Unity Theatre announce bold, groundbreaking and innovative Autumn/Winter Season

Following the resounding success of their Heritage Lottery Funded project this Summer – marking 100 years of radical theatre in Liverpool – Unity Theatre are proud to present their Autumn/Winter 2026 season, featuring an exciting programme of bold, groundbreaking and innovative shows.

With a continued emphasis on platforming underrepresented voices and stories, the upcoming season offers a diverse selection of theatre, film, dance, comedy and family shows – championing both emerging local theatre companies and nationally-acclaimed touring productions in every stage of their development.

Festival season is far from over at Unity Theatre – with Autumn/Winter 2026 promising a bustling festival programme for everyone to enjoy…

The season starts with the return of Liverpool’s International Festival of Contemporary Physical Theatre. Launching on Monday 7th September and produced by award-winning Liverpool-based theatre company Tmesis Theatre, Physical Fest spotlights some of the world’s most exciting visual and movement-based performance through a vibrant seven-day schedule of shows, workshops and events.

Established in 2005, Physical Fest is one of only two dedicated physical theatre festivals in the UK and attracts participants from all over the world with it’s diverse programme – shining a light on physical theatre in all its forms.

Liverpool Irish Festival then follows in October, platforming artists of Irish heritage and their important stories.

On 30th & 31st October, ‘The Life and Times of Paddy Armstrong’ is a one-man show retelling the great historical injustice of Paddy Armstrong, who in 1975 was falsely convicted of helping to carry out the Guildford and Woolwich bombings.

Starring one of Ireland’s most loved actors, Don Wycherley (as Paddy) brings unflinching honesty, pathos and humour to his portrayal of Paddy, a man failed and scarred by a flawed system yet refusing to be defined by it. Following critical acclaim and outstanding reviews, the play is a heartwarming reminder of resilience and the power of forgiveness.

Liverpool’s home for unapologetically Queer arts, culture and activism returns to Unity Theatre with Homotopia Festival 2026 in November.

‘Natural Behaviour’ on Saturday 7th November blends a distinctive mixture of dance, satire, impersonation and poetry, in a queer look at what it means to be natural or unnatural, highlighting the essential role of diversity in all life.

An anarchic cocktail of comedy and physical theatre arrives on Thursday 19th November in the form of ‘Fag Packet: DYKE Systems Ltd’. Selected as part of The Stage’s Fringe Five, the performance is a hysterical, sharp and subversive takedown of pyramid schemes, ruthless heteronormativity and corporate feminism.

Widely known as Liverpool city-centre’s warm and welcoming theatre space, Unity continue to champion local stories and creatives.

Showing on Wednesday 16th September, ‘The Story of Edith Smith’ is a new heritage theatre production as part of Her Stories of Wirral, a national project uncovering overlooked women’s histories from across the Wirral.

Originally hailing from Oxton, Edith Smith became Britain’s first female Police Constable with full powers of arrest – but behind that historic title is an incredible human story of family responsibility, personal loss and motherhood. The production follows Edith’s inspirational journey from local woman to national figure, exploring the challenges she faced when women’s roles in public life were tightly restricted.

Autumn 2026 also sees Unity continue their partnership with Liverpool Doc Club for a series of cutting-edge, cinematic non-fiction.

Showing on Saturday 26th September, ‘My Stolen Planet’ is a multi-award-winning documentary that tells an alternative history of Iran out of decades of private joy, dancing and quiet defiance, with footage from personal recordings and videos bought and rescued from families in Iran.

Then in October, Unity welcomes award-winning Portuguese cinema from director Ana Reimão on Saturday 10th October – ‘Wolf & Dog’ follows Ana’s story of self-discovery and queerness, growing up on the remote island São Miguel, where she learns that boys and girls are given very different lives while ‘Kora’ documents the lives of refugee women now living in Portugal, gathering their voices, gestures and portraits of those they carry with them.

Silent film also comes to Unity this Autumn, with ‘Koyaanisqatsi’ on Thursday 29th October. Taking its title from the Hopi word for “life out of balance”, this worldless, plotless journey moves from untouched nature into the accelerating churn of cities and machines, revealing just how far humanity has drifted from the world it depends on. Built entirely from time-lapse and slow-motion imagery, with no dialogue and no narration, it lets Philip Glass’ now iconic score carry the argument instead.

A fitting finale to the series, Liverpool Doc Club presents Brazil’s official submission for the 2024 Academy Awards – ‘Pictures of Ghosts’ by Oscar-nominated director Kleber Mendonça Filho comes to the Unity on Thursday 26th November. Told in three chapters, the film is a journey through time, sound, architecture and filmmaking. Set in the streets of Recife and blending archival footage, clips from decades of Brazilian cinema and personal memory, it maps a century of dreams, closures and transformation.

Other season highlights include explosive true story ‘Woodhill’ by multi-award-winning LUNG, shining a light on the hidden story of HMP Woodhill with gut punching choreography and unflinching beats from Wednesday 21st-Thursday 22nd October, as well as quick-witted and deeply heartfelt coming of age story ‘Off Key’, about Black girlhood, ambition and friendship on Tuesday 3rd & Wednesday 4th October.

And although we’re a little way off from Christmastime, the festive season is already shaping up to be a very merry one – with RAWD’s ‘Tinsel on the Tracks’ oozing Christmas spirit from Thursday 3rd-Saturday 5th December, and in typical spooky fashion, Arts Groupie presents ‘Ghost Stories for Christmas’ on Friday 11th & Saturday 12th December.

Unity continue the festivities with their in-house production ‘The Night the Toys Came to Life’, showing from Friday 11th – Wednesday 23rd December. Packed with physicality, puppetry and playful storytelling, the show is a joyful, funny and magical Christmas adventure where the toys have a life of their own!

For a sneak preview of everything that’s coming up, Unity are hosting their Autumn/Winter 2026 Season Launch on Wednesday 2nd September…

UNITY THEATRE

AUTUMN-WINTER 2026 SEASON

Physical Fest 2026

7th-12th September

Unity Theatre & Arts Bar Hope St