A brand new play about the famous Blur and Oasis Britpop battle to top the charts is set to hit UK theatres. The play is penned by John Niven and will begin touring in February of 2026.
You can watch the trailer here:
The show, titled ‘The Battle’ will follow the two biggest Britpop bands as they fought for Number One during the year 1995. The 90s music giants both released albums ‘Country House’ and ‘Roll With It’ on the same day in August 1995 in a bid to hit Number One. Blur famously won the “Battle of Britpop” selling 274,000 copies, with Oasis selling 216,000 singles. The feud between the two bands stole headlines in magazines for months and divided music fans across the UK.
The play is written by music industry legend John Niven famous for his best-selling book ‘O’Brother’ and the acclaimed satire turned movie ‘Kill Your Friends’ starring Nicholous Hoult.
‘The Battle’ is directed by Matthew Dunster, known for his work on the play '2:22 A Ghost Story'.
Drumming up hype for his new play Niven set the scene saying: “1995: a time long before music splintered into a billion different TikTok feeds. When music was so central to the culture that two pop groups could dominate the entire summer, the evening news and the front page of every newspaper in the country. We’re going to take you back there.”
“I’ve never written for the stage before,” the 57-year-old added. “It has been an absolute blast to do so for the first time with a producer as supportive as Simon [Friend] and a director as talented as Matthew.”
Director, Matthew Dunster, added: “I remember the Battle of the Bands. I remember the charts that week. Music mattered. I remember being in my twenties in 1995. What a wild time. Full of energy, naughtiness and hilarity. Just like John Niven’s play.”
“I’m so delighted to be working with John on such a punchy, hilarious and revealing comedy about two of the best bands of all time, Blur and Oasis.”
Simon Friend, the producer of ‘The Battle’ continued: “Throughout my sister’s teenage years, she had an enormous poster of Damon Albarn on her wall, and I remember her falling out with friends over which band they loved more. Ever since, this story has been in the back of my mind, and I was delighted that John Niven agreed to write it because there is no more qualified or hilarious chronicler of this world, and combined with Matthew Dunster directing, we have a fearless team recreating the sweaty mid-‘90s carnage of ‘The Battle of Britpop’.”
'The Battle' will premiere at Birmingham Rep Theatre on February 11th 2026, before embarking on a UK-wide tour across the summer and then hitting the West End.
11/02 - 7/03 – Birmingham Rep – Birmingham
9/03 - 14/03 – Curve Theatre – Leicester
17/03 - 21/03 – Opera House – Manchester
24/03 - 28/03 – Churchill Theatre – Bromley
31/03 - 4/04– New Victoria Theatre – Woking
14/04 - 19/04 – Everyman Theatre – Cheltenham
21/04 - 25/04 – Festival Theatre – Edinburgh
28/04 - 2/05 – Wales Millennium Centre – Cardiff
5/05 - 9/05 – Lyceum Theatre – Sheffield
12/05 - 16/05 – Regent Theatre – Ipswich
19/05 - 23/05 – Richmond Theatre – London
26/05 - 30/05 – Theatre Royal – Glasgow
9/06 - 13/06 – Grand Opera House – York
16/06 - 20/06 – Theatre Royal – Norwich
23/06 - 27/06 – Theatre Royal – Nottingham
30/06 - 4/07 – Milton Keynes Theatre – Milton Keynes
7/07 - 11/07 – Theatre Royal – Newcastle
14/07 - 18/07 – Theatre Royal – Brighton
28/07 - 1/08 – Storyhouse Theatre – Chester
