In a dramatic retelling of this great Romantic novel, young and unsuspecting governess Jane Eyre must fight to secure her freedom and identity in a world that condemns her for it.

Jane Eyre arrives in 1846 to take up the post of governess to Rochester's ward, Adele, at Thornfield Hall. Jane and Rochester fall in love but their happiness is jeopardized by the discovery of the terrible secret from Rochester's past. The action, contained in a single setting with one small inset scene, captures all the tension and drama that fans and newcomers alike could want from this great love story.

£10 Standard

£9 Concession

£7 Performing Arts Members

Feather Theatre Company are proud to partner with Framwellgate School's book drive. £1 from every ticket sold will be directly used to restock their library with stories and facts from all over the world.

This production will take place in the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 North Bailey, Durham, DH1 3ET.

The performance will begin at 7.30pm and run for approximately two and a half hours with a short interval.

Doors will open 30 minutes before the performance is due to begin.

Aidans College Theatre will be taking you on a journey through six of your favourite musicals in our show 'An Act of Musicals'. This vibrant production is not one you'll want to miss.

Aidans College Theatre is proud to present 'An Act of Musicals'. Imagine six musicals colliding into one incredible performance of musical theatre. This production takes the biggest songs and moments from your favourite shows, and brings them together into a single, fast-paced performance. With seamless transitions, bold choreography, and iconic characters, it's like watching six different musicals all in one sitting. This is a full theatrical experience. You'll be taken from glittering stardom, to fairy-tale forests, to high-school chaos, to roaring parties, to magical lands and revolutionary barricades.

£7 Standard

£6 Concession

£5 Performing Arts Members

This event is taking place at the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 N Bailey, Durham, DH1 3ET.

This performance begins at 7.30pm and lasts approximately 80 minutes. Doors will open 30 minutes before the show begins.

Chekov's gripping tragicomedy presents the human struggle between ambition and human connection; the desire for innovative creative success versus the comfort of tradition and family ties.

Set in a luxurious, but restrictive country manor, The Seagull follows a family of creatives and the tensions that build over each character's desire to be the best. At the centre of the play, Konstantin faces the ultimate struggle as he conflicts his overwhelming passion for writing with his obsessions with Nina, his love for his mother, and his jealousy of Trigorin.

£10 Standard

£9 Concession

£7 Performing Arts Members

This event takes place at the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 N Bailey, Durham, DH1 3ET.

The performance will begin at 7.30pm and last for approximately 150 minutes.

Doors will open 30 minutes before the start of the performance.

During the Republic of China, three Peking University professors discuss the existence and meaning of the university after receiving three unexpected examination papers and a letter.

Universitas unfolds in Republican-era Peking University, where three professors embodied distinct intellectual ideals separately, convene to evaluate four unconventional entrance exam papers. As they debate the merits of eccentric, rebellious, or unorthodox candidates, the meeting transforms into a clash over education, freedom, and the role of scholars in a turbulent nation.

The professors’ arguments reveal personal convictions, generational tensions, and differing visions for China’s future. Through sharp dialogue and subtle humor, the play examines who deserves opportunity and what it means to “cultivate talent” during crisis. Ultimately, Universitas portrays education as both moral responsibility and fragile hope.

NB. The show will be performed in Chinese with live English subtitles.

Ticket revenue will be used solely to cover essential production costs.

£8 Standard

£7.50 Concession

£7 Performing Arts Members

This event is taking place at the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 N Bailey, Durham, DH1 3ET.

The performances start at 7.30pm and last approximately 145 minutes with a short interval. Doors will open 30 minutes before the show begins.

Travelling salesman, Willy Loman, has spent his life in pursuit of the American Dream. Dissatisfied and disillusioned by life, Willy loses his grip on reality – haunted by memories and failed aspirations.

'Death of a Salesman' follows Willy Loman, an aging traveling salesman whose lifelong pursuit of the American Dream collapses under the weight of reality. Haunted by memories past, and failed aspirations, Willy clings to illusions of grandeur - at the expense of his declining career and family, particularly sons Biff and Happy, who struggle with their father's expectations. Biff’s failure to meet Willy’s dreams triggers Willy’s deeper retreat into memories and fantasies. Arthur Miller’s 20th century masterpiece exposes the tragic cost of delusion in a society which advertises false hope in exchange for compliance.

£10 Standard

£9 Concession

£7 Performing Arts Members

This event is taking place at the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 North Bailey, Durham, DH1 3ET.

The performance will begin at 7.30pm and last for approximately 3 hours with interval. Doors will open 30 minutes before the performance begins.

Inspired by the iconic Stephen King novel and its 1976 film adaptation, CARRIE: THE MUSICAL tells the tale of awkward teenager Carrie White navigating the difficulties of high school and her relationship with her religiously fanatic mother. When Carrie is humiliated at prom, she unleashes her telekinetic powers in vengeance that will throw her life into chaos.

£10 Standard

£9 Concession

£8 Performing Arts Members

This event is taking place at the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 North Bailey, Durham, DH1 3ET.

The performances begin at 7.30pm and last for 2 hours with an interval. Doors open 30 minutes before the performance begins.

Durham Drama Festival is back for 2026 with a week-long celebration of the best new plays and musicals from across the University scene.

In the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, we are welcoming three new productions:

19 Hour Dog Fight

'19 Hour Dog Fight' covers one day: open to close at an all day, all night pool and snooker bar, bartended by Felicity, and containing four regulars; Jerome, Silas, Harry, and Liam. The story revolves around Harry and Liam's psycho-sexual relationship, and works into themes of masculinity, mortality, purpose, and ego as they explore themselves and each other, leading to confrontations with Jerome and Silas (the older regulars), manic-depressive breakdowns, love, frenzy and tragedy as the sun rises.

The Dangers of Being Earnest

The Ainsely Theatre company is an amateur university theatre company, whose two directors - Frankie and Karly, have elected to put on the importance of being Earnest. Unfortunately, with miscommunications, feuds and a general lack of organization, their production goes from amateur to awful.

To Capture the Wildlife  - MUSICAL  

A boy grieving the loss of his mother meets an unusual girl each week in a graveyard. Navigating the pains of life and death, they find comfort in one another, but can their strange, transient friendship survive this tumultuous time?

£10 Standard

£9 Concession

£8 Performing Arts Members

This show is taking place at the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 N Bailey, Durham, DH1 3ET.

The performances will last approximately 3 hours total (approx 50 minutes per play, with an interval after each performance).

'I am fine, thank you.' - Documentary Screening and Post-Screening Q&A (moderated by Professor Geetanjali Gangoli)

This documentary originated from the ‘We Are Hongkongers’ research project, funded by the British Academy/Wolfson Fellowship. Eleven Hongkongers, having moved to the UK since December 2019, participated in sharing their experiences and feelings in multiple filmed visits. The documentary features selected stories from these participants.

This documentary presents stories of Hongkonger migrants in the UK, each navigating their own path and defining what it means to live ‘right’ in a new land.

After parting from Hong Kong for some years and settling in a country where the language, culture and climate are vastly different from home, how would Hongkongers remember their home islands? What are the fragments of memory that they still carry?

This documentary originated from the ‘We Are Hongkongers’ research project, funded by the British Academy/Wolfson Fellowship. Eleven Hongkongers, having moved to the UK since December 2019, participated in sharing their experiences and feelings in multiple filmed visits. The documentary features selected stories from these participants.

Content warnings:  Police brutality. Strong language.

This screening is free to enter. Please book your free ticket to ensure your seat.

The screening will last 85 minutes. The doors will open 30 minutes before the show begins.

DOE is proud to present Will Todd's musical reimagining of the classic story 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland', an opera for new and old fans alike.

11-year-old Alice is jolted out of her mundane daydreams during the school holidays when she encounters a talking rabbit who insists that she follow him to the mysterious Wonderland. In this fantastical place, Alice meets a host of peculiar characters who foster a sense of wonder and curiosity. However, she soon learns that all is not well in Wonderland; a mysterious and very cross Queen of Hearts seems distressingly eager to chop off everyone’s heads.  

£12.50 Standard

£9 Concession

£7 Performing Arts Members

This event is taking place at the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 North Bailey, Durham, DH1 3ET.

The performances begin at 7pm or 2pm and run for approximately 90 minutes with interval. Doors open 30 minutes before the performance begins.

Julius Caesar, one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies, navigates conspiracy, tyranny and morality - and the death and violence that follows it.

DUCT presents Shakespeare's infamous tragedy, 'Julius Caesar.' After Caesar's victorious return from war, his growing ambition begins to invoke fear and suspicion from those around him. Conspiracy grows, and as the shadows grow longer, alliances, betrayals and death flicker in the moonlight.

Presented against the backdrop of 1970's outlaw culture, 'Julius Caesar' questions morality, honour and the cost of violence - raising an important question: Who can you really trust?

£10 Standard

£9 Concession

£8 Performing Arts Members

This performance is taking place at the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theate, 40 N Bailey, DH1 3ET.

This performance will begin at 7.30pm (2.30pm also on Saturday), and last for approximately 135 mins with interval. Doors open 30 minutes before the show begins.

On the streets of Paris, a tale of love, conflict, and acceptance. With a soaring score, choir and band, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is brought to life in concert.

Follow Quasimodo the hopeful bellringer of Notre Dame as he ventures from his tower and falls for the beautiful Romani Dancer Esmerelda. Unbeknown to Quasimodo his guardian Frollo is also taken by Esmerelda leading to a tragic conflict. A tale of love, goodness, prejudice, and power, we watch Quasimodo and the Romani dream of finding a home within a society who shuns them. A story made even more beautiful and heartbreaking through its enchanting score and brought to life with an ethereal band and choir.

£10 Standard

£9 Concession

£8 Performing Arts Members

This event takes place at the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 N Bailey, DUrham, DH1 3ET.

The performances begin at 7.30pm and last for approximately 3 hours with interval. Doors will open 30 minutes before the showw is due to begin.