MERCURY THEATRE COLCHESTER ANNOUNCES
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR NATASHA RICKMAN’S FIRST FULL SEASON
THREE WORLD PREMIERE MUSICALS AND TWO WORLD PREMIERE PLAYS
THE MANNINGTREE WITCHES
BY AWARD-WINNING MERCURY PLAYWRIGHT AVA PICKETT
FROM THE AWARD-WINNING NOVEL BY A.K. BLAKEMORE
(28 FEBRUARY – 14 MARCH)
TOTO THE NINJA CAT AND THE GREAT SNAKE ESCAPE
FAMILY MUSICAL ADAPTATION OF DERMOT O’LEARY’S BESTSELLING CHILDREN’S BOOK
(2-18 APRIL)
THESPIANS
GREECE THE MUSICAL (BUT NOT THAT ONE)
THE FIRST MUSICAL FROM COMEDY MASTERMINDS MISCHIEF
(9-23 MAY)
CAROLINE – A NEW MUSICAL
BASED ON THE PIRATE RADIO STATION THAT ROCKED THE AIRWAVES
(3-13 JUNE)
ALSO
THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS
ADAPTED BY ANNE ODEKE
PRESENTED BY MERCURY YOUNG COMPANY
AND MERCURY ADULT COMPANY PRESENT THEIR NEXT PRODUCTION, LOVE AND INFORMATION BY CARYL CHURCHILL.
Mercury Theatre Colchester, the artistic powerhouse in the East, has today announced their 2026 Spring and Summer season. The season will include the world premiere of three new musicals and award-winning Mercury Playwright Ava Pickett’s new play The Manningtree Witches.
Natasha Rickman, Artistic Director of Mercury Theatre, says of the season, “I am so excited to share this season with audiences, especially as it is a season of world premieres, that centres the stories of Essex past and present.
The Manningtree Witches sees the extraordinary Ava Pickett adapting local writer A.K Blakemore’s phenomenal novel, bringing the local history of silenced Essex women to life on our stage – we promise an epic piece of vibrant, urgent storytelling full of joy as well as drama, from our professional cast who are also joined by local community performers. I am thrilled to be presenting this in association with our world class associate company Frantic Assembly, and with support from Eleanor Lloyd Productions and the National Theatre’s Generate Programme.
Thespians sees us welcome back the worldwide sensation that is Mischief for their first ever musical, and we are rehearsing, building and premiering it right here in Colchester. It promises lots of laughter, chaos and toe-tapping tunes, and we can’t wait for you to journey back to Ancient Greece with us for this huge new musical, where we are teaming up with Mischief, Home Manchester and JetPack Turtle Productions.
Toto The Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape sees another world premiere, this time of Colchester-born Dermot O’Leary’s beloved children’s book, brought to life with music, puppetry and magic for all the family, which promises a wonderful Easter treat as we collaborate with the fantastic Little Angel Theatre and Mayflower Southampton.
Then Caroline – A New Musical is a collaboration of the brand new East Anglian Touring Consortium – where theatres and companies across the East are working together to share knowledge and platform big local stories, with the first one being this brand-new musical from Essex writer Vikki Stone. We hope you come along to party to the sounds of the ‘60s as we celebrate the incredible local story of Radio Caroline.
Of course, community sits at the heart of what we do, so I’m thrilled we have also commissioned the award-winning Essex playwright Anne Odeke to reimagine Wind In The Willows for our Mercury Young Companies – performed by a cast of over one hundred this is your chance to spot the stars of tomorrow and enjoy this heartwarming and hilarious tale for all the family, on a truly epic scale. Our community classes continue to cater for adults as well as young people, including our fantastic Mercury Adult Company who will be performing Love and Information by Caryl Churchill.
We are so proud to platform the incredible talent that comes out of Essex, and would like to particularly thank the Arts Council, Essex County Council and Colchester City Council for investing in the world class arts scene that we have here”.
Mercury Theatre produces world-class theatre, reinventing familiar stories and conjuring up bold, new ones.
The Manningtree Witches
Award-winning Mercury Playwright and screenwriter Ava Pickett’s adaptation of The Manningtree Witches will have its world premiere on the Colchester theatre’s stage from 28 February 2026 – 14 March 2026.
Based on the award-winning novel by A. K. Blakemore, the gripping historical drama is a fiercely modern exploration of fear, control, and what happens when women’s voices are silenced. Following 17-year-old Rebecca West in 1643 Essex, The Manningtree Witches tells the true story of England’s first Witchfinder General and wrenches the women he killed out from the shadows of history and into the spotlight.
Adapted by Ava Pickett (1536 – Almeida Theatre, Emma – Rose Theatre, Kingston), The Manningtree Witches will mark the first Mercury Original to have its world premiere on the Colchester theatre’s main stage. The Mercury Original will be in association with Frantic Assembly, and is supported by Eleanor Lloyd Productions.It has also been developed with support from the National Theatre’s Generate programme, through a Jerwood workshop.
Mercury Theatre’s Artistic Director Natasha Rickman will helm the production as Director and will be joined by Frantic Assembly’s Artistic Director Scott Graham as Movement Director. Frantic Assembly, who are an Associate Company of the Mercury Theatre, will be bringing their 30th anniversary production, Lost Atoms, to the theatre from 4-8 November 2025.
Ava Pickett says, “The Manningtree Witches is a blisteringly beautiful gut punch of a novel and it’s my privilege to bring the voices of Rebecca and these women, so vivid in A.K Blakemore’s book and too often pushed in to the shadows of history, on to the Mercury stage; and to do it in Colchester, where these women were held and where I spent a huge portion of my own life growing up is even more meaningful. It’s a local story but it is also a timeless one and I can’t wait for it to be a part of Natasha Rickman’s first season.”
Casting for the production will be announced at a later date. The production will also a feature a community chorus of local performers.
Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Escape
Mercury Theatre Colchester, with co-producers Little Angel Theatre and Mayflower Southampton, will present the world premiere stage adaptation of Dermot O’Leary’s much loved children’s book illustrated by Nick East, Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape, published by Hachette Children’s Group.
The bestselling Toto the Ninja Cat series is based on Dermot’s real-life pet and has sold more than half a million copies globally and has been translated into 17 languages to date.
Author Dermot O’Leary says, “I’m over the moon to see my book brought to life through puppetry. Toto is currently fast asleep, blissfully unaware of all the attention, but speaking on her behalf, she’ll be thrilled to bits that her adventures are about to come to life, in theatres to audiences all around the country.”
The Mercury Original will debut in Colchester, where O’Leary grew up, from 2-18 April, followed by runs at both Little Angel Theatre and Mayflower Southampton ahead of a tour.
The world of Toto and her friends will be lovingly adapted from page to stage by award-winning duo, Little Angel Artistic Director Samantha Lane and acclaimed musician Barb Jungr (Olivier nominated for Best Family Show in 2023 for their previous collaboration on The Smartest Giant in Town). Set, costume and puppets will be created by celebrated puppetry designer and Little Angel Associate Director Oliver Hymans (whose work has also been presented at Tate Modern, Royal Albert Hall and the National Gallery and who recently won a special Fringe Theatre Award for exceptional services to puppetry) and lighting will be by award-winning designer Sherry Coenen (whose credits for Little Angel include The Smartest Giant in Town and The Singing Mermaid).
This purr-fectly thrilling family musical will be filled with original music, laugh-out-loud fun, and extraordinary puppetry, promising fun for the whole family.
Thespians
MISCHIEF, the team behind the multi award-winning The Play That Goes Wrong, with and Mercury Theatre Colchester, HOME Manchester and JPT Productions,will debut their first musical, THESPIANS. Created by ‘the funniest theatre troupe in Britain’ The Telegraph, the brand-new musical comedy which rewrites ancient history will have a limited UK tour, beginning with a world premiere run at Mercury Theatre Colchester from 9-23 May 2026.
534 BC. Greece’s smallest island is battling to avoid defeat in a nationwide prayer competition set up by a thin-skinned tyrant – where the loser is put to death. All is going dreadfully until Thespis accidentally invents acting, leading to the world’s first play and the origins of theatre as we know it!
Step into the amphitheatre, leave your troubles in the foyer, and escape into Ancient Greece as it bursts into song, with a thrilling plot, a love story worthy of Aphrodite, and enough laughter to fill the Acropolis. THESPIANS is an uplifting, hilarious, and timely reminder of the power of empathy and stepping into someone else’s sandals.
Written by Jonathan Sayer (co-writer of The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong and The Comedy About A Bank Robbery) and Ed Zanders (musical director Mischief Movie Night), do not miss this ancient prescription for modern day laughter packed with comedy, chaos and choreography that will have every mortal in your household aching with laughter.
Co-writerJonathan Sayer says “I’m absolutely delighted that Thespians will be touring the UK next year. I’ve always loved musicals and it’s been a total joy to co-write one, especially with such a skilled composer as Ed. I think the show is full of heart, great songs plus the laughter and mayhem that you’d expect in a Mischief show! We can’t wait to share it with audiences next year.”
Caroline – A New Musical
Mercury Theatre Colchester, as a member of the newly-announced East Anglian Touring Consortium, will present the world premiere production of Caroline – A New Musical from 3-13 June 2025.
The musical is inspired by the true story of Radio Caroline, the pirate radio station launched in 1964. Broadcasting pop and rock music from a ship anchored in international waters off the East Anglian coast, Radio Caroline broke the monopoly on radio entertainment, capturing millions of listeners hungry for something new. In 1967, the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act made it illegal to support offshore stations, forcing most to close, but Caroline kept going against the odds. Despite shipwrecks, legal battles, and decades of struggle, it survived and eventually became a licensed station. Today Radio Caroline broadcasts legally in the UK on 648 and DAB, and around the world online.
With a cast of actor-musicians, the musical features iconic hits from the 60’s in a vibrant, heart-warming and rebellious new musical about love, ambition and discovering your own voice.
Caroline – A New Musical is penned by the award-winning writer Vikki Stone and directed by Douglas Rintoul (Chief Executive/Artistic Director at the New Wolsey Theatre) and Alex Thorpe (Co-Creative Director at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch).
Essex local Vikki Stone says,“It has been a delight to develop Caroline, a bold, loud, and joyfully defiant show which celebrates the rich cultural history of East Anglia”.
The Wind in the Willows
Mercury Young Company (MYC), the theatre’s year-round programme for young people to develop performance and creative skills, will stage the world premiere of Essex-based playwright Anne Odeke’s The Wind in the Willowsfrom 20-22 March 2026.
Join Mole, Ratty, Badger, and the irrepressible Mr. Toad in this magical world premiere adaptation of The Wind in the Willows. From award-winning writer Anne Odeke (Black British Theatre award-winning Princess Essex – Shakespeare’s Globe) and director Sian Burford Thomas (Lead Practitioner for MYC), The Wind in the Willows features the extraordinary talent of the Mercury Young Company. This joyful retelling brings fresh energy, Essex charm, and a contemporary twist to Kenneth Grahame’s beloved tale.
The group meets weekly to explore playful new methods of storytelling and create exciting pieces of theatre. The fun, friendly classes focus on nurturing young people to work together as an ensemble with cooperation, collaboration, creativity and communication as their goals. The Wind in the Willows will be the Young Company’s first full production on the main stage.
This production is a celebration of local talent—from page to stage. With a vibrant young cast and an Essex-based creative team, The Wind in the Willows promises to be a feel-good family treat audiences won’t want to miss.
Love and Information
Mercury Adult Company (MAC), a fun and practical weekly drama group for anyone aged 18+, will perform Caryl Churchill’s electrifying exploration of modern life, Love and Information, at the theatre from 20-22 March 2026.
Directed by Forest Morgan, with assistant direction by Chani Merrell, this bold and fast-paced production delves into the ways we connect, communicate, and cope in an age of overwhelming data and fleeting intimacy. Comprising over 50 short scenes, Love and Information weaves together a tapestry of human stories—some funny, some poignant, all deeply resonant. From whispered secrets to digital overload, Churchill’s razor-sharp writing captures the noise and nuance of everyday life with wit, insight, and emotional depth.
Working alongside the Mercury Theatre’s Talent programme and with various performance opportunities throughout the year, MAC provides all of the tools to enable participants to follow in the path of actors who have engaged with the Mercury over the past 50+ years. This new production follows on from MAC’s sold-out Colchester Fringe performances of The Tempest last year.