Headlong has announced a major new production of August Wilson’s Fences, directed by award-winner Daniel Bailey (Red Pitch).
Fences will open at Leeds Playhouse from 11 to 26 September 2026, before touring to Oxford Playhouse (30 September to 3 October), Lyric Hammersmith Theatre in London (6 to 31 October), HOME Manchester (3 to 7 November), and Nottingham Playhouse (10 to 14 November).
Casting for Fences is to be announced.
August Wilson’s landmark play is set in the 1950s. Troy Maxson has cheated death once, but the past keeps closing in. On Pittsburgh’s streets, he cracks jokes and spins stories, yet at home, the pressure is building. His wife, Rose holds the family together. She sees a changing world and hopes their son Cory might step into it with more freedom than Troy ever had. But when dreams collide, and tempers flare, the Maxsons edge towards a reckoning that could reshape everything they know.
The creative team for Fences includes: Casting Director Heather Basten CDG, Set and Costume Designer Lily Arnold, Composer and Sound Designer Khalil Madovi, Lighting Designer Jai Morjaria, Movement Director Shelley Maxwell, Fight Director Kev McCurdy and Design Associate Emily King.
Fences Director Daniel Bailey said: “It’s an enormous privilege to be bringing August Wilson’s Fences to the stage this year, a play that is a barometer for our time. I have such huge admiration for the productions that came before but I hope we’re able to create a new idea of what this play is for a new generation.”
Leeds Playhouse Artistic Director Tom Wright said: “Fences is an exhilarating way to open my first season at Leeds Playhouse and the next chapter of our partnership with Headlong. August Wilson is one of the great modern playwrights, and this landmark play reminds us that every classic was once a brave new work. As we look to champion original voices and new writing, it feels right to start with a play of such power, humanity and enduring relevance.”
More Headlong news
This summer, Headlong and the Schwarzman Centre will present ROBOTA: A Creation Story for the End of Time – the first full-scale theatre production to be staged at Oxford University’s new Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, and plays from 3 to 18 July 2026.
Adapted by Ella Road (The Phlebotomist, Black Mirror) based on Karel Čapek’s original 1920s play, the production will be directed by Roy Alexander Weise (The Hot Wing King, untitled f**k miss saigon play).
ROBOTA promises to be a high-voltage piece of theatre for the age of artificial intelligence.
Also announced today, Naeem Hayat has been named as Associate Artistic Director of Headlong effective from January 2026. Naeem Hayat is co-director of Headlong’s current production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, which closes in London on 31 January, and also collaborated with Artistic Director Holly Race Roughan on 2022’s Henry V.
Finally, Headlong has revealed the 2026 participants in its Origins programme, celebrating and developing emerging theatre directors. The Origins 2026 cohort includes Amelia Michaels (Leicester), Ciaran Stewart (Manchester), Oisín Kearney (Belfast), Robert Furey (Bristol) and Amy Hailwood (Wigan).
What They Said
Holly Race Roughan, Artistic Director at Headlong and Lisa Maguire, Executive Director of Headlong, said: “At Headlong, our mission is to serve the country with high-quality main-stage drama that makes the big questions of the moment thrilling. This year’s programme does exactly that. We confront a world politically turned inside out with a dark, touring reimagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. We grapple with the existential promise – and threat – of AI with Robota in Oxford’s Schwarzman Centre. And we return to the road with the masterful writing of August Wilson, rediscovering Fences: an extraordinary story of racial injustice, class struggle and family fault lines that still cuts deep. We’re delighted to welcome back powerhouse director Roy Alexander Weise, alongside tour-de-force Daniel Bailey, and to commission the imaginative Ella Road for the first time at Headlong. In unpredictable times, it’s a privilege to have artists of this calibre, alongside Associate Artistic Director Naeem Hayat helping us navigate, challenge and make sense of the world we currently find ourselves in.”
New Associate Artistic Director of Headlong, Naeem Hayat, said: “I’m beyond thrilled to be working with Holly and the brilliant team at Headlong. To join a company known for such bold, exciting and dynamic work is a real privilege. I’m incredibly passionate about the power and importance of touring theatre and can’t wait to get stuck in!”
Lyric Hammersmith, London
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