The magic of theatre is back!

Since Tobacco Factory Theatres re-opened in May, we have been hosting a range of Covid-secure performances and activities, with wonderful audience responses. 

During August we’ll be touring South Bristol neighbourhoods with our doorstep production Date Night – a hilarious and heartwarming piece of pop-up theatre, from the team behind 2020’s sell-out travelling show BS3 Santa.

It has been thrilling to hit these milestones recently – re-opening the theatre, touring our latest production – and most of all reconnecting with you, our audiences, after such a long time away. 

We’re now ready for our next milestone – announcing our new season of  inspiring and entertaining shows from September, including the biggie…..Christmas at Tobacco Factory Theatres! Follow us down the yellow brick road this Christmas with OZ – our brand new in-house production, created and co-produced with award-winning Bristol-based company Pins and Needles. Told you it was big news – read on for more!

Joining the line-up this season along with our brand new Christmas production are local legends Living Spit, with their latest creation – the horrifically hilarious Frankenstein: The Musical. And just around the corner in September, we welcome back our summer sell-out show DESTINY, written and performed by Bristol-based artist Florence Espeut-Nickless. Add to that some more Artist Masterclasses and a Get Involved programme bursting with the spirit of adventure and we think you’ll agree that the magic of theatre is well and truly back in Southville this autumn! 

And there’s more to come yet! We will announce the full programme very soon, but for now take a peek at the tiles below for these major highlights.

Give the Gift this Christmas
OZ is our brand new version of the iconic tale of Dorothy’s wild journey to meet the Wizard of Oz. OZ will boast all the magic, music and mischief you’d expect from one of our Christmas shows: it just wouldn’t be Christmas without a trip to Tobacco Factory Theatres!

Whilst extremely exciting, we are taking a major risk by investing in a brand new production this Christmas, given the uncertain and challenging times for theatres. The risk is worth it, as it means we can offer employment to more than 20 Bristol-based actors and artists, many of whose livelihoods were devastated by Covid-19, whilst offering audiences an unforgettable Christmas experience once again. 

In order to keep everyone safe, we are starting bookings for OZ with a significantly reduced audience capacity and offering lower prices for those who need them. That’s why we’re asking those who are able to ‘Give the Gift’ this Christmas. By paying a small supplement on your ticket, you’ll support us in offering a lower price to someone who can’t afford our standard price at the moment. We’ve all experienced different challenges over the last two years, and through our Give the Gift ticket option you can ensure that Christmas – and theatre – can be shared by all.

Keeping you safe this autumn and winter
For now, all Factory Theatre performances on sale from August 2021 are being sold with social distancing in place. This means there is distance between different groups in the auditorium, plus a range of measures that enable your safe journey through all of the building.

We may increase capacity and relax measures once we are certain it’s safe to do so, however we will guarantee at least one socially distanced performance per week for all shows with a run of at least five performances. We want everyone to feel safe and confident about enjoying theatre again. These performances are labelled Guaranteed Socially Distanced, and dates for them can be found on individual show pages. Read more about the Covid safety measures we have in place this autumn.