The Signalman

The Signalman runs at Bristol Old Vic from 19 to 21 January 2027, with occult illusionist David Alnwick leading the show. It's a short run — three days in total — and it brings Victorian illusions and ghost stories to the stage, with Alnwick at the front of it. If you've got a thing for the gothic, the old-school magic, and a bit of the supernatural, this is exactly the kind of night that fits the bill.

It's part of the Bristol Old Vic's 2027 season, which is headed by a 40th-anniversary revival of Winsome Pinnock's Leave Taking, directed by Nancy Medina. Pinnock's first play opened at Liverpool Playhouse in 1987, and when the National Theatre staged it in 1994 it became the first play by a Black British woman produced there; in 2024 she became the first writer named to the theatre's Five Year Commitment residency. That revival sets the tone for the rest of the year, and The Signalman sits right in the middle of it.

There's plenty else to work your way through across the season. You'll find the world-premiere musical Disco Dracula, a new staging of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya directed by Rikki Henry, and Dog Man: The Musical, adapted from Dav Pilkey's books, which visits the theatre from elsewhere. So if you're planning a few trips to the Old Vic over the coming months, The Signalman is one of the dates to keep on your radar.

It runs from 19 to 21 January 2027 at Bristol Old Vic, three nights of Victorian illusions and ghost stories with David Alnwick.