Dance
A season of extraordinary dance
Experience a dynamic season of dance ranging from iconic classics to bold contemporary storytelling. This programme brings together world‑renowned companies, standout new productions and inspiring local talent, offering a rich mix of drama, beauty and innovation across our stages. Explore what’s coming up and find the performances that move you.
Matthew Bourne’s
The Red Shoes
10 – 14 March 2026 | Mayflower Theatre
The double Olivier Award-winning smash hit returns.
Matthew Bourne’s double Olivier-winning The Red Shoes is an intoxicating tale of a dancer’s obsession, as Victoria Page’s dream and the men who inspire her passion collide in dazzling, heart-breaking drama set to Bernard Herrmann’s music.
Matthew Bourne’s
The Car Man
16 – 19 September 2026 | Mayflower Theatre
FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS…
Matthew Bourne’s award-winning The Car Man is a dance thriller set in a 1950s American Mid-West garage-diner, where a handsome stranger sparks heat, desire and a spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge, igniting senses and leaving you breathless.
ZoieLogic’s
ManMade
18 – 19 March 2026 | Mayflower Studios
ManMade, established in 2010 with generous support by Backstage Trust, is ZoieLogic’s pioneering male youth dance platform, bringing together boys and young men aged 10-19 from different local schools, for a positive, fun dance experience!
Through workshops leading to a brilliant live performance at Southampton’s Mayflower Studios on 18-19 March 2026, ManMade is an exciting opportunity for male-identifying students to work together towards a shared goal. It supports personal and creative development, building confidence, wellbeing and teamwork, while also shifting stereotypes about boys and dance in an accessible environment focused entirely on learning, connection, self-expression and fun.
Risk free
The RISK FREE symbol on selected productions is our guarantee that you will enjoy them. If you don’t like the performance, we will give you a credit against another show.
You must notify the House Manager on the evening of the show to be eligible.
Dance Consortium presents
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
19 – 20 May 2026 | Mayflower Theatre
Celebrating 50 years as the world’s foremost gender-skewing comic ballet company, parodying the conventions of romantic and classical dance.
‘The Trocks’ return with a sensational repertoire of hilarious and breath-taking pieces that will challenge every dance norm with technical panache.
Spotlight on:
Mayflower has been a proud member of Dance Consortium since 2012. Dance Consortium exists to tour the best international contemporary dance from across the world to local audiences across the UK and Ireland.
The Consortium is currently made up of 22 member theatres from all regions of the country as well as the Republic of Ireland, and is proud to be included in the National Portfolio of arts organisation funded by Arts Council England.
Members look for the highest quality of performance and a diversity of styles and cultural influences that are different from those normally seen on our UK stages. They consider which companies are likely to be most entertaining for audiences and which will appeal to the broadest possible audience. Since 2000 Dance Consortium has organised 54 tours by 30 different companies.
The Consortium has a far-reaching Learning and Engagement Programme and works with member venues to engage local and community groups through ‘wrap around’ activity such as question and answer sessions with the artists and participatory workshops. It supports talent development amongst UK dance artists through a programme of live and online masterclasses and workshops and provide career development opportunities through its Future Leaders programme and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
This season Dance Consortium are bringing Cirque Éloize’s brilliant and energetic show iD Reloaded.
We welcome back
English National Ballet
Romeo & Juliet
3 – 5 December 2026 | Mayflower Theatre
Shakespeare’s heart-breaking tale is reimagined in a ballet burning with intensity.
English National Ballet brings Nureyev’s electrifying Romeo & Juliet to life as Romeo and Juliet fall desperately in love amid Verona’s simmering hatred, powered by Prokofiev’s dramatic score performed live.
Birmingham Royal Ballet
The Maiden of Venice
14 – 17 April 2027 | Mayflower Theatre
Don’t miss this powerful story of love, lust, betrayal and murder.
In Acosta’s sumptuous reimagining of La Bayadère, Maiden of Venice follows Sandro and Nicoletta’s forbidden love in Renaissance Venice, with Minkus’s live score, gorgeous designs, the Kingdom of the Shades and show‑stopping dance.
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Don Quixote
15 – 18 April 2026 | Mayflower Theatre
Carlos Acosta’s explosion of Spanish sunshine, spectacular dance and vivacious comedy.
Birmingham Royal Ballet revives Acosta’s joyful Don Quixote, bringing the famous knight, Kitri and Basilio to life with spectacular dance, vivacious comedy and thrilling pas de deux in this stunning 19th‑century masterpiece.