Sherman Theatre reveals first season under Francesca Goodridge’s artistic leadership

Nation.Cymru staff

A female-driven reworking of Macbeth, a new play by International Emmy-winning writer Daf James and productions celebrating Cardiff City’s historic FA Cup triumph will feature in the Sherman Theatre’s first season under new artistic leadership.

The Cardiff theatre has unveiled eight new productions for 2027, the first programme put together under artistic director Francesca Goodridge.

The Alive at the Sherman season will also be accompanied by a series of initiatives aimed at developing Welsh and Wales-based artists and future theatre leaders.

The season will begin with Goodridge directing Monument, a new play by Rhys Warrington being staged in partnership with London’s Royal Court Theatre.

It will run at the Sherman from January 29 to February 13 following performances at the Royal Court in December and January.

Goodridge will then direct Macbeth [re]imagined, a female-driven version of Shakespeare’s tragedy set in today’s “manosphere”.

Running from March 12 to 27, the production will feature additional scenes and dialogue by writer and actor Rebecca Jade Hammond and combine digital content, physical theatre, live music and spoken word.

Mared Jarman will play Lady Macbeth, with further casting to be announced.

All performances will have BSL signing, audio description and captioning integrated into the production as part of Craidd, a collaboration aimed at making Welsh theatre more accessible.

Princess of Wales

The Sherman will also join Theatr Clwyd to stage the premiere of Princess of Wales, the first stage play from Daf James since he won an International Emmy for BBC drama Lost Boys and Fairies.

Running from October 8 to 23, the play follows the unravelling of a Grangetown family across two significant days – the 1981 Royal Wedding and the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.

Christmas will see Hannah McPake put a Cardiff spin on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

Treasure Island(ish) will draw on Cardiff’s history as a haven for pirates and smugglers and pay tribute to treasure-hunt films of the 1980s.

Meanwhile, Hanna Jarman’s Billy Goats Gruff/Y Tri Bwch Gafr, aimed at children aged three to six, will be performed separately in Welsh and English.

The theatre will also stage Civilisation, an absurdist comedy by playwright and actor Matthew Bulgo, as part of its 12th collaboration with the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama for its NEW festival.

Football

Two community-led productions will mark the 100th anniversary of Cardiff City’s FA Cup victory in 1927, with the club remaining the only winner of the competition from outside England.

Love, Cardiff: Football Stories, created in partnership with Cardiff City FC Community Foundation, will combine the story of the historic cup victory with contemporary accounts of the impact football has had on people’s lives.

It will be performed by the Sherman Players from July 8 to 10.

Sherman Youth Theatre will also perform a new adaptation of Maurice Maeterlinck’s The Blue Bird.

The play has an unusual connection to Cardiff City’s history. After it was performed at Cardiff’s New Theatre in 1911, its popularity in the city helped give rise to the Bluebirds nickname.

Future leaders scheme

Alongside its productions, the Sherman is launching programmes intended to develop the next generation of theatre-makers in Wales.

The Future Leaders of Wales – Carne Associate Director programme will offer three 18-month, full-time Associate Director roles over five years.

Those selected will gain experience in programming, organisational strategy, fundraising, partnerships, governance and staff management.

A Writers in Residence programme will also launch with Stiwdio Clwyd, while Canon Cymraeg will provide early-career Welsh-language writers with a paid 12-month attachment and support to develop new work.

A separate programme backed by Bad Wolf will offer two seed commissions to artists who have never written for the stage.

‘Thrilled’

Goodridge said: “I am thrilled to share my first season of work at the Sherman, launching programmes that speak directly to what artists need now and a bold slate of productions that connect our extraordinary stories and talent to the world.

“The Future Leaders of Wales – Carne Associate Director programme is especially personal to me; early in my own career, an opportunity like this opened a door, changed my career and gave me the experience and understanding to be able to step into a leadership role and do my dream job. We want to ensure that same opportunity becomes available to others.

“Today’s announcement represents bold plans for artists and profound ambition for audiences and communities across south Wales and beyond.

“Our record for developing artists and the theatrical canon, serving audiences with exceptional theatre and acting as a civic resource with inclusivity at its heart will be built on further. Long-recognised as Wales’s leading new writing theatre, our ambition is to see the Sherman grow to become the nation’s new work engine.”

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