Worcester Repertory Company's Northanger Abbey Welcomes More Than 1,700 Theatregoers

6 August 2026

Worcester Repertory Company’s Northanger Abbey welcomed more than 1,700 theatregoers across its 8-day run at The Commandery. This year marked the Worcester Repertory Company’s 19th outdoor theatre production at The Commandery, with Northanger Abbey receiving incredible feedback from audiences and reviewers alike for being a ‘winner of a show that’s not to be missed’ and ‘the perfect choice for a quintessential English summer evening.’

Across its eight-day run, Northanger Abbey featured 10 performances, 5 cast members, 50 musical numbers and 30 dance routines. On stage, Catherine Morland rarely seen without novel The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (70 times in fact), Mr Thorpe was rather rude where he ought to be civil on 80 humorous occasions, and best friends Catherine and Isabella declared 10 gentlemen in the audience "adorable" – much to the delight of more than 1,700 theatregoers enjoying the outdoor theatre production in the summer sunshine.

Worcester Theatres would like to thank everyone who purchased a ticket to support Worcester Repertory Company, the in-house theatre company based at the Swan Theatre. Every ticket purchased helps support local theatre and enables the Worcester Repertory Company to continue producing ambitious home-grown theatre in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire.

Northanger Abbey was proudly sponsored by Sutcliffe and Co. Insurance Brokers, Britannic Place Financial Management and Bransford Trust, whose support helped bring the production to life in both The Commandery Gardens and the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham.

Sarah-Jane Morgan, Chief Executive & Artistic Director at Worcester Theatres and Executive Producer of Northanger Abbey said, “The Worcester Rep Company continually strives to produce high-quality professional theatre for the city of Worcester. I was delighted by the production of Northanger Abbey and feel fortunate to have worked with such a brilliant team of creatives and actors to have produced such a popular show.

Performance after performance, we received so many lovely comments, compliments and very positive feedback for the production from our audiences, with many saying it was the best outdoor production they have ever seen from the Worcester Rep Company. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who support the production and look forward to welcoming audiences back as we celebrate our 20th year at The Commandery in 2027.”

Paul Milton, Director and Scriptwriter of Northanger Abbey said, “It's been a pleasure to work with a company of such dedicated, professional actors. A production like this necessitated that the performers were 100% committed and hardworking: they certainly were! It was great to have a number of actors who had worked with us before on Sense and Sensibility in 2025 and some who hadn't. I very much enjoyed the rehearsal process and the wonderful audience response to the performances at The Commandery.”