New year, new season and a new direction for The Drum at Theatre Royal Plymouth

A New Year is on the horizon and to celebrate, ‘Made in Plymouth’, now ‘What’s on Culture’, has unveiled its fab new-look website for 2025. But do you know what else is new that’s worth shouting about? Theatre Royal Plymouth’s spring 2025 season at The Drum has just been unveiled — and it’s not only new but it’s a first for the much-loved space.

A total of 12 shows will be staged at The Drum — Theatre Royal’s super-intimate, super-flexible space that isn’t as big as its Lyric auditorium but not as small as its experimental Lab space — between January and June. It will be the first time that the programme has been so broad, with locally created shows, national touring pieces and international hit productions all featuring in the line-up. There’s even an opera coming to The Drum for the first time ever.

Choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves, who has been the associate director of Theatre Royal Plymouth for the past year, says: “It’s such a varied offering for the spring 2025 season in The Drum — there’s dance, opera, plays, comedy, music, shows for young people, children and families, and a few locally crafted shows too. The Drum has always been broad in terms of its performances but we think this may be the broadest season yet. There’s literally something for everyone — and all 12 shows are now on sale to the public.

“For our audiences in The Drum,” he continues, “we wanted to see if there was more of a connection to the work we have in The Lyric — people know our big theatre for our musicals, our ballets, our opera and big shows so we wanted to mirror that style of multiple different forms in The Drum. These will be really high quality, brilliant pieces of work. It’s a new direction for us for the space and we can’t wait for the shows to begin.”

Performances on the bill include “Lynn Faces”, “Is Anybody There?” and “Close Enough”, which have each been written by Plymouth playwrights. Also, the debut opera in the space, “Riders to the Sea”, will open the season in January. And prepare for some incredibly innovative dance performances in “AMPLIFY”, “Roshni” and “Imago”. Plus, of course, there’s plenty for kids and families with the likes of Easter favourite “The Little Red Hen”, non-verbal masterpiece “The Farmer and the Clown” and multisensory fantasy adventure “The Ancient Oak of Baldor”.

The Theatre Royal Plymouth team has given a theme to the new season, in fact, which is ‘celebrating things that are unheard’. They are also ‘celebrating outsiders’ and these themes run pretty much through all of the 12 shows.

Jackson Greaves says: “Whether you’re watching shows with international or local artists in the space, you’ll get a much more intimate, up close and personal experience that is even more affordable than The Lyric. The Drum is so beautiful and it’s super-flexible with a capacity of about 120 people. That means we can do end-on or cabaret seating or we can seat the audience around the sides. You’re right there with the action and you can be integrated into a show if it’s more immersive.

“There is so much opportunity in The Drum,” he continues, “enhancing that connection between performer and audience to make it so intimate. Quite often we do Q+A sessions or other events alongside the show so the audience can get to know the performers really well.”

Another new addition to The Drum for the spring season is its ‘multibuy offer’. Booking three or more shows unlocks a 10 percent discount — and booking five or more shows gives 20 percent off.

“The spring season is a celebration of what The Drum can do,” says Jackson Greaves. “Plus, it’s so intimate — many of these performances are interactive and even if the piece is not, you’re still sitting so close to the performers, some of whom are big stars.”

He continues: “The Drum has been fairly experimental in the past but this season we are offering diversity — there’s high art but there’s a lot of other offerings too.

“Three of the 12 shows are dance pieces and three hail from local writers. There are international pieces, offerings for young people and those with learning disabilities, comedy, music, dance and even a spot of opera. It’s really special to us to feature shows written by and starring local artists and writers and the opera and dance performances will be amazing — we actually have one of the best audiences in the country for opera and dance.”

Jackson Greaves tells ‘Made in Plymouth’ that the theatre team ‘decided that instead of creating brand new plays for The Drum this season’, the team decided to ‘support other local, regional, national and international theatre companies for the Plymouth audience’. “Diversity in terms of our offer is important to us at The Drum,” he notes.

“It’s a new year and a new season at The Drum, with a new diverse direction that covers all of our audiences,” concludes Jackson Greaves. “It’s really exciting — it’s so different to what we offer across our other stages and we believe that a new audience will come in to watch these new shows and join our existing loyal audience in one of the South West’s most intimate and special theatre spaces. See you there in 2025!”

The 12 shows on at The Drum in the spring season…

RIDERS TO THE SEA 7-8 February 2025, 12+ — The first performance of the season in The Drum is set to be epic as it’s the first time that opera has ever been staged in the auditorium. “Riders to the Sea” by composer Ralph Vaughan Williams effectively breaks down the barriers of opera as it tells its tale of love, grief, family and the big blue. OperaUpClose, the South West’s only resident opera company, brings a musical storytelling masterpiece to The Drum.

LYNN FACES 12-15 February 2025, 16+ — If you like the many TV series centred around Steve Coogan’s Alan Partridge character, then you will love this second show of the season. Former Plymouth Laureate of Words Laura Horton has written a hilarious play that focuses on a punk band that’s inspired by Partridge’s ex-personal assistant, Lynn. Themes include abusive behaviour, friendship and ‘how silliness can be healing’.

AMPLIFY 18 February 2025 — You’ve had opera and comedy so far this season, so why not catch a dance show? Richard Chappell Dance brings ‘a specially curated celebratory programme of transformative dance’ to The Drum in a performance that features young choreographers from across the South West. Intimate, dynamic and moving, “AMPLIFY” toasts the relationship between music and dance.

MID LIFE 27 February-1 March 2025, 14+ — Now time for a play that’s peppered with comedy and ‘disco dancing’ as it explores what it means to be a woman who’s going through the menopause. Continuing The Drum’s spring theme of ‘things that are unheard’, this piece by London’s Diverse City draws from real-life experiences of midlife and menopause, ending with an upbeat party that everyone — including you — can join.

ROSHNI 6-8 March 2025 — South Asian dance weaves its way to The Drum in March. “Roshni”, which is made up of three pieces and is ‘inspired by the stories and experiences of everyday people’, intimately blends live music and dance as it takes the audience on an uplifting emotional journey. Expect plenty of interaction, innovation and improvisation in this uniquely vibrant performance.

IMAGO 18-19 March 2025, 12+ — Got your tissues? You’ll need them when you watch this contemporary dance performance that regularly moves its audience to tears. PCK Dance makes its way down from London for a duet that ‘exposes the intricate and often hidden dysfunctions in relationships’. This is a ‘profound journey of two men’ who explore beauty, fear, truth and everything in between.

IS ANYBODY THERE? 20-22 March 2025, 14+ — Actually, there should be loads of people here to enjoy this interactive documentary theatre piece written and performed by Plymouth’s own Jon Nash. Based on his experiences at Exeter University in 2006, Nash crafts a play that will have you questioning what’s real as you see a ‘séance meeting science’ in the South West.

THE LITTLE RED HEN 25 March-19 April 2025 — Aimed at three-to-10-year-olds, this performance gets a cracking run at The Drum in the Easter holidays. Expect puppetry, live music, comedy and fun for all ages in this show by Dorset’s Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company. Follow the story of a courageous hen who ‘finds her own way to get stuff done’.

CLOSE ENOUGH 25-26 April 2025, 14+ — Another homegrown offering. Welcome to an autobiographical solo performance by Cristina Varga, who moved to Plymouth from Romania just before Brexit and experienced an immediate clash of cultures. This is her story and it’s packed with comedy, live music and deep explorations of stereotypes, stigmas and identity.

JAMES ROWLAND DIES AT THE END OF THE SHOW 20-24 May 2025, 14+ — The final piece in a triptych by the acclaimed storyteller, this engrossing one-performer show asks ‘what would you do with an hour?’, especially if it was your final hour. Expect comedy in buckets, plenty of live music and wild tales that take you on a solo journey like no other.

THE FARMER AND THE CLOWN 28-31 May 2025, 2+ — Bristol and London-based Flibbertigibbet Theatre bring this heartwarming tale to The Drum. Starring a farmer and a baby clown, this story charts an unexpected friendship and features physical theatre, puppetry, live cello music, dance and comedy as it enthralls audiences of all ages. It’s non-verbal throughout so it’s perfect for little ones and those who prefer a narrative to unfold without words.

THE ANCIENT OAK OF BALDOR 3-7 June 2025, 13+ — The final performance of the spring in The Drum wraps up the whole season with a neat bow. A multisensory fantasy theatre piece by Frozen Light Theatre for audiences with profound and multiple learning disabilities, this adventure through lights, sound, performance and music once again explores the season’s theme of ‘outsiders’ and ‘things unheard’ in the most beautiful way possible.

To find out more about each of these shows and to book your tickets, head to Theatre Royal Plymouth’s website: here.

Story by Matt Fleming