Mayflower Theatre reopens after £12m refurbishment

Southampton's Mayflower Theatre is back in business after an 18-month closure, and the changes are more than skin-deep. The Grade II-listed venue has reopened following a £12 million self-funded refurbishment by the Mayflower Theatre Trust, and the work has touched almost every part of the building. The most obvious change for anyone who has spent a lot of time here is the toilets: the most extensive refurbishment in the theatre's 98-year history has increased the cubicles from 43 to 62, with 12 new universal facilities and 30 extra washbasins. Behind the scenes, the original 1928 stage grid has been replaced, a new double-height studio space has been added, reception and stage door facilities have been upgraded, and there are now accessible dressing rooms and better links to the administration building.

The reopening was marked by a five-week run of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, which opened on 24 September and closes on 24 October. It is a jukebox musical with a book by John Logan, set in Paris during the Belle Époque in 1899, and its score pulls from artists as varied as Elton John, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé and David Bowie. If you have not caught it yet, there is still time before the run ends.

What comes next is where the new studio space comes into its own. A Small Enclosed Room with Alfie Murphy plays at Mayflower Studios on Above Bar Street on Thursday 8 October, a dark comedy created by autistic artists Cian Binchy and Anna Constable that looks at autism and mental health; tickets are £10, with discounts for students, artists and groups of ten or more. After that, the autumn programme keeps moving: Hasbian, a queer coming-of-age comedy, is set for Saturday 23 October; Behind Enemy Lines, a one-woman show about women defeating Nazi terror, follows on Friday 30 October; and Crush, a British-Somali rom-com, arrives on Friday 6 November.

The main stage remains busy through the rest of the season. SIX runs from 27 to 31 October, and Harry Enfield and No Chums play on 9 November. The Unfriend takes the stage from 11 to 14 November, and La bohème follows on 13 November. Mid-November also brings Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra on 15 November, The Other Side of Murder from 16 to 21 November, and Operation Mincemeat from 17 to 21 November. Jersey Boys rounds things off towards the end of the month, running from 23 to 28 November, with Christmas Lights following from 25 to 28 November.

For families, the Children's Theatre Trails run from 30 October to 19 February, and the Family Theatre Trail from 29 October to 17 February, with The Singing Mermaid playing on 30 and 31 October and Nick Cope's Family Show on 14 November. The Welsh National Opera also brings a schools concert and a family concert on 11 November.

It is worth remembering what is behind the scenes here. The Mayflower Theatre Trust, registered charity 294745, operates as Mayflower Academy Limited. In the financial year ending 30 March 2025, it reported a total income of £28,804,714 against expenditure of £25,804,839, with 228 employees, 12 trustees and 19 volunteers, and an aim to reach over 125,000 people a year across its projects. After 18 months away, the theatre is back to doing exactly that.