A round of applause, please: the Great British Theatres Awards finalists are here

By Grace Hatchell

There’s a particular pleasure in walking into a theatre before a show. The chatter in the foyer, somebody studying the programme, somebody else negotiating custody of the interval ice creams. Behind all that are people keeping the building open, welcoming their neighbours and making sure the place will still be there for the next generation.

Well, put the kettle on, because those people—and those buildings—are getting their moment.

The finalists have been announced for the inaugural Great British Theatres Awards, which will celebrate the theatres and their champions making an outstanding contribution to the UK’s cultural life.

Nearly 200 nominations came in from theatres, cultural organisations and communities across the country. That’s a substantial postbag. I’d have needed a second satchel and a biscuit stop.

The winners will be revealed at Central Hall Westminster on Monday 2 November 2026, with the ceremony beginning at 7.30pm. The awards form part of Theatres Trust’s 50th anniversary celebrations, marking five decades of supporting the UK’s theatres and the communities that depend on them.

And there’s plenty to celebrate. New buildings, restored favourites, volunteer determination, community gardens and places where you can come in for a warm without needing a ticket: this shortlist gives a proper sense of everything a theatre can be.

Here’s the full line-up.

Great New Build

The finalists are:

• @sohoplace, London
• BEAM, Hertford
• Brixton House, London
• The Nest, Chichester Festival Theatre
• Shakespeare North, Prescot

These buildings show how ambitious architecture can belong to its surroundings, welcome people through its doors and take environmental responsibility seriously.

The shortlist ranges from flexible new auditoria to spaces inspired by historic playhouses. Each demonstrates how a new theatre can nurture artists, help regenerate its surroundings and become somewhere people recognise as part of their town’s life.

I do like a new theatre. All that possibility waiting for the first audience, the first big laugh and the first person who confidently walks towards the wrong door. Usually me.

Great Renovation

The finalists are:

• The Arts Theatre, Cambridge
• Bradford Live, Bradford
• Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
• The Granville Theatre, Ramsgate

Renovating a theatre takes care. You want to preserve what people love about it while improving the things that make a visit—and a working day—more comfortable and accessible.

These finalists have tackled accessibility, technical capability, comfort and sustainability. Their projects range from bringing long-empty buildings back into use to carefully reinvigorating much-loved venues.

There’s something moving about a theatre getting another chapter. Think of all the audiences it has held, then imagine all the people still to discover it.

Mind, I’m under no illusion about the work involved. I’ve watched a simple decorating job turn into a family summit. Restoring an entire theatre deserves considerably more than a “looks nice, that”.

Great Amateur Theatre

The finalists are:

• The Questors Theatre, London
• Seaford Little Theatre, East Sussex
• Sherborne Studio Theatre, Dorset
• The Swan, Yeovil

Volunteer-led theatres feature here for the extraordinary ambition they bring to their communities.

Their work includes replacing leaking roofs, insulating draughty buildings and installing hearing loops, flexible wheelchair seating and captioning facilities. These are practical improvements that help more people take part and make the buildings better places to spend time.

I’ve a great deal of time for folk who look at a leaking roof and decide they’re going to do something about it. Particularly when they’ve also got a production to rehearse, a fundraising event to organise and somebody asking where the extension lead has gone.

These finalists show just how much a determined group of volunteers can achieve.

Great Found Space

The finalists are:

• The Dipping House, Stoke-on-Trent
• Front Room Theatre, Weston-super-Mare
• The Horton, Epsom
• Lower Marsh Arts Club, formerly The Glitch, London
• Nyth, Bangor

Among the buildings given a new purpose by these projects are a former restaurant, a pottery shed, a redundant church, a historic chapel and an old greengrocer.

They now provide theatre spaces where artists and communities can come together, bringing activity back into buildings that might otherwise have been left unused or derelict.

An old greengrocer becoming a theatre particularly appeals to me. One generation goes in for a pound of carrots; another comes out discussing a devastating second act.

These projects take imagination, followed by a good deal of work. Somebody has to see the possibility in an overlooked building—and then help make it happen.

Great Community Connection

The finalists are:

• Cast, Doncaster
• Citizens Theatre, Glasgow
• Derby Theatre, Derby
• Eden Court, Inverness
• Hoxton Hall, London
• Polka Children’s Theatre, London
• The Theatre Chipping Norton
• Wolverhampton Grand, Wolverhampton

This category recognises theatres building meaningful relationships with people who might otherwise feel excluded from cultural life.

The work represented includes school meals, free tickets, British Sign Language cafés and dementia programmes. Together, these projects show the different ways theatres can become places of connection and belonging.

I’m pleased to see that work getting attention. Feeling welcome makes a difference. So does having someone think about what might stop you coming through the door in the first place.

A theatre can become somewhere you know people, somewhere you bring your children, somewhere you feel comfortable returning to. That kind of connection takes care and consistency.

And yes, I’ve clocked Doncaster on the list. I’m entitled to a small Yorkshire nod. I’ll keep it dignified.

Great Use of Space

The finalists are:

• Alexandra Palace, London — for its innovative use of its auditorium
• Battersea Arts Centre, London — for its building takeovers
• National Theatre, London — for the Natural Dye and Wellbeing Garden
• Theatre Royal Plymouth, Plymouth — for Summer in the Scene Dock

These projects explore what can happen when a theatre takes a fresh look at the space it already has.

The shortlist includes a terrace growing plants for natural costume dyes, dance and beatboxing reaching staircases, a scene dock becoming festival stages, and an auditorium adapted for television studios and a sporting arena.

I admire that sort of resourcefulness. Though I shall now have to resist describing the landing at home as “an underused performance opportunity”.

There’s serious imagination behind these projects, finding fresh uses for parts of a building and opening up possibilities for artists and visitors alike.

Great Placemaking Partner

The finalists are:

• Glasgow City Council
• Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council
• Lambeth Council
• London Borough of Harrow

This category recognises the part local authorities can play in helping theatres thrive.

Through capital investment, policy, partnerships and creative use of vacant spaces, these councils have supported local theatres while helping regenerate town centres, strengthen local economies and build civic pride.

There’s a lot of work behind a flourishing theatre district that an audience may never see. Investment decisions, partnerships and finding a useful future for an empty building can all help create the conditions for theatre to happen.

I’ll happily applaud a well-delivered plan. Especially if it gets as far as people actually sitting down to watch a show.

Great Green Theatre

The finalists are:

• Chichester Festival Theatre, Chichester
• Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre, Dundee
• New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme
• Nottingham Playhouse

These finalists have combined sustainable and energy-saving changes to their buildings with carbon literacy training, sustainable production practices and environmental initiatives involving artists, audiences and communities.

That means looking at the building itself and how people work within it, with environmental thinking reaching into the making of theatre as well as its day-to-day operation.

I’m interested in the training side of that, too. Giving people the knowledge to make useful changes matters. It helps turn good intentions into something you can actually do when you arrive at work on a Monday morning.

Great Public Space

The finalists are:

• Gosforth Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne — for its café
• Live Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne — for its community garden
• Polka Children’s Theatre, London — for the Y C Chan Playden
• Storyhouse, Chester — for its social spaces

Two Newcastle finalists here. I’ll leave a little room beside that Yorkshire nod for a North East cheer.

This category celebrates cafés, gardens, play areas, libraries and other welcoming spaces where people can work, play, meet others or simply keep warm. Often, they can do so without buying a ticket.

That makes a theatre part of everyday life. Somewhere to meet a friend, take a break or spend a little time, as well as somewhere to enjoy a performance.

And a welcoming café is no small thing. Give me a comfortable seat and a decent cup of tea and I’ll settle in remarkably quickly. Getting me to leave may require a closing announcement.

Great British Theatres Shining Star

The finalists are:

• The Amulet Centre Limited
• Leith Theatre Trust
• Daniel Shrimpton, Joseph Rowntree Theatre
• Graham Whitlock, Manor Pavilion Theatre

This category recognises people and organisations who have worked tirelessly to secure the future of their local theatres.

Through campaigning or leadership, these finalists have shown their understanding of what a thriving theatre can mean for a community’s vitality and wellbeing.

Keeping a theatre going can involve years of persistence. The meetings, the campaigning, the fundraising, the decisions and the willingness to keep turning up all matter.

I’m glad there’s a place in these awards for that determination. Some of the people most responsible for a theatre’s future are usually busy making sure somebody else gets their moment in the spotlight.

A difficult task for the judges

Joshua McTaggart, CEO of Theatres Trust, said:

“The Great British Theatres Awards finalists represent the greatest cultural spaces and inspiring people this country has to offer. Theatres Trust knew there was a need to celebrate these theatres and the people who keep them buzzing, but the number of nominations was truly overwhelming. The judges had an incredibly challenging time choosing the finalists, and I want to extend my congratulations to every one of them. I can’t wait to celebrate our Great British Theatres in style this November.”

Looking through the full shortlist, I can understand why the judges had their work cut out.

How do you weigh the value of restoring a beloved building alongside creating a new space for a community? There are different needs, different histories and different achievements represented here.

I’m relieved my job today is to introduce the finalists. Choosing between them would have me pacing the kitchen with a rapidly cooling brew.

Two more honours on the night

Alongside the category awards, the inaugural ceremony will include two additional honours.

The Great British Theatre 2026 award will be chosen by the judging panel from the category winners.

The Great British Theatres Lifetime Achievement Award will be selected by Theatres Trust.

Those awards will join the celebrations as the organisation marks its 50th anniversary.

About Theatres Trust

Theatres Trust is the national advice and advocacy body for the UK’s theatres. Its work supports venues of all kinds: old and new, commercial, subsidised and community-run.

It protects theatres and champions the future of live performance, advising and supporting venues to develop best practice in design and management.

Its work follows four principles: resilience, environmental sustainability, inclusivity and placemaking.

You can see those principles running through this shortlist, from energy-saving improvements and accessible seating to community programmes and the revival of vacant buildings.

When and where are the awards?

The inaugural Great British Theatres Awards take place on Monday 2 November 2026 at 7.30pm.

The venue is Central Hall Westminster, Storey’s Gate, London, SW1H 9NH.

Further information is available on the Great British Theatres Awards website.

You can also follow Theatres Trust on:

• X: @TheatresTrust
• Bluesky: @TheatresTrust
• Facebook: Theatres Trust
• Instagram: @theatrestrust

What stays with me after reading this shortlist is how much happens around a performance. Someone fixes the roof. Someone makes a space easier to use. Someone tends a garden, welcomes a family or spends years campaigning to keep a building open.

Those efforts shape who gets to enjoy theatre and what a theatre means to the place around it.

So congratulations to every finalist—and to the people behind each name on this list. There’s a great deal of graft represented here.

I hope you get a proper chance to enjoy your evening in November. And if somebody asks you to fix a door, move a chair or check a light on your way in, tell them Grace says you’re off duty.