The classic play The Old Ladies will return to London for the first time in more than three decades, opening at the Finborough Theatre on Tuesday 24 March 2026 for a limited four‑week run. Press nights will take place on Thursday 26 March and Friday 27 March at 7.30pm.
Adapted by Rodney Ackland from Hugh Walpole’s 1924 novel, the drama unfolds in a Cathedral city in 1935 as three elderly women share a gloomy house where malice, greed and obsession simmer beneath the surface.
The production revisits a work once celebrated in both the West End and on Broadway, offering a powerful study of isolation and fear among those society has forgotten.
 
 
 
 
Brigid Larmour directs following her acclaimed staging of The Merchant of Venice 1936and Juliette Demoulin provides set design after her recent nomination for Best Designer in The Stage Debut Awards.
Ackland, whose career spanned major West End successes before decades of obscurity, has seen a resurgence at the Finborough in recent years with revivals such as After October.
The production is presented by Andrew Maunder and Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre, with Maunder returning after a series of noteworthy revivals including The Silver Cord and The Truth About Blayds.
Hugh Walpole, once one of the most widely read authors of his generation, praised Ackland’s adaptation of The Old Ladies and continued to influence British literature and screenwriting throughout his life.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
