National Theatre takes Bacchae into schools in eight-week tour
The National Theatre has released production images from its schools tour of Bacchae as the show plays classrooms across the country.
The eight-week tour is visiting secondary schools and colleges across the UK, according to details published on 13 October. It opened in schools in Kent and Norwich. It will visit more than 60 schools and colleges in total and is expected to reach an estimated 7,000 young people. WhatsOnStage
The tour is a new adaptation by Nima Taleghani. It is based on the National Theatre’s 2025 main-stage production of Bacchae. Hannah Hauer-King directs.
That 2025 production was part of Indhu Rubasingham’s inaugural season at the National Theatre. Taleghani’s schools version tells Euripides’ tragedy through rhythm, movement and music.
Classrooms first. Then Salford. The production will also play public performances at the Lowry in Salford on 20 and 21 November. That gives audiences outside schools a chance to see the touring staging in a theatre.
What makes this stand out is the scale of the classroom run. More than 60 stops in eight weeks is a fast move for a touring company. The work is staged under the National Theatre’s Touring for Schools programme, which takes productions directly into schools. National Theatre
The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury is listed as a partner on the tour. Earlier planning for the project discussed schools in Canterbury, Norwich, Birmingham and Wolverhampton among the stops.
