RIVERSIDE STUDIOS ANNOUNCES SEPTEMBER TO DECEMBER THEATRE, COMEDY AND SEASONAL PROGRAMME

LIVE NEXT TO THE APOLLO (ONGOING, CELEBRATING TWO YEARS AT RIVERSIDE ON 26 SEPTEMBER), A MANCHESTER ANTHEM (19 AUGUST-13 SEPTEMBER), INTERVIEW (23 AUGUST-22 SEPTEMBER), ARE WE DOING THIS RIGHT?, (3-7 SEPTEMBER), SHOTGUNNED (12-28 SEPTEMBER), BROWN GIRL NOISE (16-28 SEPTEMBER), BLESSINGS (30 SEPTEMBER-26 OCTOBER), DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY (6-25 OCTOBER) SURINDERELLA (29 OCTOBER-2 NOVEMBER), THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY (15 NOVEMBER-15 FEBRUARY)

TICKETS AND FURTHER INFORMATION AVAILABLE HERE

Riverside Studios is set to light up Hammersmith this autumn with a bold and eclectic season of theatre, comedy and cabaret. From award-winning new writing and boundary-pushing adaptations to riotous comedy nights and family favourites, the September–December programme showcases Riverside’s commitment to fresh voices, diverse stories and unforgettable live experiences.

Live Next to the Apollo is Riverside Studios’ smash-hit stand-up night that’s been selling out since it launched two years ago. Founded by TV producer and compere Jonathan Stadlen, this warm, welcoming comedy night has built a loyal audience and become a key part of Riverside’s rich comedy legacy – following in the footsteps of legends like Lenny Henry, Lee Mack, and Bill Bailey. With over 100 shows and counting, and an Instagram following generating over a million views a month, the buzz is undeniable.

Tuesday nights are packed with up to six rising comedy stars, all for just £6.50. On Fridays, audiences can enjoy a Comedy Store-level lineup featuring the best comics on the circuit, along with favourite faces from the Tuesday shows and big-name headliners – for just £12. With every penny of profit going directly to the acts, Live Next to the Apollo is not just brilliant value, it’s also helping to support the next wave of UK comedy talent. This season's run includes appearances by Live AT The Apollo alumni Laura Smyth, Marcus Brigstocke, Esther Manito, Tom Ward and Paul Tonkinson – and the two-year anniversary show celebration lands on 26 September, with further details to be announced.

The sell-out Fringe hit A Manchester Anthem (19 August-13 September) is billed as ‘joyously uplifting’, telling the story of Tommy, a young working-class Mancunian who has been accepted into Oxford. He's the first in his family to go to uni – the first on his street in fact…Tommy takes on his last big night out in Manchester, as he gears up to leave the city he loves. The lights are bright, and the floors are sticky, but will the music stay loud enough to drown out the wedge dividing Tommy between old and new, here and there?

The show was the winner of the Pleasance Pick of VAULT Festival Award, Show of the Week winner and Off Fest nominee.

Press night Weds 20 August; press contact Liv Gadner - liv@katemorleypr.com

A Manchester Anthem

Interview (Studio 2, 23 August-27 September) is a seductive psychological thriller about truth, persona, and power. Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard (Dead Poets Society; House; London: Our Town, To Kill a Mocking Bird; Broadway: Sunday In The Park With George, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Invention of Love (Tony Award)) and Paten Hughes (A View From the Bridge; Stolen Girl; Heirloom) star in this world premiere new stage adaptation of Interview, which is seductive two-handed psychological thriller about truth, persona, and gender power. It plays at Riverside Studios for an exclusive limited engagement.

Katya (Paten Hughes,) a fiercely intelligent influencer turned movie star, is sick of being underestimated, objectified...and misrepresented by journalists...especially the male ones. When the fading political journalist Pierre Peters (Robert Sean Leonard) is assigned to interview her, he's bitter and dismissive, but Katya has her own reasons for agreeing to the encounter.  A tense evening in her New York apartment swiftly spirals into a volatile game of confession, confrontation, and manipulation. In an era where every screenshot can go viral, nothing is off the record. Adapted for the stage and directed by Teunkie Van Der Sluijs, this provocative play is adapted from the screenplay by Theodor Holman and the 2003 film by Theo van Gogh and reimagined for a world of influencer culture, media distrust, and gender power plays. 

Press night Thursday 28 August; press contact Didi Ralph from Emma Holland PR didi@emmahollandpr.com

Are We Doing This Right?  (3-7 September) is a love letter to the ones who keep us going, and a reminder that the only thing you can truly get right is having the courage to try. Following a sold-out preview run and glowing reviews, this production returns to Riverside Studios, telling the story of two friends navigate the uncertain terrain of life in their twenties - where dreams meet reality, and the truth of growing up hits harder than ever.

A witty and emotionally grounded exploration of self-doubt, creative paralysis, and the quiet chaos of trying to figure it out, the play captures the dilemmas of a generation asking: "Are we doing this right?"

Press contact: adeyinka.akinrinade@gmail.com

Shotgunned (12-28 September) is Kangaroo Court’s debut theatrical production. Written and directed by Matt Anderson, it tells the story of Dylan and Roz, a couple who unexpectedly fall out of love. Described as equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking, Shotgunned is a new, intimate piece of theatre centred around the people we lose that shape who we become. It is a deeply relatable tale of joy, loss, and reconciliation, and has been met with great acclaim throughout the UK in 2024  – including a sold-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Press night Monday 15 September at 19:45. Press contact julia@serpentineproductions.com (Julia Salkin) 

Brown Girl Noise (16-18 September) is back - bigger, better, and noisier! After a successful sold-out run at The Hope Theatre and then the Glitch Theatre, the show is set for a two-week run at Riverside Studios, and is a fierce, funny, and deeply human celebration of South Asian womanhood in all its complexity. Created by and starring South Asian women, this is a show about finding your feet on British streets and learning to make noise through skits, stories, and spoken word. A LPT Standing Ovation award finalist and ‘A MUST SEE SHOW!’ Brown Girl Noise is as bold as it is heartfelt: a protest and a party all at once. Proudly partnered with The South Asian Beauty Collective and L’Oreal Paris.

Press night Wednesday17 September. Press contact: Kaya browngirlnoise@outlook.com

Blessings (30 September-26 October) is set in a small English town in the 1960s, where formidable matriarch Dorie Deacon is determined to keep her Catholic family respectable while Frank, her husband, maintains a silence that suggests he sees more than he’s ever let on. But as their children return home to celebrate their traditional family Easter, their carefully constructed image begins to crack. Full of plenty of unspoken truths lying under the surface, the household is a pressure cooker ready to blow.  As secrets inch toward the surface and confessions are avoided, tension mounts towards a devastating and unforgettable climax.

The full cast includes:  Gary Webster (Minder, Coronation Street, Hollyoaks), Freddie Webster, Jane Slavin (Call the Midwife), Emily Lane (Frozen, Les Miserables, Hello Dolly), Hannah Traylen (Boiling Point, Educating Rita) and Milly Roberts.

Press night Thursday 2 October; press contact: Alison Duguid - alison@aduguidpr.co.uk.

Da Vinci's Laundry (6-25 October) is brought to Riverside Studios by KB Productions. Following the hugely successful run of Thanks For Having Me, Keelan Kember returns to the Main Stage with a brand-new blistering satirical comedy - premiering for a strictly limited run.

Two art salespeople and one suspicious Da Vinci, Da Vinci’s Laundry is a razor-sharp crime comedy set in the champagne-soaked, morally compromised world of high-end art. The show promises rip-roaring examination of masterpieces, money laundering, romance and how the art world stopped being about art and started being about power.

Featuring Arsema Thomas (Lady Agatha Danbury in Netflix’s Bridgerton spin-off Queen Charlotte), Steve Zissis (HBO Togetherness, Netflix’s Rebel Ridge), Fayez Bakhsh (Oedipus at The Old Vic, Silverpoint on BBC, The State on Channel 4), Velibor Topic, who co-stars in the new CBS series NCIS: Tony & Ziva starting in September, and Keelan Kember (Thanks for Having Me, February Face).

Press night: Wednesday 8 October at 19:30

Press contact: Annabelle at Mobius 020 3195 6269 annabelle@mobiusindustries.com

From the makers of Frankie Goes to Bollywood and Britain’s Got Bhangra, the award-winning Rifco Theatre shares an evening of laughter, romance and larger-than-life entertainment. Written by Pravesh Kumar, Surinderella (19 October-2 November) tells the laugh-out-loud story of Surinder – sweet, strong and stuck in a never-ending chore list thanks to her two selfie-obsessed, Insta-vlogging step-sisters, Lovely and Bubbly. Her only real support is Basanti, a cow with more attitude than a desi girl. Sparks fly with Prince Kavi on the scene – can her fabulous Devi Godmother get her to the Bollywood Ball?

Gala Night: 1 November at 19:30

Press contact: Shamima Noor - shamima@rifcoarts.com

The main autumn/winter show is a new live version of Douglas Adams’ mind-blowingly imaginative comedy (mis)adventure, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy (15 November-15 February). Audiences are invited to join Arthur Dent, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Fenchurch and many more to escape the destruction of Earth with seconds to spare and begin a search for answers to the mystery of Life, the Universe and Everything.

The night will begin in a rather unusual pub for an evening of storytelling and spectacle. From there, the story lifts off – quite literally – as audiences hitch a ride on a passing spaceship, discover the meaning of life, and join a quest to persuade a group of inter-dimensional mice to give the Earth a second chance.

Brought to life by an award-winning creative team, and featuring a multi-talented company of actors, this inventive take on Douglas Adams’ classic draws from the best examples of immersive, musical theatre, dance and magic to deliver a truly out of this world experience and a complete night out. 

Press night: Wednesday 26th November 2025.  Press contact entspublicity@themultipleagency.com

Head of Programming, Rhys Williamson said: “This season really captures what Riverside is all about – a space where the freshest new talent shares the stage with world-class names, and where audiences can expect to be surprised, challenged and entertained in equal measure. We’re proud to present such a rich and varied line-up that speaks to the energy and creativity of our community.”