Theatre

Eclipse – commissioned by the National Theatre, sponsored by BT Connections. (available in CloudCuckooLand).

Mister Heracles – a version of the Euripides play The Madness of Heracles, commissioned by West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Jerusalem – commissioned by West Yorkshire Playhouse.

The Odyssey – commissioned by the BBC, this dramatisation was broadcast on Radio 4 in 2004 and released on CD through BBC Worldwide. It received the Gold Award at the 2005 Spoken Word Awards. The book, Homer's Odyssey – A Retelling, was published by Faber and Faber (2006) in the UK and by Norton in the US.

Black Roses : The Killing of Sophie Lancaster – originally a radio drama commissioned by BBC Radio 4 in 2011. Written by Simon Armitage with an interview with Sylvia Lancaster, produced in Manchester by Susan Roberts. After unprecedented audience response, Simon Armitage adapted the radio drama for the stage. Black Roses played at Manchester’s Royal Exchange in 2012, co-directed by Royal Exchange Artistic Director Sarah Frankcom and BBC Radio Drama producer Susan Roberts. The stage play then transferred to the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre before becoming a BBC4 film in 2015, directed by Susan Roberts. The radio broadcast of Black Roses won the BBC Radio Best Speech Programme of 2011 and was shortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for Poetry. The accompanying text was published by Pomona (2012). One-third of all profits from the sale of this book will be donated to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

Last Days of Troy – written by Simon Armitage, directed by Nick Bagnall at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester before transferring to Shakepeare’s Globe on London's South Bank. The accompanying text, Last Days of Troy, was published by Faber and Faber in May 2014.

The Death of King Arthur, translated by Simon Armitage, Director Nick Bagnall. Performed at the Sam Wanamaker, Shakepeare’s Globe in 2014.

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, unknown poet translated by Simon Armitage, Director Nick Bagnall. Performed at the Sam Wanamaker, Shakespeare's Globe in 2014.

The Odyssey: Missing, Presumed Dead – A 2015 English Touring Theatre and Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse co-production. Director Nick Bagnall. The accompanying text The Odyssey: Missing, Presumed Dead was published by Faber and Faber in May 2015. The play was adapted for radio and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2016.

I Am Thomas – Lyrics by Simon Armitage. Written by Told by an Idiot. Director Paul Hunter. A 2016 co-production with the National Theatre Scotland, Royal Lyceum Edinburgh, in association with Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse.

Hansel and Gretel – a nightmare in eight scenes, touring 2018. The words of poet Simon Armitage retell this famous story in an extended lyrical poem entwined with chamber music by composer Matthew Kaner and shadowplay and puppetry by Clive Hicks-Jenkins. Dramaturgy, Caroline Clegg, Goldfield Ensemble, Producer Kate Romano, Goldfield Productions.