Scottish Theatre Highlights: November 2026
This November, Scotland's theatres look to the past through anniversaries, revisited works and forgotten histories
At Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre, Operation Mincemeat (2-7 Nov) brings the acclaimed West End hit to Scotland, retelling the wartime deception that helped shape the course of the Second World War. Glasgow audiences can catch it at the Theatre Royal the following week (10-14 Nov). For something a bit more sultry in Edinburgh, the Festival Theatre welcomes Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man (3-7 Nov), a sexy, high-drama reworking of Bizet’s Carmen set in a greasy American garage-diner.
Meanwhile, Scottish Opera marks the centenary of Puccini’s Turandot at the Festival Theatre (11-22 Nov). Director Sir David McVicar’s production conjures a decaying world of gothic grandeur, drawing on everything from Great Expectations to The Shining. Alongside its immersive visual world, audiences can look forward to one of opera’s most recognisable arias, Nessun dorma. Pair the vibe with The Haunting of Hill House at the Lyceum (10-14 Nov), Shirley Jackson's "perfect ghost story", according to Stephen King.
Emma Frankland in No Apologies. Photo: Heartefact Kosovo
Over at the Traverse, Scottish luminary Tilda Swinton returns in Man to Man (until 7 Nov), more than 30 years after originating the role in the play’s 1987 UK premiere. Manfred Karge’s drama follows a woman who assumes her dead husband’s identity to survive in 1930s Germany. The Traverse also hosts Rotten Work & The Game of Life (10-11 Nov), two new works from Scottish Dance Theatre as part of their 40th anniversary season, and No Apologies (12-13 Nov), Emma Frankland’s trans retelling of Nirvana’s iconic 1993 MTV Unplugged concert. The latter won a Besties award for new writing from The Skinny at the 2025 Fringe.
Amy Helena, Melanie Jordan and Diane Thornton in Do Not Pass Go. Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic
Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre stages Do Not Pass Go (5-7 Nov) after a night at Dundee Rep (3 Nov) – Jordan & Skinner’s BSL-integrated physical theatre piece about Lizzie Magie, the feminist game designer whose anti-capitalist invention was repurposed into Monopoly. Meanwhile, showcase An t-Ùrlar as Àirde (The Highest Stage) (13 Nov) celebrates a decade of Gaelic theatre company Theatre Gu Leòr.
Before we enter panto-land, enjoy a November with a tinge of spooky spirit left and plenty of reminiscing.