Jermyn Street Theatre has announced its 2026 Autumn season, featuring the UK premiere of Simon Stephens’ A Slow Fire and a major London revival of Richard Eyre’s adaptation of Ghosts.
The season continues the theatre’s recent run of acclaimed work, following the sell-out success of The Waves and ahead of Wife to James Whelan entering rehearsals.
Artistic Director Stella Powell-Jones and Co-Artistic Director and Executive Producer David Doyle said, “This Autumn, we are presenting the plays of two major writers whose works have helped define modern British theatre: Simon Stephens and Richard Eyre.”
They added, “Following the record-breaking, sold-out success of The Waves adapted by Flora Wilson Brown, beautifully directed by Júlia Levai, we continue to be inspired by the extraordinary possibilities of this theatre. With urgent new writing and exhilarating meetings between generations of artists, these shows capture our ambition to make truly unmissable theatre at studio scale, right here in the heart of town.”
The season opens with A Slow Fire by Simon Stephens, running from 20 August to 26 September, with a press night on 25 August.
Originally staged in Dublin by Glass Mask Theatre, the play follows two men surviving in a bunker after a global catastrophe as they search for meaning and hope.
Stephens said, “At a time when theatres can seem tentative and anxious Jermyn Street Theatre seems to be holding a light to the possibility of work led by an artistic impulse. A Slow Fire is a nightmare vision that came to me in a jet lagged dream. It’s a surreal exploration of the urgency of hope in a time of apocalypse. I always secretly knew it belonged in the West End.”
The production marks the theatre’s first collaboration with Glass Mask Theatre and is directed by Rex Ryan.
The season continues with Richard Eyre’s adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts, directed by Kwame Owusu, running from 8 October to 14 November, with a press night on 14 October.
The drama explores family secrets, morality and social expectation through the story of the Alving family, with Eyre’s adaptation widely regarded as a powerful and contemporary interpretation of the classic text.
Eyre said, “I’m thrilled that my version of Ghosts is going to be performed at Jermyn Street Theatre. It’s the perfect theatre for this intensely wrought play.”
Casting for both productions will be announced at a later date.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.Â
