The Nufffield’s 2018 season has just been announced – and there’s a LOT to get excited about. From David Walliams to the long awaited opening of the new City venue, here’s our pick of the best…

For Families

As if Hetty Feather and Cinderella weren’t enough, there’s plenty to keep children enthralled next year. First, the Pied Piper Theatre Company are back in February with their award-winning adaptation of the classic Hare and the Tortoise, followed by the live stage version of Guess How Much I Love You in February half term.

Far, far away there lies a curiously mechanical kingdom in which everything ticks but nothing laughs. It is ruled by The Queen Who Never Smiles and she is determined to control everyone and everything, even Time itself, runs the intro to puppet theatre company Angel Heart’s version of Snow White. Their hand-carved puppets take to the stage in March.

Daily Echo:

Curve Theatre bring a new adaptation of the much loved Roald Dahl classic George’s Marvellous Medicine to the stage in March – worth watching just to see how they handle Grandma’s (and the chicken’s) transformation – surely – while in June it’s the turn of CBeebies favourites Sarah and Duck.

Then in December (yes, that’s NEXT Christmas, we know) Nuffield City will host a musical version of David Walliams’s Billionaire Boy, featuring songs written by Miranda Cooper, one half of pop factory Xenomania. We expect this one to be popular.

The City

Daily Echo:

Nuffield’s new theatre, City in Guildhall Square, is open to the public from today, but its official launch comes in February with a world premiere of Howard Brenton’s new play The Shadow Factory – which tells the story of how Southampton saved the Spitfire after the Woolston Supermarine factory was bombed in 1940.

Read more: Hampshire's vital role in keeping the Spitfire flying

A revival of Tennessee Williams' Streetcar Named Desire follows, plus a chance to see Rory Kinnear and Anne-Marie Duff in Macbeth in NT Live. Nuffield Southampton Youth Theatre take on a gender-swapped Much Ado About Nothing before Tom Burke – most recently seen as detective Cormoran Strike in the BBC adaptation of JK Rowling’s books –plays Don Carlos next autumn.

Comedy

Daily Echo: Count Arthur Strong, Theatre Royal Brighton, Feb 1

Both venues will see plenty of laughs next year. Radio 4 favourites Robin Ince and Count Arthur Strong will take the City stage, while Shappi Khorsandi, Reginald D Hunter, Jo Lycett, John Robins, the Guilty Feminist podcast and Mark Steel are all on the bill at Campus. But the year starts with the Comedy Bar Big Gig, a regular sell out which this year features Jo Caufield, Gary Delany and Nathan Caton.

And the rest:

Sebastian Faulkes’ Birdsong will mark the 100th anniversary of WW1. A new version of Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, while circus artists Ockham’s Razor will use the new in the round setting of City for an extraordinary high wire performance.

Daily Echo: Ockham's Razor: The Eveeryman Theatre, Cheltenham

And of course there’s plenty more – all the details of all the shows can be found at nstheatres.co.uk/whats-on