Twenty years after it opened on Tooley Street, the Unicorn Theatre has set out its spring and summer 2027: three new productions, tiny GIANT, Oi Frog & Friends! and Mog the Forgetful Cat, two national tours, and a capital campaign to secure the building for the decades ahead.
The Unicorn moved into its purpose-built home on Tooley Street in 2006, and the theatre puts the number of young people and families it has welcomed there since at more than a million. Artistic Director Rachel Bagshaw marked the anniversary on 22 October by announcing the new work, two pieces of which will travel well beyond London, alongside the national tour of the Unicorn's first co-production with the National Theatre.
"As we celebrate 20 years in our purpose-built home on Tooley Street, we want the next chapter of the Unicorn to be about reaching further – taking brilliant theatre to more children across the UK and working with our partners to make creativity and storytelling part of every child's life, wherever they are," said Rachel Bagshaw.
The Last Wild
The Last Wild is that National Theatre co-production. Jude Christian has adapted the eco-thriller by Piers Torday, a winner of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, and Rachel Bagshaw directs. In a future with no animals left, twelve-year-old Kester discovers that a flock of pigeons and a cockroach can talk to him, and is carried off to the hidden place where the last creatures have survived. The world premiere plays the Unicorn's Weston theatre from 30 January to 7 March 2027, with a press performance on 10 February, for ages 8 and over, with tickets from £10 to £31.50. A spring tour to seven venues around the UK follows, which the Unicorn expects to reach more than 17,500 people.
tiny GIANT
A world premiere from Cade & MacAskill, tiny GIANT is created by Rosana Cade with co-devisors and performers Jo Hellier and Ivor MacAskill. Built for children aged 6-11, it uses cameras, tubes and optical tricks to play with scale: a ladybird on an arm can make you a mountain, while a night sky can shrink you to a speck. It runs in the Clore studio from 22 April - 9 May 2027, with a press performance on 28 April at 1.30pm, and tickets from £16.50 to £24.50.
The piece is a new commission by Imaginate, Scotland's festival of theatre and dance for young audiences, with Aberdeen Performing Arts and the Unicorn, supported by Platform and funded through the Scottish Government's Expanded Festivals Fund. After London it moves to Scotland in late May and June, with dates including the Edinburgh International Children's Festival and Light the Blue Festival. "I'm excited to be developing this work for young audiences exploring scale and perspective," said Rosana Cade.
Oi Frog & Friends!
The Olivier-nominated stage version of Kes Gray and Jim Field's bestselling picture books comes to the Weston theatre from 13 May - 6 June 2027, with a press performance on 19 May at 1.30pm. Emma Earle directs Oi Frog & Friends! and adapted it with Zoe Squire, Luke Bateman and Richy Hughes. Pins and Needles Productions present it in association with the Unicorn; it was originally commissioned by Kenny Wax Family Entertainment. Set on a new day at Sittingbottom School, where Frog wants a seat, Cat has other plans and Dog does as he is told, it mixes songs, puppets and rhyme for ages 3-7. Tickets cost £10 to £26.50.
Mog the Forgetful Cat
The summer slot goes to Mog the Forgetful Cat, whose national tour was announced earlier this month. Miranda Larson has written the adaptation of Judith Kerr's picture book, with music and lyrics by Eamonn O'Dwyer, and the Rose Theatre's artistic director Christopher Haydon, whose credits include Three Men in a Boat, directs. A co-production between Nicoll Entertainment, the Rose Theatre and the Unicorn, the musical play with puppetry opens at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, on 11 February 2027 and reaches the Unicorn's Weston theatre from 13 July - 8 August 2027, as one stop on a tour that runs until 19 September 2027. It is aimed at ages 3-7, with tickets from £10 to £26.50.
A campaign for the building
The anniversary also opens a capital campaign for the Tooley Street building, intended to keep it the Unicorn's home for another twenty years and more. The planned refurbishment is aimed at accessibility and at reaching net zero by 2030. The theatre has followed the Theatre Green Book since it appeared in 2020, and this year staged its first main-house production to the Book's Intermediate standard, with 65% of its materials drawn from recycled or reused sources.
Before then, the Unicorn's winter programme is already on sale, led by Santa's First Christmas from 14 November 2026.
For more information, visit the official website.
