This January, The Royal Ballet presents a revival of Wayne McGregor’s acclaimed ballet triptych Woolf Works, inspired by the novels and autobiographical writings of Virginia Woolf.
Receiving its premiere in 2015, Woolf Works was McGregor’s first full-length work for The Royal Ballet and subsequently won both the 2016 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production and the 2015 Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Best Classical Choreography.
Woolf Works recreates the emotions, themes and fluid style of three of Virginia Woolf’s celebrated novels – Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and The Waves – as well as elements of her autobiographical writings that echo aspects of her eventful life. With dramaturgy by Uzma Hameed, the ballet is presented as a series of multi-sensory collages, utilising designs from McGregor, Ciguë, and We Not I alongside costumes by Moritz Junge, lighting design by Lucy Carter, film design by Ravi Deepres and make-up design by Kabuki.
In this revival, Royal Ballet Principal dancers Lauren Cuthbertson and Sarah Lamb will make their debut in the role of Clarissa/Virginia Woolf. Principal dancers Marianela Nuñez and Natalia Osipova will also reprise the role during the run.
The performance is set to a specially commissioned score from Max Richter, who combines classical and electronic sounds together with spoken word to create an atmospheric soundscape for the work. This soundscape features a rare recording of Woolf reading her essay On Craftmanship and a recording of actress Gillian Anderson reading Woolf’s haunting suicide note.
Woolf Works will be broadcast live in cinemas worldwide on Monday 9 February 2026, with encore screenings from Sunday 15 February.