors. These courses include practical exploration of Shakespeare’s texts, creative exercises and performance opportunities, culminating in a small sharing of work on stage.
Shakespeare’s Globe Guided Tour runs throughout the year, transporting visitors 400 years into the past. Expert guides lead guests into the iconic Globe Theatre and bring to life the thrilling story of the wooden ‘O’. The Premium Globe Tour allows visitors to follow the actor’s journey, bringing them from backstage and onto the wooden boards of the Globe Theatre. These tours will also run alongside the Pride Guided Tour, Ghosts and Ghouls Family Tour, Shakespeare’s True Crimes Walking Tour, 16th and 17th Century Women Tour, and Twilight Walking Tour. Families can also experience the Globe and its history through a Sword Fighting Demonstration with the Globe Fight Team.
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