National Theatre of Scotland

20 Years of Game-Changing Theatre  📣 Announcing our 2026 Season 📣  For two decades, @ntsonline  has ripped up the rulebook redefining what theatre can be. Our 2026 season celebrates bold ideas, new voices & unforgettable stories.  20 years in, we can’t wait to share what’s next. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
  📚 THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE  @_____gaylerankin______  returns to our stages taking on one of Scotland’s most iconic characters. David Harrower adapts Muriel Spark’s classic in a bold new production, dir/ by Vicky Featherstone.  
In partnership w/ @lyceumedinburgh  & in assoc w/ @pitlochryft  
  👖A STAND & DELIVER: THE LEE JEANS SIT-IN   45 years after the legendary Greenock factory occupation, we bring to life a powerful story of solidarity, & enduring friendship, performed with a live 80s soundtrack.  By @frances.poet , dir/ by @jemimalevick , story consultant Paul English. 
Co-pro w/ @TronTheatre 
  ✈️ THE HIGH LIFE  Stand by for take-off - a brand new musical re-uniting all four OG cast members.     Story, Script and Lyrics by @alancummingreally , @forbesmasson  & Johnny McKnight 
Music by @forbesmasson , additional music by @alancummingreally  
Dir by @andrewpanton  
 
Co-production w/ @dundeerep , in assoc w/ @captheatres  & @AberdeenPerformingArts 
  🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 THROUGH THE SHORTBREAD TIN  Following its acclaimed 2025 tour, this poetic & playful show will tour to @edfringe  & historic sites with @hisenvscot .
  Written & performed by @martinusbenedictus . Original directed by Lu Kemp  🗣️ ONE HUNDRED VOICES – Interactive Installation   A guided, immersive experience premiering at @scotparl and touring nationwide, inspired by 100 voices from Scotland’s Care Experienced community.
  ‘Ten Portraits’ - A touring exhibition, captured by photographer in residence, @chrisscottphotographydundee ‘The Sound Collection’ – An audio archive of stories housed at the @natlibscot   Part of the Caring Scotland project. Led by @nicolamccartney761 , in partnership w/ @whocaresscotland  & @natlibscot , funded by @heritagefunduk . Find out more about #NTS2026 in the comments or head to the link in our bio!

🎵 Friday night and everyone’s moving 🎵 Kirkcaldy, are you ready to join the sit-in? 👖 Stand & Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In is at @adam_smith_theatre for ONE NIGHT ONLY tonight and there’s just a pocketful of tickets left... With the tour in full swing, many performances are sold oot or thereaboots! Visit the link in bio for more info. Don’t forget to check out @josiefreer and @frances.poet chatting all about the show to What’s On Scotland, airing on STV this evening at 7.30pm @wearestv 📺 Stand & Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In is written by @frances.poet . Directed by @jemimalevick . From an idea conceived by @paulenglishjournalist and @frances.poet . A NTS and @trontheatre Company co-production. 📷 @mihaelabodlovic #LeeJeansSitIn

Ten Portraits, our touring exhibition of portraits featuring care experienced people, is currently on show at @invernessmuseumandartgallery ! ⁠ ⁠ Here’s one of the exhibition’s subjects, Leah, alongside her portrait by Chris Scott. ⁠ ⁠ The exhibition is in Inverness until the end of May, before continuing its tour of Scotland. Catch it while you can! ⁠ ⁠ Ten Portraits is a touring photographic exhibition of care experienced individuals captured by Chris Scott, who was guided by the Caring Scotland listening project. The project is led and inspired by the practice of playwright and theatre-maker @nicolamccartney761 , documenting the lives of Care Experienced people in Scotland. ⁠ ⁠ 👉 For full touring dates of the Ten Portraits exhibition, visit the link in bio. ⁠ ⁠ In partnership with @whocaresscotland and @natlibscot . We are grateful to the Heritage Fund & National Lottery players for making this project happen. ⁠ ⁠ 📷: @kirstyandersonphoto

📢 CALLOUTS FOR ARTISTS 📢 ⁠ ⁠ We have not one but two artist opportunities currently open for applications! ⁠ ⁠ Tender Ground invites socially engaged artists working in performance to apply for a short residency focused on experimenting in co-creation with the public, communities or individuals who aren’t usually engaged in theatre making. There are three residencies available. We invite the beginnings of ideas or approaches, rather than proposals for completed ideas. Tender Ground is designed to support the discovery of unexpected outcomes, through a process of co-creation. ⁠ ⁠ Deadline: Monday 8 June. Visit the link in bio to find out more! ⁠ ⁠ @ptbopoetry , Edinburgh’s international poetry festival, is accepting applications for the commission of three new performance-led poetry pieces. Artists selected will be supported to develop their pieces in response to the 2026 festival theme, The Space Between, and will then perform at the festival in November 2026. The commission is presented in association with NTS. ⁠ ⁠ Deadline: Monday 6 July. Visit their website to apply! ⁠ ⁠ 📷 @abermediaphotos ⁠ 📷 @littlekatphotos

🛬 This is your captain speaking, please fasten your seatbelts as we begin our descent into GLASGOW for the last leg of The High Life! ⁠ ⁠ Don’t miss your chance to catch this sky-high musical spectacular before it comes into land for the last time. ⁠ ⁠ And as one show kicks off its final leg, another tour is only just beginning! Stand & Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In opens at @aberdeenartscentre tonight for two performances only, before heading across Scotland, celebrating a powerful story of working-class heroism 👖 ⁠ ⁠ 🎫 Visit the link in our bio ⁠ ⁠ The High Life - The Musical is directed by @andrewpanton with story, script and lyrics by @alancummingreally , @forbesmasson and Johnny McKnight. Music by Forbes Masson, additional music by Alan Cumming. ⁠Co-produced by @ntsonline and @DundeeRep in association with @APAWhatsOn and @captheatres ⁠ ⁠ Stand & Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In is written by @frances.poet . Directed by @jemimalevick . From an idea conceived by @paulenglishjournalist and @frances.poet . A NTS and @trontheatre Company co-production. ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ 📷 @tgkwan (The High Life) ⁠ 📷 @mihaelabodlovic (Stand & Deliver)⁠ ⁠ ⁠ #TheHighLife #LeeJeansSitIn

📢 #TrueStory submissions close in just two days 📢 ⁠ ⁠ Huge thanks to our True Story Ambassador @lorrainekellysmith and True Story champions @misspunnypennie @quineofcrime @irvine.welsh @gregjmchugh and Shereen Nanjiani for helping us spread the word about this exciting project! ⁠ ⁠ Don’t miss your chance to send us your True Story, as you just might see it on the stage next year 👀 ⁠ ⁠ 📆 Submissions close 13 May ⁠ 👉 More details at the link in bio!

A reminder that applications to join our Board close tomorrow at 9am! ⁠ ⁠ We’re seeking two Non-Executive Directors who love theatre as much as we do, to offer us guidance, so we can achieve our strategic ambitions in the development of our artistic programme at home and internationally. ⁠ ⁠ Full details and how to apply in the link in bio. ⁠ ⁠ 📆Apply by Monday 11 May, 9am ⁠ ⁠ 📷 @mihaelabodlovic

👖 “Those lassies are gonna win us this thing.” ⁠ ⁠ Girls on Film! Check out the production trailer for Stand & Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In. A hugely powerful moment in Scottish history is brought defiantly to life in this vibrant new play, featuring a banging live 80s soundtrack. ⁠ ⁠ Thanks to all the gallus Glasgow audiences who joined us @trontheatre ⁠ ⁠ Now touring to a Scottish venue near you this May and June! ⁠ ⁠ Find out more via the link in bio.⁠ ⁠ Stand & Deliver: The Lee Jeans Sit-In is written by @frances.poet . Directed by @jemimalevick . From an idea conceived by @paulenglishjournalist and @frances.poet . A NTS and @trontheatre Company co-production. ⁠ ⁠ #LeeJeansSitIn

⏰ With less than one week to go until True Story submissions close, we’re bringing you a message from broadcaster and True Story Champion Shereen Nanjiani! ⁠ ⁠ Got a story? Whether it’s funny, moving, uplifting, or all of the above, personal, or inspired by Scottish history, share it with us, and you could see it brought to life on stage in 2027. ⁠ ⁠ 📆 Submissions close 13 May ⁠ 👉 More details at the link in bio!

🥳 Cooooool for CATS! ⁠ ⁠ We are overjoyed to have received eight nominations across four productions at this year’s @cats_awards 🐈 ⁠ ⁠ Stand and Deliver – The Lee Jeans Sit-In - a co-production with @trontheatre ⁠ ⁠ Best New Play: @frances.poet Best Ensemble: @josiefreer , @arondoc , @chiarasparkes , @maddiegrievee , @shonagh.murray , @hanjaysco ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ The High Life - a co-production with @dundeerep in association with @aberdeenperformingarts and @captheatres ⁠ ⁠ Best Production: @alancummingreally , @forbesmasson , @andrewpanton and Johnny McKnight and the full High Life team⁠ Best Ensemble: @alancummingreally , @forbesmasson , Siobhan Redmond, Patrick Ryecart, @louise_mccarthy_actor , @rachael.brownn , @kylegardiner___ , @RossJBaxter , @laurenellissteele , @ciaraflynnxox , @grantmcintyre ⁠ Best Music and Sound: @alancummingreally , @forbesmasson , @tompenneysound (Sound Designer), Sarah de Tute (Musical Director) and Sarah Travis (Musical Supervisor & Orchestrator) ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ Make it Happen - a co-production with @dundeerep and @edintfest , in association with @playfulprods and @nealstreetproductions ⁠ ⁠ Outstanding Performance: @griersonsandy ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ She’s Behind You- produced by @traversetheatre in association with the National Theatre of Scotland ⁠ ⁠ Best Production: Johnny McKnight (writer/performer), John Tiffany (director) and full team ⁠ Outstanding Performance: Johnny McKnight ⁠ ⁠ ⁠ A massive congratulations to all of the teams involved in these brilliant shows, and a huge thanks to the awards for their recognition. We cannae wait for the ceremony at @citizenstheatre on 21 June! Click the link in our bio to read the full list of CATS nominations. ⁠ ⁠ 📷@mihaelabodlovic (Stand and Deliver), @tgkwan (The High Life, She’s Behind You), @marcsbrenner (Make it Happen)

🎉 We are heading to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe! We are delighted to announce the return of Through The Shortbread Tin, Martin O’Connor’s highly acclaimed playful and poetic look at Scottish culture and identity. The remounted version of the show, directed by Joanna Bowman, will open at the @ScottishStorytellingCentre this August as part of @madeinscotland_showcase . We are also thrilled that the exhibition One Hundred Voices will open at the Scottish Parliament as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Scottish Parliament’s Festival of Politics 2026. Created in partnership with @whocaresscotland and @natlibscot , One Hundred Voices is an interactive and immersive installation responding to real life stories of care experienced people. The stories were recorded for Caring Scotland, the three-year listening project led by acclaimed playwright Nicola McCartney to document and record the lives of care experienced people in Scotland. We are grateful to @heritagefunduk & @tnluk players for making this project happen. Both projects will embark on Scottish tours later this year. Find out more about National Theatre of Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe via the link in bio. Through the Shortbread Tin Creative Team: Writer and performer – Martin O’Connor (@martinusbenedictus ) With Josie Duncan (@josieduncansong ) and Iona Mairead (@ionadavie ) Remount Director – Joanna Bowman (@joannaebowman ) Original Director – Lu Kemp @lulukemp Musical Director and Composer – Oliver Searle (@olisearle ) Sound and Video Designer – Rob Willoughby (@abbenay2300 ) Set and Costume Designers - Emma Bailey (@boney_ems ) and Rachel O'Neill Lighting Designer – Michaella Fee (@mikkafee ) Gaelic Consultant – Alasdair Whyte One Hundred Voices Creative Team: Lead Artist and Script by Nicola McCartney (@nicolamccartney761 ) Audio narration by Genna Allan (@gennaallanacts ) and Scott Kyle Designer - Karen Tennent (@karentennent7 ) Lighting Designer - Kai Fischer Sound Designer - Niroshini Thambar (@nthambar ) Dramaturg - Roxana Cole (@roxanascole ) #ShortbreadTin #EdFringe #MadeinScot 📷 @eoin_carey 📷@winram

We’re so pleased to share that Kal Sabir's debut short film Kinaara (Edge) is now screening as part of the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (@saffmontreal ) The film explores the journey of caring for a loved one with dementia, within the Scottish South Asian community. ⁠ ⁠ 🎥 Kinaara (Edge) is a NTS production, written and directed by Kal Sabir (@realkalsabir )⁠ ⁠ The film is available to watch as part of the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal’s online programme until 10 May. Head to the link in our bio to find out more! ⁠ ⁠ #KinaaraEdge #SAFFM2026 ⁠ ⁠ 📷 Kirsty Anderson (@kirstyandersonphoto )