EXETER’s Northcott Theatre has announced its first 2026 Made By Exeter Northcott production – Forever Young by Erik Gedeon is a musical play that blends big laughs, heartfelt moments and iconic songs.

The cast will include South West actors from past Northcott productions and pantomimes and the production will be the first musical play to be directed by the theatre’s creative director Martin Berry (pictured). There will be a special 20 per cent discount for residents of Devon and Cornwall for the opening performance

For this show, which the director describes as “gloriously silly”, the theatre will be transformed into a retirement home for older actors – but this lot aren’t living out their days quietly – they belt out rock and pop anthems, reminisce about their stage days, and raise a little hell along the way.

The soundtrack will include I Will Survive, Barbie Girl, I Love Rock ’n’ Roll, Imagine, Respect and many more. Forever Young will run at the Northcott from 7th to 15th March.

Along with the Made by Exeter Northcott productions which have already been announced (Exe Men, Jack and the Beanstalk and The Jolly Christmas Postman), the season is headlined by Elevate Festival, a week-long, annual celebration of new work by South-West artists, at the Barnfield Theatre from 12th to 15th October.

The festival will open with Philosophy of the World from South-West theatre company In Bed with My Brother, fresh from an Edinburgh Fringe First-winning run, and originally developed at the Barnfield; and Devon-based Stowaway Theatre brings Cluck!, a show developed on Elevate R&D.

Other festival highlights include Elevate Shorts, an evening of short plays written by South-West writers Charlie Coldfield, Hattie Collins, Nash Colundalur and Michael Ramus, who were commissioned after submitting their work to Exeter Northcott’s open script submission window.

Exeter Northcott’s commitment to supporting South-West artists is reflected elsewhere in the autumn/winter season. The Encompass community group is presenting Roots of Us, a fun day of storytelling, dance, arts and crafts, and food sampling, curated by members of Devon’s Caribbean, Hindu and Polish communities. Devon-based Richard Chappell Dance (pictured) is bringing Bloom, an evening of transformative dance, which includes Challacombe Chronicled, a dance piece accompanied by original poetry by Saili Katebe which celebrates the landscape of Dartmoor.