Emma Rice’s Tristan & Yseult returns to Oxford Playhouse in January

Emma Rice’s Tristan & Yseult will return to Oxford Playhouse in January, bringing a Cornish love story told through live music, movement and comedy.

The production runs from 26 to 30 January 2027. First created with Kneehigh in 2003, it returns to UK stages after a ten-year absence, with a cast led by Edward Rowe, John Leader and Nandi Bhebhe.

A Cornish legend with music at its heart

The story turns on King Mark, his trusted warrior Tristan and Yseult, the woman who draws both men into a love triangle. Rice’s production approaches the legend through the people left outside its great romance, mixing the pain of exclusion with humour and theatrical invention.

Carl Grose and Anna Maria Murphy wrote the text, with music by Stu Barker. Rice adapts and directs the production, whose combination of storytelling, physical performance and music gives the medieval tale a very different shape from a conventional period drama.

The Oxford cast

Edward Rowe plays King Mark, John Leader is Tristan and Nandi Bhebhe is Yseult. Stephanie Hockley appears as Whitehands, Tom Fox plays Morholt and Brangian, and Matthew Churcher plays Frocin.

The Emma Rice Company tour schedule places Oxford at the start of the announced UK dates, before Cambridge and Nottingham. Further visits follow in Plymouth, London and York.

Matinees and accessible performances

Evening performances start at 7.30pm from Tuesday to Saturday, with matinees at 2.30pm on Thursday and Saturday. The Wednesday 27 January evening performance is BSL interpreted. Saturday 30 January’s matinee is audio described, with a touch tour also listed; contact the theatre for touch-tour arrangements.

The venue lists strobe lighting, smoke and haze, loud noises, smoking, and implied sex and violence. Its age recommendation is ten and over.

Selected performances have £5 tickets for eligible 14–25-year-olds through the Playhouse scheme, subject to availability. Standard ticket options and the access-performance labels appear on the theatre’s booking page.

Getting to Oxford Playhouse

Oxford Playhouse is at 11–12 Beaumont Street, Oxford OX1 2LW, around ten minutes’ walk from Oxford railway station and two minutes from Gloucester Green bus station. The city’s park-and-ride services offer an alternative to driving into the centre.

See the theatre’s travel guidance and access information when choosing seats or planning assistance.

Full announced UK tour dates

Tour information and venue booking links.

Oxford Playhouse exterior photograph: Andrew Walmsley.