This Week in Theatre Across the UK, 3 to 9 August 2026

This is the week the centre of gravity moves to Scotland. Both Edinburgh festivals open on Friday 7 August, and for the rest of the month the question of what is worth seeing in Britain becomes largely a question about one city. But the four days before that are their own thing, and the producing houses outside London are having a considerably more interesting week than the commercial West End. Kenneth Branagh is playing Chekhov in Stratford. Chichester has two productions running side by side. Two large-scale tours are in the middle of week-long sittings in Manchester and Bristol. Everything below has been checked against the venue's own listings.

Friday: Edinburgh opens, twice

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs from 7 to 31 August 2026, with more than 4,000 shows announced. The Edinburgh International Festival runs from 7 to 30 August. They open on the same day, they overlap almost entirely, and together they make the second half of this week the busiest four days in the British theatre calendar.

The practical advice for a first Fringe is unchanged and worth repeating: the opening weekend is the one time the whole thing is navigable. Runs are unsold, queues are short, and the word-of-mouth machine that makes the last fortnight so hard to book has not started. If you were going to go on impulse, this is the weekend where impulse still works. At the Edinburgh Playhouse, Forth On The Fringe plays on Friday 7 and Saturday 8 August.

Stratford: Branagh, Chekhov and a Dream for children

The Royal Shakespeare Company is running three productions across its three Stratford houses this week, which is the fullest programme anywhere in the country outside a festival.

In the Swan Theatre, The Cherry Orchard continues to 29 August in a version by Laura Wade directed by Tamara Harvey, with Kenneth Branagh as Lopakhin, Helen Hunt as Madame Ranyevskaya and Bill Pullman as Gaev, alongside Chumisa Dornford-May, Alfred Enoch, Esther Smith and Sophie Stone. That is the most heavily cast production in Britain this week and the Swan holds around 450 people, which explains why it has been difficult to get into since it opened on 10 July.

In the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Game of Thrones: The Mad King runs to 5 September, adapted by Duncan Macmillan from George R. R. Martin. And in The Other Place, A Midsummer Night's Dream continues to 30 August in a co-production with the Unicorn Theatre, edited by Robin Belfield and directed by Rachel Bagshaw for audiences aged seven and over. Note that this is a different Dream from the one opening at Shakespeare's Globe in London on Tuesday, and the two make an unusually neat pairing: the same play, one staged for children in a studio, one for a standing crowd under an open roof.

Chichester: two houses, both busy

Chichester Festival Theatre has My Fair Lady in the main Festival Theatre to 5 September, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh with Hadley Fraser and Keziah Ibe. In the Minerva, Atlantis runs to 15 August, which makes this and next week the last chance to catch it. Chichester in August is the closest thing English theatre has to a festival that is not in Scotland, and running a large-scale musical and a new piece simultaneously is the model most regional houses gave up on decades ago.

On tour: Manchester and Bristol

Two substantial tours are in week-long sittings, both running Tuesday 4 to Saturday 8 August. Miss Saigon is at the Palace Theatre Manchester, and Waitress is at the Bristol Hippodrome, where it is the only production in the building this week. Both move on immediately afterwards, which is the rhythm of the number-one touring circuit: get in on Monday, play eight, get out on Sunday.

Birmingham Hippodrome is the exception that proves the rule. Its Main Stage is dark all week, between Matilda The Musical, which finished on 2 August, and Mrs. Doubtfire, which opens on 13 August. The building is not empty: National Youth Music Theatre plays West Side Story in the Patrick Studio from Thursday 6 to Saturday 8 August, and all five performances have sold out. A ten-day changeover on a main stage is what a large touring set actually costs in time, and it is the sort of thing that never appears in a listings summary.

Matilda's West End sitting continues at the Cambridge Theatre throughout, where Matilda The Musical starts at £25 and holds an audience score of 4.6 across 3,782 ratings in our live data.

London's producing houses

Worth noting alongside the regional picture, because it is the same kind of theatre. The National Theatre is playing only Pride in the Dorfman this week, to 12 September, with the Olivier and Lyttelton both between productions. Regent's Park Open Air Theatre reaches the press night of Cats on Thursday 6 August, with the run continuing to 19 September. And at the Bridge, The Oresteia continues to 19 September with David Morrissey and Mary-Louise Parker.

On Bankside, Shakespeare's Globe adds A Midsummer Night's Dream from Tuesday 4 August to 29 August, alongside Much Ado About Nothing to 24 October and Love's Labour's Lost, dated from Thursday 6 August to 13 September. All three start at £6.25.

Touring titles you can see in London instead

Several of the titles working the regional circuit this year have West End sittings running in parallel, which is often the easier way to see them. Six continues at the Vaudeville at £44 with a 4.7 across 1,698 ratings, The Gruffalo plays the Lyric to 6 September at £13, and The Lion King holds the highest audience score in our entire London catalogue at the Lyceum.

Where to look next

Our touring page tracks shows on the road, and off West End covers London's smaller producing houses. For the capital this week, see this week in the West End, with the best-reviewed round-up and this week's value guide ranking the same catalogue by score and by price. For a wider view of the season, London theatre this summer and things to do in London this summer are the two most useful guides in our archive.

Frequently asked questions

When does the Edinburgh Festival Fringe start in 2026?

Friday 7 August 2026, running to 31 August, with more than 4,000 shows announced. The Edinburgh International Festival opens on the same day and runs to 30 August.

What is Kenneth Branagh performing in this week?

The Cherry Orchard at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, in a version by Laura Wade directed by Tamara Harvey, running to 29 August. He plays Lopakhin alongside Helen Hunt as Madame Ranyevskaya and Bill Pullman as Gaev.

What is on tour in the UK this week?

Miss Saigon plays the Palace Theatre Manchester and Waitress plays the Bristol Hippodrome, both Tuesday 4 to Saturday 8 August 2026. Birmingham Hippodrome's Main Stage is dark until Mrs. Doubtfire opens on 13 August.

What is playing at Chichester Festival Theatre in August 2026?

My Fair Lady runs in the Festival Theatre to 5 September, and Atlantis runs in the Minerva to 15 August. Both play across the week of 3 to 9 August.

Is the National Theatre open this week?

Yes, but only the Dorfman, where Pride runs to 12 September. The Olivier and the Lyttelton are both between productions until The Story on 27 August and Electra / Persona on 19 August respectively.