The Big House 2026 Season

The Big House, an Islington-based arts organisation for care-affected young people, has announced its 2026 season of work centred on the theme of state accountability and the right to be heard. Directed by founder Maggie Norris, the season features three urgent productions that have been developed with care-affected young people and explores who is allowed a voice in modern Britain.

A DoL House:  23 June – 11 July 2-026

Where: The Big House, 151 Englefield Road, N1 3LH 

The world premiere of A DoL House, written by BAFTA winning David Watson, is a searing look at Deprivation of Liberty orders, drawing on interviews with judges, young people and legal experts to explore when protection becomes control. The play follows sixteen-year-old Leyla, who is taken from her children’s home one night and moved to an unknown room in a far-away part of the city. She’s angry. She’s frightened. But she’s not alone.

Blaze FM 

• 17 – 19 Sept Lowry Theatre, Salford 
• 29 Sept – 3 Oct Bristol Old Vic, Bristol
• 7 – 8 Oct Belgrade Theatre, Coventry

The organisation's first regional tour, Edinburgh Fringe hit Blaze FM, is an explosive piece of political gig theatre, weaving Grime, Garage, and Drill into a story of survival and subculture. Set in mid-2000s Hackney, it follows a local East London pirate radio station, led by father-figure Hughbert, facing the real-world pressures of state censorship, police overreach, and Home Office threats, all while defiantly broadcasting from a council flat. 

The Inquest: 1st Dec – 19 Dec 2026

Where: The Big House, 151 Englefield Road, N1 3LH 

The world premiere of The Inquest, a powerful examination of state-related deaths and the fight for justice, developed in partnership with INQUEST and through The Big House's flagship bi-annual programme. The Inquest asks how the failures of fragmented services can be identified, accountability enforced, and preventable deaths ended. Maggie Norris and James Meteyard’s story is set three years after the death of Jordan, who took his own life shortly after leaving care and was left unfound for three days.

By blending high-stakes drama with the lived experiences of marginalised youth, the 2026 programme continues The Big House’s mission to challenge the systems meant to protect the UK’s most vulnerable while providing life-changing professional opportunities for its young artists.

Further Information on all of the above: WHAT’S ON - The Big House