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Following a brilliant run of sold-out shows for 2026 so far, as well as being nominated for People’s Choice Award at the Liverpool City Region Culture & Creativity Awards, Unity Theatre have announced an all-new festival season featuring the very best up and coming theatre, film, comedy anddance.
Eli Randle, Unity's Artistic Director said: “After a fantastic start to the year, with so many packed houses, I’m thrilled to be heading into an exciting festival season. We’re launching the brand-new Unity Comedy Fest, presenting Up Next - a platform showcasing 20 works-in-progress from exceptional local artists - and welcoming the Horizon Film Festival, LEAP Dance Festival, and the always brilliant Liverpool Improvisation Festival. We’re also proud to host an array ofoutstanding touring productions celebrating women and a programme of deaf ledwork.
"I’m especially delighted that Unity has been nominated forthe People’s Choice Award at the LCR Culture and Creativity Awards. Thisrecognition means a great deal to us, particularly at a moment when Unity feelsreinvigorated, full of energy, and more committed than ever to being a spacefor the people.
In April, Unity Theatre hosts Horizon Film Festival 2026, showcasing the work of Liverpool’s rising filmmakers, giving them the exposure, connections and support to thrive in the industry.
Attending is your chance to experience groundbreaking short films, meet the creators behind them and discover the bold visionaries shaping the future of film - all in the heart of the city. 2026’s edition returns for the very first time as a two-day event on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th April, featuring two evening showcase screenings alongside a programme of industry-led workshops designed to help creators develop their skills and knowledge.
LEAP Dance Festival 2026 makes its return to Unity Theatre in April & May, with three exciting events showcasing the work of local dance artists, community groups and young people.
Launching on Thursday 30 April, the festival will once again host the Liverpool Dance Prize, where four emerging artists share new work and compete for a development fund of £1000. This event is a true representation of LEAP’s commitment to platforming up and coming dancers, with artists from previous years having gone on to present work at Edinburgh Fringe, Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival and Turn North West.
Queer Moves then follows on Friday 1 May with a triple bill of new works by LGBTQIA+ artists, commissioned by Culture Liverpool and funded by UKSPF, with support from Homotopia. Artists are to be announced very soon…
To close the festival on Saturday 2 May, LEAP present ‘Windows of Displacement’. Choreographed and performed by acclaimed dancer Akeim Toussaint Buck, the performance is an autobiographical solo blending dance, song and spoken word. Through the lens of imperialism, colonialism and global displacement, the piece weaves a personal story that speaks to the experiences of ancestral memory and the lives in the increasingly urgent shifting politics surrounding power, oppression and the movement of people.
Using his own journey of migration from Jamaica to the UK as a catalyst, Toussaint Buck presents the threads connecting oppression from the Transatlantic Slave Trade, to the current mining and exploitation of the Congo.
Liverpool becomes the global stage for improv this May, as Unity Theatre are set to host the Liverpool Improvisation Festival (LiF),bringing the world’s best improvisers to your doorstep and showcasing Merseyside’s finest talent. Standing on the shoulders of giants like Ken Campbell, Improbable Theatre, and Showstoppers, each year LiF transforms the city into a hub of spontaneous brilliance.
From Thursday 7 - Saturday 9 May, the programme features 18 shows (including 3 World Premieres) and 8 workshops from renowned international teachers, offering a range of theatrical genres from Shakespeare and musical theatre to clowning and comedy. Whether you want to watch, learn or perform, LiF is the place to take risks and innovate.
Header Image: LEAP26 - Akeim Toussaint Buck (Ashley Karrell)
