Storyhouse rounds off a blockbuster year with Horrible Histories

Few cultural venues in the North West pack as much under one roof as Storyhouse. Theatre, cinema, library, festivals and a buzzing café-bar all share the converted art deco landmark in the heart of Chester, and 2026 has been one of its busiest years yet.

The year opened in atmospheric style with The Signalman, a new stage production of Charles Dickens's chilling ghost story, which pulled into Storyhouse in early February. Hot on its heels came Storyhouse Queer 2026, a festival of theatre, film, talks, live events and community activities co-created with members of the local LGBTQIA+ community.

Spring belonged to the venue's own productions. A modern adaptation of Macbeth ran from 6 to 21 March as part of the Storyhouse Originals programme, while the Chester International Film Festival returned to the building from 13 to 22 March, bringing global features and short films to the city's screens.

Then, as every summer, the company decamped to Grosvenor Park. The 2026 Storyhouse in the Park season ran from 27 June to 6 September at the Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, with Outlaws: A Robin Hood Story and the feel-good Let The Sun Shine! among the productions that filled the leafy auditorium on warm Chester evenings.

September brought one of Storyhouse's more distinctive events, the Childless festival, which returned for three days of panels, workshops and discussion exploring life without children. It is a good example of the venue's habit of using its stage to start conversations that rarely get a public airing.

Families now have half-term firmly in their sights. Horrible Histories arrives from Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 October with two of its best-loved shows, Terrible Tudors and Awful Egyptians, promising plenty of gruesome facts and big laughs for younger audiences and the grown-ups who bring them.

What makes Storyhouse special is the way it blurs the line between an arts centre and a community living room. You might come in to borrow a library book, stay for a coffee and leave with tickets for a film or a show, which is exactly the point.

Storyhouse is on Hunter Street, Chester. Full listings and tickets are at storyhouse.com.