The Unicorn Theatre

Today, we're thrilled to announce seven productions to mark our 20 years on Tooley Street, in the first and largest purpose-built venue in the UK solely dedicated to creating and presenting world-leading children’s theatre. This season includes five World Premieres: a landmark partnership with the National Theatre to engage children across the UK; a collaboration between artists and the Unicorn’s Creative Associates aged 7-12 in partnership with UK-leading financial experts to develop children's financial literacy and decision-making skills; the Unicorn’s first ever dance theatre production; new national and international partnerships, as well as reimagined hit productions. Our work transports young audiences from London Bridge to all corners of the globe, asking urgent questions about contemporary society.

As the leader and home of theatre for young people in the UK, we are continuing our mission of connecting children with an understanding of our world through an artist-led and child-centred approach which holds inclusion,accessibility, sustainability and hope at its core. Over the last 20 years in our London Bridge home, we have welcomed more than 115,000 families and schools, presented more than 14,000 performances and sold over a million tickets, committing to our firm belief that every child has the right to access world-class theatre. Every show produced by the Unicorn in our 20th anniversary season is made together with local children, whose perspective of the world informs the creative process.

Through our unique approach, we are continuing to invest in children as audiences and theatre-makers of the future.

FIVE WORLD PREMIERES

• This Global Money Week, the Unicorn announces Pocket Money (26 September – 1 November 2026) by highly acclaimed experimental performance duo Nigel Barrett & Louise Mari (Party Skills for the End of the World), an interactive and anarchic live theatre experience for ages 7+. It’s a timely production in light of the recent National Curriculum Review, which highlighted that only a third of children recall learning about money in school. With big ideas and technology, the show will empower children’s decision-making, enhancing their critical thinking about money, their choices and the future they create for themselves. 40% of tickets will be sold at £3, this major production is funded and supported by the Aberdeen Group Charitable Trust, in the first ever partnership between the Bank of England and a theatre company.

• The 20th anniversary season also marks our first foray into dance theatre working with Olivier Award-winning choreographer and director James Cousins (Guys and Dolls) and composer Harry Blake to present Mac Barnett and Sydney Smith’s enchanting new Christmas tale, Santa's First Christmas(14 November 2026 – 3 January 2027). A festive treat for ages 4+.

• Committed to widening our reach nationwide, the Unicorn has strengthened its landmark partnership with the National Theatre with their first joint production of Piers Torday’s award-winning eco-thriller The Last Wild (30 January – 7 March 2027)directed by Unicorn Artistic Director Rachel Bagshaw, which endeavours to engage children across the UK in urgent questions about the climate crisis. Adapted by Jude Christian, the production is creatively captioned and will go on a national tour, with further details to be announced. For ages 7+.

• Alongside The LastWild, Jo Tyabji’s brand-new devised piece Creatures (5 February – 14 March 2027) empowers children aged 3-6-years-old to become champions for our planet, through an adventure across the globe with puppetry and music.

• Our Associate Director Robin Belfield directs Trish Cooke’s stage adaptation of her best-selling book The Magic Callaloo (19 March – 18 April 2027), a powerful reimagining of Rapunzel for ages 4-8, full of fairytale magic and inspired by stories of enslaved Africans who wove secret escape routes into their hair.

TWO RETURNING PRODUCTIONS

• Cassiopeia Berkeley-Agyepong takes children from 6 to 18 months on a musical adventure from Kamasi, Ghana to London with Home Song (2 October – 8 November 2026), a celebration of story-telling, returning to the Unicorn following an acclaimed run last year as part of the Unicorn and Talawa’s Early Years programme.

• In a brand-new imagining of a much-loved show, Huddle (27 November 2026 – 3 January 2027) by Filskit Theatre, directed by Sarah Shephard, tells the heart-warming tale of a penguin family learning to survive, reimagined this season for 1–4-year-olds.

ALSO ANNOUNCED TODAY

• The Unicorn launches Critical Conversations, a series of interactive events and creative talks designed to spark conversation and inspire change for and with children and their grown-ups. The first events will take place in spring 2027 alongside The Last Wild and Creatures and will explore environmental themes and the climate crisis.

• The Unicorn today announces a new partnership with Imaginate, the acclaimed annual festival celebrating exceptional Scottish and international theatre and dance for young audiences, with performances that are deeply engaging, innovative and inspiring.

Rachel Bagshaw, Artistic Director of the Unicorn Theatre, said, "I’m delighted to announce the Unicorn’s 20thanniversary season, bringing together brand-new partnerships and incredible artists and collaborators from across theatre, dance, literature and the finance world. This season will inspire, educate and entertain young audiences, with some of our most anarchic and expansive work to date.

We’re proud to put representation, access and sustainability at the forefront of our vital work and engagement with young people. While this building has an immense past, we also believe that art must engage urgently with the present, to pave the way for the future. At the Unicorn, we make work in a completely unique way, directly with children, who know better than anyone about the realities for young people of the world we live in today. By engaging with our young audiences right now, we simultaneously invest in our audiences and thinkers of the future. I can’t wait to see what the next 20 years will bring."

Rebekah Jones, Executive Director of the Unicorn Theatre said, “As we celebrate 20 years of our extraordinary purpose-built theatre in London Bridge, the Unicorn remains rooted in our core belief that every child deserves access to outstanding artistic experiences. Each year we provide over 20% of our tickets fully or partially subsidised for schools and families, ensuring that high-quality theatre is within reach for as many young people as possible.

To mark our 20th anniversary, we’re making this inspiring season even more accessible, with 40% of tickets for Pocket Money available at the ‘pocket money’ price of £3. As the UK’s largest theatre dedicated to creating work for young audiences, it is both our privilege and responsibility to connect children with world-class theatre – work that not only reaches young people here in the UK but travels internationally, carrying with it our commitment to making and sharing stories that bring joy, imagination and possibility into young lives everywhere.”

This season, the Unicorn continues its commitment to making theatre accessible to all, with 40% of all tickets for Pocket Money sold at £3, more than 4,000 tickets across the run. The Unicorn continues its Local Tickets scheme, distributing over 1,000 tickets to local families every year.

Each year, the Unicorn enables over 15,000 school pupils to access exciting theatre through its subsidised ticket scheme, with more than 30% of school tickets sold offered at a reduced rate. At a time of growing financial pressure on families and schools, and amid the ongoing devaluation of creative learning in education, our mission to offer accessible, meaningfulcultural experiences remains more vital than ever.

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