Public Booking is now open for Lichfield Festival 2026!
Tickets can now be booked for all events in the Summer Festival, taking place from 7 – 19 July 2026.
We’ve got some fantastic shows coming to Lichfield in a few months’ time. Whether you’re looking for comedy, theatre, dance, literature or any kind of music, you’ll see below that there’s something for everyone this July!
Music
Lichfield Festival offers an eclectic mix of music from around the world. This year, Brit nominee Rumer makes her Lichfield debut, star performer and broadcaster Jess Gillam introduces you to the saxophone as you’ve never heard it before, and ‘first lady of folk’ Kate Rusby returns after her last Festival sell-out.
Kasai Masai light up the Festival again with irresistible Congolese grooves, there’s more folk from Radio 2 Folk Award winner, Jim Moray, and the Midlands Choir of the Year Final reaches its dramatic climax.
Classical highlights include pianist Junyan Chen with late-night Rachmaninoff, BBC National Orchestra of Wales perform an all-American programme, the voices of Ex Cathedra will make magic in the Cathedral, and our Young Artists series showcases the classical stars of tomorrow.
Theatre, Dance, and Comedy
Returning for a 5th year, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men start the Festival with an open‑air production of Othello, and, in dance, Ballet Cymru reimagine the classic Sleeping Beauty, whilst flamenco sensation Maria Vega joins forces once more with arguably the world’s top classical guitarist, Xuefei Yang.
Comedy comes from TV and radio’s brilliantly sharp Simon Evans, and home-town favourite Katie Arnstein, who reprises her Lichfield-set Festival commission, Homebird. Music and comedy collide in three shows: Hooray for Hollywood marries dazzling musical theatre with the sharp wit of Joe Stilgoe and Liza Pulman, a new Festival commission by Amy J Payne explores the songs of comedy legend Victoria Wood, and there are laughs galore as Charles Court Opera return with a sparkling production of Iolanthe, bringing Gilbert & Sullivan’s topsy‑turvy world to Lichfield once more.
Great characters from history take centre stage in shows about Marie Antoinette (with music and movement from the Liberata Collective), Nell Gwynne, brought to life by Lesley Smith, and Sir Walter Raleigh…
Literature & History
… and there’s more history on offer, as we delve into the world of books. Via Dr Melita Thomas we meet 1000 Tudor People, while Festival favourites Tracy Borman and Alison Weir bring new novels featuring different wings of the Boleyn family. Bestselling crime-novelist Lindsey Davis returns with her latest, much‑loved ‘Flavia Albia’ mystery, and journalist Nick Higham reveals a dangerous mission from the end of World War I. Plus, for those who enjoy discovering history on foot, local historian Jono Oates brings Lichfield’s streets vividly to life across several specially-curated walks.
Family Shows
There’s plenty for younger audiences and the young at heart too! The ever‑popular Wallace & Gromit take over the Cathedral as KNDS Fairey Band accompany their cinematic adventures with a live brass-band soundtrack, and the Rusty Player’s Orchestra also turn to the silver screen with an exciting, accessible programme of favourite film music. The Editor-In-Chief of Guinness World Records joins us to share record‑breaking wonders, and Waterperry Opera retell Beatrix Potter’s much-loved tales of Peter Rabbit, accompanied by a classical quartet.
We look forward to welcoming you to Lichfield Festival this July.