GSC Co-Founders Sarah Gobran and Matt Pinches
Grace Hatchell’s Satchel Drop: Twenty bold years for Guildford Shakespeare Company (and they’re not slowing down)
Some theatre companies shout about anniversaries with balloons and bunting. Guildford Shakespeare Company? They quietly roll up their sleeves and get on with doing what they’ve always done best — making brilliant theatre in places you don’t expect, and making sure people who are usually locked out of the arts are right at the centre of it.
2026 marks twenty years of Guildford Shakespeare Company, and it’s not just a birthday — it’s a proper landmark. Two decades of bold, ambitious work in Guildford and across the UK, built on access, imagination and a refusal to stick to the obvious.
Founded and led by Sarah Gobran and Matt Pinches, GSC has become known for creating exceptional theatre in extraordinary places — and as they head into their third decade, the programme feels both celebratory and purposeful. Access isn’t an add-on here; it’s the beating heart. Their approach has already been recognised nationally, including receiving the Institute of Directors’ Inclusivity, Diversity and Equality Award in 2023 — and they continue to champion those who face the biggest barriers to the arts.
Alongside the stage work, GSC’s creative learning and social engagement programme remains astonishing in scale. Thousands of free opportunities every year, around 24,000 engagement opportunities annually through outreach and education — all delivered without core funding. That’s not just impressive; it’s quietly radical.
The anniversary programme itself opens with a return to Dickens. David Copperfield arrives in Guildford from 6 to 28 February 2026, fresh from its London premiere, before touring to Ipswich and Windsor. Building on the international success of Pride & Prejudice, this production promises GSC’s trademark warmth and invention — opening up Dickens’ vast world and turning it into something intimate, playful and full of surprise.
In April, the spotlight turns to the next generation. On 10 and 11 April, GSC’s Young Company returns with their annual devised production, inspired by three of the professional company’s shows from 2025. These performances are always a reminder of just how much talent sits right on the doorstep — young people working at a professional level, supported by GSC’s creative learning team, and very much part of the company’s long-term vision.
April also brings back one of GSC’s most loved traditions. On 19 April, the annual Shakespeare Walks return — those magical, gently anarchic events where actors pop up in roof gardens, courtyards and corners you never knew existed. The location for 2026 is still under wraps, but if past years are anything to go by, expect to see familiar places with completely new eyes.
Summer sees GSC return to open-air theatre at its finest. From 1 to 25 July, they head back to Braboeuf Manor with a Shakespearean double bill: Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing. There’s something beautifully circular about this — Much Ado About Nothing was the very first play GSC performed twenty years ago, and bringing it back now feels both nostalgic and confidently forward-looking.
Presented as a love saga set either side of the Second World War, the productions are a co-production with Richmond’s Orange Tree Theatre and directed by Tom Littler. Old favourites, yes — but reimagined through time, memory and change.
The year finishes in classic GSC style: with a brand-new interactive Murder Mystery staged at Hogs Back Brewery from 24 October to 15 November 2026. Another unexpected venue, another richly detailed theatrical world, and another invitation for audiences to lean in, get involved and enjoy the playful intrigue of a good whodunnit.
Looking back on the journey, co-founder Matt Pinches reflects that neither he nor Sarah imagined quite where GSC would go when they started out in 2006. The list of landmark moments, he says, is humbling — and the 2026 programme brings together everything the company stands for: new work, partnerships, returning favourites, and the people who make it all possible.
Grace’s satchel note:
Twenty years on, read about them here Guildford Shakespeare Company still feels brave, generous and slightly mischievous — the best kind of theatre companion. Here’s to the next chapter, wherever they decide to stage it.
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