Matthew Bourne's Play Without Words is coming back for its 25th anniversary, with a four-week London season at Sadler's Wells from 27 July to 21 August 2027 and two performances at Curve, Leicester just before it.
Matthew Bourne's dance-theatre piece Play Without Words returns next summer, 25 years after its premiere. New Adventures, working in association with the National Theatre, will stage a limited season at Sadler's Wells from 27 July to 21 August 2027. London booking opens on 16 November 2026.
Leicester gets the first look. The production plays two exclusive performances at Curve on 23 and 24 July 2027, with tickets on sale from 6 November 2026. Casting has yet to be announced.
The show began life at the National Theatre in 2002, as part of the Transformations season of newly devised work. It went on to collect five Olivier nominations and won two of them, Best Entertainment and Best Theatre Choreographer. The Guardian has since named it among the best dance of the 21st century.
Nobody speaks. The story unfolds entirely in movement, in a smart Chelsea house in 1965, where a well-to-do young man and his fiancée take on a new manservant, Prentice. Behind the polished manners, a battle over power and desire starts to play out. Bourne drew on Joseph Losey's 1963 film The Servant, written by Harold Pinter, and on the British new-wave cinema of the period.
Each character is danced by two or three performers at once, all dressed identically, each offering a different take on what happens. Terry Davies's jazz-flavoured score is played live on stage. Lez Brotherston designs and Paule Constable lights the production, and both were Olivier-nominated for their work on it.
Matthew Bourne said: "When Trevor Nunn asked me if I would like to make a devised piece of theatre for his farewell Transformations season at the NT in 2002, I jumped at the opportunity, telling him that I would like to try and make 'a play without words'. This was more of a description than a title, but the title stuck and became one of the most adventurous and unique pieces I have ever made."
The revival also sits at the heart of the company's 40th birthday year. "I'm delighted that the show, or should I say 'play', is not only returning for its 25th Anniversary but also, rightly, as the centrepiece of my company's 40th Anniversary in 2027," Bourne added.
Kate Varah, Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive of the National Theatre, said: "A deeply original piece of dance theatre, Play Without Words showcases Matthew's extraordinary gift for storytelling through movement."
Before then, New Adventures brings Matthew Bourne's Cinderella to Sadler's Wells this winter. Our guide to that production has the details.
Play Without Words plays Sadler's Wells from 27 July to 21 August 2027, with booking from 16 November 2026.
Tickets for Matthew Bourne's Play Without Words at Sadler's Wells are available from 16 November 2026.
