The Globe 2026 summer season revealed – and the Shakespearenaissance continues
No Jessie Buckley or Paul Mescal though
Whilst Shakespeare has never really gone out of fashion thanks to modern vernacular and GCSE syllabuses, it’s fair to say he’s having a bit of a renaissance, 410 years on. First, it was Taylor Swift’s The Fate of Ophelia, then it was Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet (book and film), and most recently, Riz Ahmed’s phenomenal Hamlet film. The Globe Theatre is known for a mix of traditional bard-based brilliance as well as modern, original plays. Its 2026 summer slate, however, is leaning firmly into all things Shakespearean, forsooth.
As per tradition, the summer season kicks off on April 23rd – aka Shakespeare’s birthday, aka Shakespeare’s death-day, aka St George’s Day, (and also my birthday in case anyone was wondering). This year’s season is set to have six spectacular shows, with a solid 4:2 ratio of Shakespeare to non-Shakespeare.
First on the docket is a classic – A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be running from April 23rd - August 29th, helmed by Emily Lim, who you might recognise from the National Theatre. If you just can’t wait until 23rd April, there actually is a production running currently in the adjacent Sam Wanamaker theatre, albeit a very different one. Thanks to the building, it’s a smaller, more intimate, candlelit performance than you’ll see on the open-air stage later in summer.
Changing it up from the expected, the next play to take to centre stage is a Globe debut for writer Bertolt Brecht – the famous German theatre practitioner and playwright. One of his most famous works, Mother Courage and Her Children, is being brought to life this summer from 7th May until June 27 under the watchful directorship of Elle While, whilst incumbent Globe Artistic Director Michelle Terry is set to star in the titular role. The play follows the story of the eponymous mother, the survivor of a great war as she navigates her way through a broken world.
It’s double Shakespeare for the next two, with the lesser-known (ish) Love’s Labour’s Lost, and the classic As You Like It. The former is running from July 17th until September 13, following the story of four Spanish nobles who swear vows of celibacy for three years so they can focus more on their studies, which inevitably doesn’t go to plan in the slightest. According to early rumours, it’s going to be a high-kicking shindig, with the whole cast currently learning flamenco dancing – so even though it’s a classic, it’s going to be anything but expected.
As You Like It will be hot on its heels, kicking off on August 14th until October 25, and once again, it’s going to be anything but run of the mill thanks to its co-directors. Globe director Sean Holmes is co-directing with Charlie Josephine, who also stars as Orlando.
Rounding off the season is a new play from Kerry Frampton and Ben Hales titled A World Elsewhere. Coming from the team behind previous summer shows, including Rough Magic and Midsummer Mechanicals, it follows Cass, a boy who has been raised on his grandfather’s love of Shakespeare stories, but whose enthusiasm is now beginning to fade.
Tickets start at £5 as part of The Globe’s beloved £5 rush, where every Friday at 11 am, the £5 rush gives everyone access to the famous Groundling tickets for performances in the following week. And yes, that includes sold-out shows.
The best part of the 2026 season is perhaps the announcement that for several of the shows, the Globe’s famous £5 midnight matinees are back, where across the summer there will be a single midnight performance for each A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, and As You Like It, where you can watch under the stars.
General sale tickets for the summer season will go live from 10th February at 10 am.
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