Castle Theatre Company is delighted to announce its 2026 touring production of one of Shakespeare’s most entertaining comedies: The Merry Wives of Windsor. Set in 1960s suburbia, the show includes a number of musical interludes sure to put a smile on your face! Packed with trickery, duels, and a whole array of unique costuming, The Merry Wives of Windsor promises a side-splitting night of laughter and chicanery.

New in town and down on his luck, Sir John Falstaff arrives in Windsor and attempts to woo Mistress Ford and Mistress Page, the wives of two wealthy residents. Meanwhile, the Pages’ daughter, Anne, is pursued by three suitors. With Mistress Quickly being paid by all three to put in a good word for them, chaos ensues as they all vie for her hand. In between duplicitous love letters, eavesdropping, and plain old trickery, events culminate in a fantastical nighttime confrontation in Windsor Park, where Falstaff soon realises that he’s got more than he bargained for.

Castle Theatre Company is the oldest performing arts groups at Durham University, and for over four decades has taken an annual summer Shakespeare tour around primarily the south of England and the USA, performing classic comedies on the lawns of stately homes, gardens, and abbeys. The company is renowned for its high standard of performance, offering a full-length Shakespeare comedy that is suitable for all the family. 2025’s touring production of Twelfth Night was performed to sold-out audiences across England.

£10 Standard

£9 Concession

£8 Performing Arts Members

This performance will take place in the Fellow's Garden, Durham Castle, Palace Green, Durham, DH1 3RW.

Performances will begin at 2.30pm and run for 135 minutes with a short interval. Doors will open 30 minutes before the performance begins.

The Tony, Grammy and Oliver award winning hit musical Dear Evan Hansen comes to Durham! Follow high schooler Evan Hansen on a deeply moving story as he becomes entangled in a misunderstanding after his classmate Connor is found with a letter addressed “Dear Evan Hansen” after taking his own life.

Dear Evan Hansen is a musical which follows Evan Hansen, an anxious high school student who feels entirely invisible to his peers and is tasked by his therapist to write letters to himself. After a series of misunderstandings involving his letter and signed cast, Evan is mistaken for a close friend of Connor Murphy, a student who commits suicide, and is sucked into Connor’s family life and the lie of their friendship. Evan is plagued with visions of Connor and enlists the help of his classmates to create ‘The Connor Project’ in his honour, which catapults Evan into popularity.

Content warnings: Suicide, self-harm, death.

£10 Standard

£9 Concession

£7 Performing Arts Members

This event takes place at the Sir Thomas Allen Assembly Rooms Theatre, 40 North Bailey, Durham, DH1 3ET.

Shows begin at 7.30pm (or 2.30pm) and runs for approximately 2 hours with interval. Doors open 30 minutes before the show begins.

Durham University Concert Band are proud to present ‘Sunsets and Sunrises’, a summer concert celebrating the passing of seasons!

Join Durham University Concert Band in saying goodbye to our beloved Timothy Tsang and Oscar Bovenizer, and hello to our new conductors - Tomos Haine and Cassidy Plautz - in an exciting and diverse end of term concert. ‘Sunsets and Sunrises’ will feature a varied programme of traditional concert band marches, pop songs, film music and more - from Sousa’s ‘Stars and Stripes forever’ and Coates’ ‘The Dam Buster’s March’, to ‘Super Mario Bros’ and themes from ‘La La Land’. Set in the beautiful Elvet Methodist Church, we’ll be celebrating the start of summer in style!

£8 Standard

£7 Concession

£6 Performing Arts Members

This concert is taking place at Elvet Methodist Church, Old Elvet, Durham, DH1 3HL.

The concert will begin at 7pm and run until 9pm with a short interval. Doors will open 30 minutes before the start of the concert.

Harold Pinter's first full-length play, 'The Birthday Party' is a comedy of menace. Disquieting and oppressive, The Collingwood Woodplayers are excited to present Pinter's masterpiece in the round.

Woodplayers’ staging of Pinter’s first full-length play encloses the audience within a suffocating space where mundane routine slowly curdles into menace. As two strangers unexpectedly arrive and close in on the reclusive Stanley, the play’s fragmented dialogue and oppressive staging blur the line between social ritual and psychological interrogation. Set in a cramped boarding house, 'The Birthday Party' by Harold Pinter unfolds in the round.

£8 Standard

£7 Concession

£6 Performing Arts Members

This event is taking place at the Collingwood Arts Centre, Collingwood College, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LT.

The performances will begin at 7.30pm or 2.30pm and last approximately 90 minutes. Doors will open 30 minutes before the start of the show.

Full Score Barbershop Choir present 'Tag Team!' a preview show for their fringe performances this year - highlighting the classic barbershop quartet format as well as an uplifting full chorus sound!

Join members of Durham University’s award-winning Full Score Barbershop Choir in a preview for our Durham Fringe quartet showcase, Tag Team! With crunchy harmonies, ringing bell chords and classic barbershop tags, this show spotlights the iconic quartet format that barbershop is famous for, as well as songs from the full chorus which we'll be singing at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. Featuring a wide range of repertoire, from Hercules' 'Go the Distance' and 101 Dalmatian's 'Cruella de Vil' to 'Dream a little Dream of Me', this is a concert you won’t want to miss!

£7 Standard

£6 Concession

£5 Performing Arts Members

This event is performing at the Castle Great Hall, University College, Durham Castle, Durham, DH1 3RW.

The event will begin at 8.30pm and run for approximately one hour. Doors will open 15 minutes before the concert begins.