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  • Our 26/27 season is here!

    • Our 26/27 season is here!

    5 Aug 2026

    Unveiling our 2026/27 season, packed with big name performances and exciting new live music, dance, theatre, comedy and family events.

     

    As Canterbury’s premier gig venue, Gulbenkian continues to host a diverse range of live music, from Mary Coughlan, Grace Petrie and Courtney Pine to Nouvelle Vague and The Unthanks. There are throwbacks to post punk UK, with ExTC + The Monochrome Set, The Rezillos and The Blockheads, plus Spiers and Boden (of Bellowhead) and John Bramwell (of I am Kloot).
    An exceptional opening weekend includes Slovenian avant-garde band Laibach (Fri 2 Oct), Jazz Sabbath (Sat 3 Oct), the band led by Adam Wakeman, who rework Sabbath classics as a Jazz emsemble, a welcome return for John Hegley and a sold out gig by Daniel Kitson, Thrum.

    The season will come to a close in July 2027 with the launch of Shadowlands, a new genre-defying, international music festival. This new, boutique festival will offer a varied, international line-up of innovative and invigorating artists and is designed to occupy a unique space in UK festivals, attracting audiences from across the UK and beyond (onsale 2 July).

    In theatre, acclaimed actor Paul Ready (Motherland, Utopia, National Theatre) brings his new eco-inspired one man show, Little Animals, to the Gulbenkian stage.

    After a stand-out show in 2025, we celebrate the return of the dance sensation Ekleido, known for their work in contemporary dance and underground club dance scenes, with new scores by electronic music artists including Floating Points.

    The season includes two huge hits of the 2025 Edinburgh Festival. Apphia Campbell wowed festival audiences with her telling of the Nina Simone story, Black is the Colour of My Voice, and Oli Mathiesen, Lucy Lynch and Sharvon Mortimer blew everyone away with the power and energy of The Butterfly Who Flew Into A Rave, a 3 day rave condensed into a one hour show.

    Alongside these there is a new production of Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband by acclaimed Director Ramin Gray; EVITA TOO by Sh!t Theatre, cheekily billed as a ‘sequel’ to Evita, but focused on the more forgotten story of Isabel Peron, Juan’s Peron’s third wife, who rose to be President of Argentina; and fans of Fawlty Towers and Bottom will love the hilarious Oh Zeus! by Le Navet Bête.

    The world’s most celebrated campaigners Pussy Riot return to Gulbenkian, with an updated version of Riot Days, their unique live show, a blend of music, theatre and protest.

    This year, we launch a new strand of the programme, GULB LAB, giving a space for work-in-progress performances by leading international artists – this year Improbable present Lifelines and Polish experimental director Krzysztof Garbaczewski with SOLARIS. These are great opportunities to see outstanding theatre makers newly developed projects at a £10 ticket price.

    Jo Caulfield delivers the annual Linda Smith Lecture, part of a programme of comedy that includes Janet Street-Porter, Michael Spicer, Laura Smyth and the Scummy Mummies amongst a dazzling array of comedy talent.

    Kicking off the family season is bOing! (Aug 29&30), Kent’s biggest family arts festival offering a packed weekend of live music, crafty and techie workshops, plus food, drink and plenty of space to sit out in the sunshine.

    Family fun continues with the funny and energy packed Utterly Revolting Science Show in October, followed by Dear Zoo and There’s a Monster in Your Christmas Show.

    This is just a taste of what’s to come, browse our website to discover more events!

     

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    LEAD PUBLICITY SHOT
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    Black is the color-28 Apphia Campbell photo credit Rod Penn
    23-12-17-The-Unthanks-In-Winter
    COURTNEY PINE LIVE CREDIT DEREK CLARK
    Blockheads - Peter Surcombe
    Femina for website DY
    09-solaris-performer-filaments
    Lifelines_V1
    ROTB_GulbenkianArts_A5_brochure_NoLogos (2)
    Bones in the Desert promotional image - landscape hi-res
    211216 Dear Zoo landscape no footer[45]
    large_RD_26_0_2_1de9ba7012
    LEAD PUBLICITY SHOT
    (1080 x 1080 px)
    Black is the color-28 Apphia Campbell photo credit Rod Penn
    23-12-17-The-Unthanks-In-Winter
    COURTNEY PINE LIVE CREDIT DEREK CLARK
    Blockheads - Peter Surcombe
    Femina for website DY
    09-solaris-performer-filaments
    Lifelines_V1
    ROTB_GulbenkianArts_A5_brochure_NoLogos (2)
    Bones in the Desert promotional image - landscape hi-res
    211216 Dear Zoo landscape no footer[45]

    ART31

    ART31 takes its name from Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, which states that ‘Children have the right to relax and play, and to join in a wide range of cultural, artistic and other recreational activities’.

    ART31 is a vision created with, by, and for young people in Kent, championing the belief that all children and young people have an entitlement to access high quality arts and culture, to empower them to achieve their creative potential, and to genuinely engage young people as equal partners in any decision making that affects them.

    The ART31 Youth Board is made up of young people from across Kent aged 13-25 who steer its governance, and influence policy and practice across the county and beyond, challenging the creative sector to examine existing ways of working and integrate young people into the core of their practice.

    Our projects with young people

    GENFest Young people posing in a cardboard Instagram frame

    ART31 Generate

    Providing workshops, support, and performance opportunities, Generate is where creativity gives voice to young perspectives whether in theatre making, film media, music, visual arts and more!

    Youth Theatre
    Live Streaming film equipment.

    SCREEN31

    Screen31 is a group for young people aged 15-25 interested in developing their film-making skills.
    TECH31

    TECH31

    Set over two days TECH31 is a free workshop designed to provide 13-25 year olds with an opportunity to develop their skills in sound, lighting, stage management and much more. 
    Actors on stage

    National Theatre Connections – Gulbenkian Young Company

    NT Connections is the National Theatre’s nationwide youth theatre festival. Each year it offers a unique opportunity for youth theatres and school theatre groups to stage new plays written for young people by some of theatre’s most exciting playwrights, and to perform in leading theatres across the UK.
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    Gulbenkian Uncovered

    Are you enthusiastic, committed and creative? Gulbenkian Uncovered gives University of Kent students the chance to programme films and run events.

    Square Pegs 1

    Square Pegs Arts

    Square Pegs Arts are an award winning charity who provide drama groups, music projects and other accessible Arts opportunities for children and young adults who have learning disabilities and autism, and produce original, inspiring, challenging Theatre. Difference is celebrated and everyone is supported to shine in their own way.
    A selection of images arranged on a wall

    KRAN Drama Group

    KRAN is a drama group in partnership with Kent Refugee Action Network for young refugees and asylum-seekers.
    Accessible Film Club

    Relaxed Screenings

    Monthly film screenings that are open to all, especially those with autism and learning disabilities.

    Young People - Screen31 ARTY31

    ARTY31

    Gulbenkian’s ARTY31 group is for young people aged 8-12 with a wide variety of arts interests.

    Film tickets

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