- February 2026
A Work of Fiction is a sketch show aiming to parody and make light of different works of fiction-
from ancient epics and fairy tales, to Shakespeare and Kafka (or any other book/play/poem
imaginable)! Have you ever read a book and thought that the ending should be changed? That the
characters' personalities could use some TLC or that it’d be much more funny if the book had an
entirely different message? Then come and be in this absurd, witty and well-read sketch show. It’s
gonna be a real page turner, an Odyssey if you will, of an ADC late show!
- February 2026
'You can't repeat the past? Why, of course you can!'
For the first time in ADC history, The Great Gatsby is coming to the main stage this Lent.
In the height of the Roaring Twenties, a man built from nothing dares to dream everything. Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic millionaire, hopeless romantic, and self-made myth, throws dazzling parties beneath the glittering lights of Long Island. But behind the jazz and champagne lies a desperate longing to win back the love of Daisy Buchanan, now trapped in a hollow marriage across the bay. Through the eyes of Gatsby’s neighbour, Nick Carraway, we enter a world intoxicated by wealth and illusion, where the pursuit of the American Dream spirals toward ruin. Simon Levy adapts Fitzgerald's novel into a play, transforming Fitzgerald’s iconic novel into a vivid, fast-moving, adrenaline filled theatrical event, where shifting narration, and sensual staging blur the line between memory and fantasy. At its heart, The Great Gatsby is a tragedy of obsession and reinvention. It is a story about the cost of dreaming too hard in a world built on appearances. It’s glittering. It’s devastating. And it burns with the question: how far would you go to rewrite your past?
A 4 star production as rated by student publication Varsity: 'Gatsby is an incredibly innovative, emotionally poignant and thought-provoking production, pertinent even now in its call for an undying hope.'
- February 2026
Join our all star cast of drag queens, kings and things as they celebrate ten years (!!!) of Dragtime! (who on earth let it get this far??) Since 2016 our performers have been thrilling audiences, pushing boundaries and paving the way in the drag scene in Cambridge and beyond, and this show will be no exception. The dream-girls, gays and theys of Dragtime! will be bringing you a sparkling cabaret featuring lip sync, live singing, pole dance, burlesque, live music and more - and we are telling you, you're gonna love them! So join us for one last time, for one night only (or perhaps two...)
- February 2026
- February 2026
"I think very few people are completely normal really, deep down in their private lives."
Elyot and Amanda are happily married; just not to each other. Five years after their tempestuous divorce, they find themselves in adjoining hotel suites on their honeymoons with their new, significantly younger spouses, Sibyl and Victor. The setup is a recipe for disaster: Elyot and Amanda’s three-year marriage was as passionate as it was explosive, ending in tragedy. Now, their unsuspecting new partners, already uneasy about their spouses’ pasts, find themselves caught in the crossfire.
- February 2026
“Two Universities, both alike in dignity, in the fair ADC, where we lay our scene.”
Cambridge University Amateur Dramatic Club join forces with Oxford University Dramatic Society for a night of brand new student writing, acting and a celebration of student theatre. One half written by Cambridge and performed by Oxford, the other vice versa, this Oxbridge collaboration promises talent, teamwork and a good night at the theatre.
- January 2026
Join the cast and crew of “Nothing On” as they embark on a nationwide tour of their new farce! While the dress run was a little shaky, the doors on the set don’t quite open and interpersonal conflict is at an all-time high, they open in under a day so the show will have to go on…
Not so much a peak as a slap behind the curtain, Noises off is Michael Frayn’s classic, hilarious romp through the trials of (semi) professional theatre.
- January 2026
In just 24 hours, CUMTS members will create and perform a brand new musical in this
A theme will be announced to some of Cambridge's sparkiest new writers and composers, who will then put their heads together for an all-night session of creative madness. In the morning, a troupe of CUMTS performers and directors will rehearse the songs they've written, and that night, they, alongside musicians and designers, will bring their writing to life, in what will be a whirlwind celebration of new musical theatre writing.
There will be sleeplessness. There will be coffee. Who knows what the final product will be?
All we know, is that it will be unmissable.
"Chaos - of the wonderful kind."
"a true testament to the scriptural powers of the CUMTS writing team"
"a pleasure to observe"
"undeniably entertaining"
"a night of infectious enthusiasm, comedic chaos and unexpected brilliance"
"a cacophony of creativity like no other"
"an unforgettable whirlwind event"
- January 2026
ETG is back for 2025! Cambridge University European Theatre Group is an all-student company that has been performing Shakespeare plays to audiences across Europe since 1957 and this year, we'll be bringing fun and fascination to the people with The Comedy of Errors. One of Shakespeare’s most fascinating and hilarious works, The Comedy of Errors is a full-blown farce, set in the mysterious and enchanting coastal town of Ephesus; it chronicles the story of two sets of twins, separated when young, who cause mayhem when they find themselves in the same city many years later.
Our interpretation of this hilarious romp brings out the punky, youthful, rebellious and subversive nature of Shakespeare. With energetic costumes, thrilling fights and troublesome seagulls, we want to strip back the restriction of the theatrical space, and invite the audience to share in the delight of one of Shakespeare's most electrifying comedies.
- January 2026
- December 2025
- December 2025
- December 2025
Been waitin’ all our lives for this, it’s gonna be A Night…to Remember!
Come on now! Join CU Show Choir for an unforgettable evening of music, movement and magic! From iconic club classics to show-stopping musical theatre hits and chart-topping pop anthems, this is the ultimate celebration of feel-good favourites. All that, plus a generous helping of jazz hands! Expect powerful vocals and slick choreography. CU Show Choir: A Night to Remember will have you singing and dancing in your seat!
So grab your friends, bring your family and don’t miss being a part of this show – we're all in this together!
CU Show Choir: A Night to Remember – because some nights are just too good to miss!
- November 2025
Far far away, in a small cottage named Chequers, Jack Beanstalk and his mum live a humble life where money is tight. To make ends meet, Jack sells his beloved cow Daisy in Bridgetown in exchange for five ‘magic’ beans from the renowned Evil Bean Merchant. His mother is devastated at the trade-off, but knows all about mistakes, having bean there done that. But fear not! Jack is distracted from this woe after meeting the love of his life, Jill, who will follow him to the ends of the earth…
… and indeed up a beanstalk. Join Jack and Jill as they navigate the high-altitude world of an insecure Giant, Claudia Winkleman, a golden goose and Guinness the Harp and follow them around the long winding corridors of Castle Mound. Wait why is the Evil Bean Merchant here, again?
Come and watch this year’s unmissable festive delight featuring love, adventure and... beans: the CUADC/Footlights Pantomime 2025: Jack and the Beanstalk!
- November 2025
For queen bee freshman Apple Wormwood, getting into the St. Abbing Secret Society is the ultimate ticket to campus glory. For the more cautious Liv, it looks like little more than an outdated boys’ club. But when the two join eight other hopefuls at the society’s initiation ritual, the night takes a dark and unexpected turn. What begins as harmless hazing quickly spirals into a series of blood-soaked survival challenges, where popularity points don’t mean squat and GPA won’t save your life.
RUSH! is a razor-sharp spoof of the teen slasher genre that skewers the absurdity of hazing, the toxicity of exclusivity, and the pressures of high-achieving institutions. Underneath the camp and chaos lurks a sharp jab at the high-pressure world of elite academia, where students are pushed to prove their worth – in this case, to the death.
The CUMTS Freshers Musical is the perfect way to support musical theatre newbies in Cambridge. Each year, a group of freshers get together in their first term and put on a student-written musical with the help and oversight of current CUMTS students. A show full of fresh, new talent and enthusiastic musical theatre freshers, it is not one to be missed on the CUMTS calendar. Come and show your support for the next generation!
- November 2025
"Supposing I were to come down one morning and find a dead body in the library... what should I do?"
Spider’s Web comes to life at the ADC Theatre as the Freshers’ Play for Week 6. Directed, produced, and performed entirely by first-year students, this production offers a fresh and energetic take on Agatha Christie's tangled tale of secrets, deception, and unexpected twists. Prepare for an evening of sharp wit, classic intrigue, and a dash of farcical chaos.
The play follows Clarissa Hailsham-Brown, the imaginative wife of a diplomat, who stumbles into a murder scene and decides to cover it up—only to find the situation slipping rapidly out of her control. Part mystery, part comedy, the play is a perfect showcase of Christie’s flair for suspense with a light-hearted twist.
- November 2025
“How pretty the sky is! I ought to go there on a rocket that never comes down.”
A visitor arrives at a small apartment in the French Quarter. A sister spirals. Nothing will ever be the same. On a street in New Orleans, in the sweet heat of summer, past and present collide. The fragile peace between two lives begins to unravel, and secrets push their way up to the surface. Step into the world of 'A Streetcar Named Desire', Tennessee Williams' Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece, and experience this timeless domestic drama where desire simmers beneath every word, dreams collapse, and reality and illusion collide.
- November 2025
This sketch show is for the ones who learnt maths in a porter-cabin, sat their mocks next to a leaking radiator, and learnt more from corridor gossip than any Sex Ed lesson.
A Comprehensive Understanding is a fast-paced, character-led comedy created by state school students. Expect surreal satire, painfully accurate assemblies, and the kind of humour forged in the chaos of the British comprehensive system.
From lying to Ofsted to the unspoken rules of the lunch queue, we’re taking the familiar and making it very, very funny - all while punching up at the institutions that got us here.
Leave your lacrosse sticks, fancy crests and Latin mottos at the door...
- November 2025
A Bright Room Called Day follows a group of artists and activists in 1930s Germany, as they grapple with the rise of fascism around them. Punctuating this narrative are "interruptions" from Zillah: an activist who has moved from the US to Berlin during the Reagan administration, and is studying the rise of the Nazis. Tony Kushner (author of Angels In America, among other plays) combines poetry, fantasy, and historical fiction, to create a piece as compelling as it is experimental.
- October–November 2025
Jumpscared by seeing your supervisor on Grindr? Being left on read on Tinder sending a shiver down your spine? Latest Queerbridge discourse making you feel dead inside? Forget your worries and fall under the spell of our drop dead gorgeous kings, queens and inbetweens as we return to the ADC for another hit Halloween show, presenting the best drag talent the city has to offer. Hold on to your seats as the ghouls and ghosts of Dragtime! take you on a thrill-inducing ride through the dark side of drag, featuring singing, lip sync, spoken word, pole dance, burlesque, live music and more!
- October–November 2025
A summoning of dead ancestors, a secret engagement and a sudden storm all converge in the life of Wednesday Addams as she pursues her love for a seemingly normal boy in the eccentric world of the morbid-loving Addams family. Matriarch Morticia attempts to impress with her apple pie, uncle Fester confesses his love for the moon and Pugsley lets loose with a truth serum to catastrophic consequences. Will the course of true love and utter darkness run smoothly? Join us in Halloween week for this uplifting, hilarious musical tale of love, family and acceptance, with a touch of the macabre!
- October 2025
The New-York Times Bestselling ‘Author’ returns with a reading of their self-help book dealing with anger management and meat. Unfortunately, this book is horrible and written terribly; most of the anecdotes are random, incongruous and barely legal. On tour, the speaker is inaudible, raucous and only on stage for half of the allotted time. It’s still worth reading and / or watching as an exercise in how to rapidly destroy your career. RRP UK £20, CAN $45, US $32. Subject to shifting exchange rates in this turbulent time.
Join Footlight Martha Alexander for their debut stand-up hour at the ADC Theatre. It will be fine.
- October 2025
1994, Grimley. Ten years after height of the Miners' Strike, talented musician Gloria returns to her hometown under orders from her higher-ups. All the while, the local brass band, struggling for funds, makes the decision to go out on a bang with one last hurrah on the competition circuit. As circumstances become increasingly bleak, and music takes an increasingly central role in the lives of the band members, will the band prevail against the odds to reach the grand final? Based on the classic 1996 film of the same name, Brassed Off, which will be performed with a live band, is a moving portrait of life during the Thatcher years and testament to the fact that music really couldn’t matter more.
- October 2025
Manhattan island. The swinging 60's. The Golden Age of Broadway.
Nina and Robert are buskers with dreams of the big stage. Singing their hearts out on the streets, they hope it's only a matter of time before a big name notices them.
On the other side of the pond, Jack and Ernie are two London lads in the marketing business. Seeing the New York boom, they take the plunge and head to the New World in search of fortune. Enticed by the city, they blow their savings on gambling booze and other unsavoury habits, leaving them bare. Penniless and somewhat talentless, they hatch a plan to con their way to the top.
The couple, entangled in this rotten scheme, are soon to find that money is the biggest speaker, and some dreams just aren’t meant to be.
Fresh off a successful Edinburgh Fringe run, 'This Side of Life' takes the ADC stage in Week 1 with toe-tapping numbers, feel-good atmosphere, and an expanded band!
"Feel-good, lively... full of 60s flair" - The Scotsman
- October 2025
- October 2025
Because in stories things usually turn out the way the author wants them to; and in real life, they don’t…always
Marrying for money often doesn’t go to plan. It certainly hasn’t for faded tennis star Tony Wendice as he believes his wife will ultimately divorce him for her on-off lover, a charming crime writer. For Tony loosing his wife would be catastrophic, not because he loves her but her fortune. He consequently orchestrates a devious plot to have her killed. On paper it’s the perfect murder.
Will the wits of a shrewd inspector and a prolific crime writer manage to unveil Tony’s malicious scheme before it’s too late?
This amateur production of “Dial ‘M’ for Murder” is presented by arrangement with Concord
Theatricals Ltd. on behalf of Samuel French Ltd. www.concordtheatricals.co.uk
- June 2025
A sketch show about falling apart.
- June 2025
We are excited to announce our touring production of Macbeth, supported by CAST and Cambridge in
America. As a company we have worked to foreground reproductive anxieties latent in the text,
contextualizing Macbeth’s ‘fruitless crown’ in the wake of a recent and painful still-birth, which in turn
sharpens Lady Macbeth’s famous reproductive language: ‘take my milk for gall’; ‘I have given suck and know how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me’. The detailed medieval costume against the paired back set places primacy on the actor rather than our ever changing stages, aiding in the flexibility of our production and retaining the all important ‘emotional blocking’ at the core of our affective vision.
Macbeth is the 25th CAST production to travel America, following the success of last year’s Julius Caesar. CAST aims at spreading Shakespeare far and wide, both as an educational introduction to the infamous bard, and to stretch and stimulate new discussion among those already acquainted with his works, and Macbeth specifically.
- September 2025
- September 2025
- September 2025
- July 2025
A comic quick romp through all of Jane Austen's work. Three actors are due to perform the complete works, but when it transpires that one of the actors has defected to the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival, the two remaining actresses and Austen superfans must teach an understudy who knows nothing about Austen about her work.
- July 2025
- June 2025
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
When Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy first meet, it's dislike at first sight. Born into a lesser noble family with four sisters, with nothing to recommend them but their charms, Elizabeth is beneath the wealthy Mr Darcy's notice. Elizabeth sees Mr Darcy as a man born only of unpleasant arrogance and privilege. Their pride and prejudice blinds them to each other's true feelings, but can they overcome their flaws in spite of all obstacles, and find their way to happiness together?
Experience Jane Austen's classic tale of hate to love, revitalised in this production full of laughter, colour, and life.
- June 2025
- May 2025
The situation’s dire. It’s a catastrophe, a calamity, a really, really…bad…thing. After 20 years of being Helen, Helen has decided that enough is enough. Why be yourself, when you could be literally anyone else? At long last, Helen has found a way to transform herself into various alter egos and she’s bringing you along for the ride, because, well, she’s desperate for attention. This should be obvious by now. But will she find who she's really meant to be?
A new comedy hour from Footlight Helen Brookes, it won't be one to miss!
