This Week in Theatre Across the UK, 27 July to 2 August 2026

The last week of July is an odd moment in the UK theatre calendar. The producing houses are mid-summer season, the number-one touring circuit is between the two biggest musicals of its year, and Edinburgh is holding its breath: the Fringe does not begin until 7 August 2026, so this week the city's largest theatre is running workshops rather than shows. Here is what is genuinely on around the country from 27 July to 2 August, checked against each venue's own listings.

The National Theatre says goodbye to War Horse

The week's biggest event outside the commercial West End is an ending. War Horse plays its final performances in the Olivier at the National Theatre until Thursday 30 July, closing a run that brought the Handspring Puppet Company's production home to the auditorium where it started nearly two decades ago. The National has been explicit that this is the last chance to see it there, and after a sell-out national tour the London farewell has been the hot ticket of the summer on the South Bank.

Stratford, Chichester and the producing houses

At the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Cherry Orchard continues in the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon until 29 August, and it is the strongest piece of casting anywhere in the country this week. Kenneth Branagh and Helen Hunt play Lopakhin and Madame Ranyevskaya in Laura Wade's new version of Chekhov's last play, directed by RSC Co-Artistic Director Tamara Harvey. Two hours and thirty five minutes of Chekhov in the Swan, with that pairing at the centre of it, is the kind of thing Stratford exists to do.

Chichester Festival Theatre is running two productions in parallel. My Fair Lady occupies the Festival Theatre from 6 July to 5 September, the kind of large-scale summer revival Chichester built its reputation on, and Atlantis runs in the Minerva from 18 July to 15 August. Bristol Old Vic opens Badgers on 30 July, running through to 12 September, so this week catches its first performances.

Sheffield Theatres is in the quiet part of its year, with The Trip arriving in the Playhouse on 6 August and King Lear not opening in the Crucible until 29 August. Worth flagging for planning purposes: Six plays the Sheffield Lyceum from 1 to 12 September, which is the Tudor queens' northern date this autumn while the West End sitting continues at the Vaudeville.

The touring circuit: Miss Saigon and Rocky Horror

Two large-scale tours define the week on the number-one circuit. Miss Saigon finishes at the Bristol Hippodrome on Saturday 1 August and moves straight to the Palace Theatre Manchester for 4 to 8 August, so this week is the last chance to catch it in the south west before it heads north. The production is also the advance guard for a West End return: Miss Saigon is listed as coming soon by the operator of several West End houses, and we covered the background in our guide to the show and its 2027 London return.

Meanwhile The Rocky Horror Show holds the Palace Theatre Manchester for exactly this week, Monday 27 July to Saturday 1 August, before making way for Miss Saigon. It is a neat illustration of how the touring calendar actually works: two very different audiences, one stage, seven days apart.

Matthew Bourne opens in London, then takes to the road

Matthew Bourne's The Car Man opens at Sadler's Wells on 28 July for a run to 29 August, and it is worth mentioning in a UK-wide round-up rather than a London one because the London dates are the start of a national itinerary that takes it to the Bristol Hippodrome from 1 September and on to Birmingham Hippodrome later in the season. New Adventures has spent two decades making dance that fills number-one houses, and this is the year's clearest example of a London opening functioning as the launch of a countrywide run.

Edinburgh: the week before everything

If you are in Edinburgh this week, the striking thing is how little is on. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 runs from 7 to 31 August, and the Edinburgh Playhouse, the largest all-seated theatre in the UK, is given over to masterclasses and workshops rather than performances until the festival programme starts. It is the annual pre-Fringe lull, and for anyone planning a trip it is a useful reminder that the last week of July and the first week of August are very different propositions in that city.

Touring titles with a West End sitting

Several of the shows moving around the country this year also have a London home you can see any week, which is often the easier booking. Matilda The Musical, the Royal Shakespeare Company's own production, continues at the Cambridge Theatre while its UK and Ireland tour runs into 2027.

The RSC's other commercial success, My Neighbour Totoro, holds the Gillian Lynne Theatre until January 2027 and is the highest-rated production in our entire catalogue this week at 4.9. And The Comedy About Spies, from the Mischief company whose work has toured almost continuously for a decade, opens at the Adelphi Theatre on 1 August.

For the London picture in full, see this week in the West End, the best-reviewed round-up and this week's value guide. Our complete guide to 2026 tours tracks what is still to hit the road, and touring shows lists what is currently bookable.

Frequently asked questions

When does the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 start?

The Fringe runs from 7 to 31 August 2026, so it has not begun during the week of 27 July to 2 August. Edinburgh's larger venues are largely in a pre-festival lull that week.

What is closing at the National Theatre this week?

War Horse gives its final performances in the Olivier Theatre until 30 July 2026, ending its return to the auditorium where the production originated.

Where is Miss Saigon playing this week?

Miss Saigon is at the Bristol Hippodrome until Saturday 1 August 2026, then plays the Palace Theatre Manchester from 4 to 8 August.

What is on at the RSC in Stratford this week?

The Cherry Orchard is playing in the Swan Theatre until 29 August 2026, starring Kenneth Branagh and Helen Hunt in a new version by Laura Wade, directed by Tamara Harvey.

Which touring shows can I also see in London?

Matilda The Musical plays the Cambridge Theatre alongside its UK and Ireland tour, and Six continues at the Vaudeville while touring dates including Sheffield Lyceum follow in September. Both are bookable in London any week of the year.