Simon Stephens update: recent plays and upcoming releases
The Performance Research Group includes playwright and Professor of Scriptwriting, Simon Stephens, as a member. Three international shows involving Simon Stephens’s work have been recently shown worldwide:
A SLOW FIRE
Jan 20 – Feb 14, 2026
In a disused bunker on the edge of an imaginary city in the aftermath of an apocalypse, Ashton and Reece have spent years looking for hope in the stories they act out. And then one day, from nowhere, a stranger arrives. He has a generator. He has fresh meat. And he has a gun.
A world premiere by Simon Stephen for the Glass Mask Theatre stage in Dublin.
An Ark
9 January to 1 March 2026 at The Shed, New York, USA. The first ever drama written for Mixed Reality. By Simon, starring Ian McKellan:
An Ark is the first play created for mixed reality. The one-of-a-kind theatrical encounter features the ensemble cast of Ian McKellen (Film: Lord of the Rings, X-Men; Stage: Richard III, Amadeus), Golda Rosheuvel (Bridgerton, Not Your Superwoman), Arinzé Kene (Misty, The Shed; Get Up, Stand Up!), and Rosie Sheehy (Machinal, Old Vic).
Dream Story
30 January and 14 March 2026 at Dailes Theatre, Riga, Latvia: a new adaptation by Simon Stephens and Daniel Raggett
“No dream is ever only just a dream.”
What is your deepest desire?
And would you ever act on it?
Furthermore, a new play of his, THREE GHOSTS, will have its world premiere at Parco Theatre Tokyo in October. And a new book ‘International Plays’ will be published in July featuring four plays not produced in England!
