New Vic Theatre unveils spring 2027 season, opening with The 39 Steps
The New Vic Theatre has announced its spring 2027 season, and it opens with a return visit to a show the theatre first staged eight years ago. WhatsOnStage reports that Patrick Barlow's adaptation of The 39 Steps runs from 20 March to 17 April 2027.
The play is based on John Buchan's 1915 novel and the Alfred Hitchcock film of the same story. It is a comedy in which four actors play more than 100 characters between them, and the set-up is a chase across Scotland. Barlow's version was first staged at the New Vic in 2019. This 2027 revival is directed by the theatre's artistic director, Theresa Heskins, who runs the venue's programme of productions. Two of the original cast, Michael Hugo and Gareth Cassidy, are coming back for the new run.
The production also marks the end of the theatre's 40th-anniversary celebrations. A revival is a fresh staging of a show that has already been performed, often with some or all of the original team.
The season continues with Folk, a new play by Nell Leyshon, running from 7 to 29 May 2027. It is directed by Polly Wain. The story is inspired by Cecil Sharp, the collector who travelled the country writing down folk songs in the early 1900s. Some of those songs have since become part of everyday singing traditions.
The season closes with Steven Moffat's The Unfriend, from 19 June to 10 July. John Young directs. Moffat, best known as a television writer, wrote the play, which was first seen at the Chichester Festival Theatre before moving into the West End, London's main commercial theatre district. The New Vic staging is the first revival of the play since then.
Full ticket prices and booking details have not been included in the announcement. The New Vic's website carries the season listings, and the box office will handle bookings for each run.
For anyone planning a spring trip, the dates are the key detail. The Barlow play has the longest run of the three, at just under four weeks, and the other two are shorter stays.
