Lived Experience 2026

Friday 17th May 7pm



Returning to the Salford Arts Theatre this May, Lived Experiences is a new writing event raising awareness for mental health issues. Held in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness week, and partnered with the charity Back On Track, Lived Experiences will showcase 7 fantastic and brand-new short plays. The plays range from comedy to drama, naturalism to absurdism.

Compered by Manchester comedian Will Rice (Frog and Bucket’s Beat the Frog finalist), Lived Experiences 2026 promises to not only be a crucial talking point around mental health, but also an entertaining night of fresh talent and creativity. 

A Taste Of Honey By Shelagh Delaney

Wednesday 27th May - Sunday 31st May

7.30pm performance except Sunday 6pm

A Taste of Honey lays bare the stormy love between mother and daughter. Helen drags her daughter Jo from one Salford flat to the next, chasing fleeting romances and leaving chaos in her wake. Yet Jo clings to the hope of love and escape, swept up in the charm of Jimmie and the promise of a Christmas that might finally be her own.

Shelagh Delaney’s landmark play captures the grit, humor, and heartbreak of working-class life in 1950s Salford—but at its heart, it’s a story of the unbreakable, complicated bond between mother and daughter. Half a century after it first shocked and delighted audiences, this classic returns home to Salford for its 50th anniversary. Witness the drama, the laughter, and the tenderness that made it timeless.

Theatre  - Inhouse professional

1984 By George Orwell adapted by Billie Hindle

Saturday 6th & Sunday 7th June 2026

7.30pm

As the modern world grapples with the timeless struggles of 1984’s society; oppression, surveillance, authoritarianism – the novel is as relevant as ever.

Octavius’ 1984 brings a modern spin to the classic.

“Winston Smith is one of the many citizens of Airstrip One: an oppressive, totalitarian police state formerly known as the United Kingdom.

As the unquestioned ruler “Big Brother” watches over his every move, an unlikely romance forces him to choose between rebellion and subservience in a matter of life or death.”

Theatre  - Visiting Drama

We Are Salford 

Celebrating 100 Years of Women Through Comedy

Friday 12th June Free Event

This June, We are Salford brings together a group of local women who have found the comedy in everyday life and brought it to the stage for an unforgettable one-night performance.

Join us for a centenary celebration of Salfordian women with an evening of laughter, warmth, and stories told with heart.

The Dinosours Are Back with Dommy B

Saturday 20th June

2pm

Watch out!



Dinosaurs about! Dommy B brings a one man adventure with poems, rap and dance!

Meet Proto and his prehistoric pals; Spinosaurus, Argentinosaurus and T-rex. Surely there is no way for these wildly different dinos to be friends?

Award-winning rhythmic rhymer Dommy B (Glastonbury Festival Poet in Residence, BBC ‘Rhyme Rocket’) takes you on a wild ride, telling you about his delightful dino pals.

Children aged 5+ and their grown-ups will adore these roar-some poems, rap and dance.

Supported by Big Imaginations. Developed with schools across the North West.

Baby Brain with Kimberley Nixon

Part of GM Fringe

Monday 6th July  - Thursday 9th July 2026

6.30pm & 8.30pm

A new play about motherhood, postpartum psychosis and stand-up comedy!

A new mother, Cass, tackles her mental health crisis, with dark humour, bright wit, brutal honesty and dreams of becoming a comic.

A "slightly true story", starring BAFTA winner Kimberley Nixon (Channel 4's Fresh Meat, Wild Child, Under Salt Marsh) “Five Stars! A brave, blisteringly honest piece of theatre that leaves you laughing, devastated, and profoundly changed.” (The Edit Wales)

Pub? By Keira Heckman

Part of GM Fringe

Wednesday 22nd July & Thursday 23rd July

7.30pm

Pub? follows the staff at the newly reopened Legless Lamb Inn, as they debrief after the world’s worst shift. 

Together they recount the errors of the night, sorting over-enthusiastic teenage waitresses, sexually charged chefs, and creepy customers, all to get an answer to that all important question: who’s to blame for everything that went wrong?

No Photos  BY RYAN DRE SINCLAIR

Part of GM Fringe

Friday 24th July 2026

7.30pm

No Photos is a spoken word show that explores social anxiety, self-image, and visibility through the lens of a man who never wants to be in the picture. Rooted in humour, rhyme, and storyteling, the show explores the inner life of a young man who avoids the camera at al costs.

What starts as social anxiety slowly opens out into an exploration of memory, identity, masculinity, and what we inherit, emotionaly and digitaly, from the generations before us.

Moving between jokes, silence, and confession, the show uses wit as armour, masking fears shaped by childhood expectations, online visibility, and the pressure to be seen but not known. As the performance deepens, images and media shift from threat to tool, offering unexpected routes toward self-recognition and repair

'Corsets and Kippers' - The Musical Snapshots are based on the diary of Joan Gatley

Sunday 13th September

2pm

''Corsets and Kippers' is a series of musical snapshots and narration based on the diary of Joan Gatley from 1939 to 1945. She lived at 2 Hammond Street off Cheetham Hill Road and was 16 at the beginning of the piece and 22 toward the end of the story. There are additional snapshots of other peoples activities during the war including a song based on the writings of Margaret Burns from Eccles about an Air Raid and another song based on Laura Knight's portrait of Ruby Loftus which became very famous around 1943.

The Songs and Narration feature the musical Talents of David Lockley, Helen Hall, Chris Carson, Lisa Maglinn, Peter Morgan Elizabeth Eden, James Hall, Tony Wilson, Paul Frost and the late Vincent Sheedy.

In the second half of the Performance the Musicians will perform a collection of Songs written about Salford by Paul Frost and Vincent Sheedy to celebrate two anniversaries.....Salford's 100 years and Salford Arts Theatre's 50 years. There will be a CD of 'Corsets and Kippers' and all profits from the CD will go to Salford Loaves and Fishes.

Landscape With Chimneys By Ewan MacColl

Wednesday 23rd September - Sunday 27th September

7.30pm performance except Sunday 6pm

Sleeping Beauty By Harry Luty  - A Taditional Pantomime

Saturday 5th December Until Thursday 31st December

11am | 2pm & 7pm performances

Get ready for a magical adventure full of laughter, music, and sparkling surprises! Join Sleeping Beauty, Prince Charming, and a host of mischievous characters as they battle the evil fairy, outwit silly sidekicks, and celebrate love, friendship, and happily-ever-afters. Don’t miss the festive fun that the whole family will enjoy!

Theatre Pantomime  - Inhouse Professional