Polka Theatre announces fully subsidised Sisters 360 tour in 2026

Applications now open for state schools in London, Surrey and Essex to bring celebrated new play directly into schools

Polka Theatre is delighted to announce the 2026 Schools Tour of Sisters 360, the next production in Polka’s schools touring programme and first to be fully subsidised. Following the hugely positive response to tours of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ in 2024 and 2025, this new tour will run from Monday 23 February – Friday 13 March 2026, bringing Sisters 360 — which premiered at Polka in Spring 2025 before transferring to Leeds Playhouse and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture — directly into schools across London, Surrey and Essex.

Schools can now apply to take part, with the tour offered exclusively to state and special schools facing barriers to accessing live theatre. The production is recommended for years 4–8 (ages 8–12) and runs for 60 minutes, followed by a 30-minute assembly-style workshop designed to consolidate learning and encourage discussion. Each participating school will also receive a free copy of the playtext, supporting literacy, drama and PSHE teaching back in the classroom.

The tour is open to schools in London, Surrey and Essex, with priority given to those with high numbers of pupils eligible for free school meals, students with English as an additional language, refugee-background pupils, or those with SEN/ARP units.

Written by Asif Khan and directed by Ameera Conrad, Sisters 360 follows Fatima and Salima – the closest, coolest, hijabi step-sisters in all of Bradford – who are determined to win the Tiny is Mighty skateboarding competition. But when their parents begin discussing living apart, the girls’ lives threaten to turn upside down. Inspired by real-life skateboarding sisters and their hero Olympic medallist Sky Brown, this energetic, funny and heartfelt new play celebrates family, resilience and determination.

Sisters 360 at Polka Theatre 2025

The tour builds on the success of Polka’s Curtain Up! scheme, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this year and now provides 9,000 free tickets annually to schools across 20 boroughs. By expanding into school touring, Polka ensures even more children – many of whom may never have visited a theatre – can experience the transformative power of live performance.

This schools tour is made possible by the generous support of The Garek Trust, whose commitment helps ensure that children most in need of these opportunities are able to access them.

Feedback from teachers and pupils during the 2025 schools tour included:

• “It was wonderful for [the students] to engage with theatre beyond the classroom… for many it was their first experience of live theatre.”
• “The actor leading the workshop was INCREDIBLE with our students. They were all very engaged and enthusiastic.”
• “Every student stayed to watch the entire show which is rare with our students – they were very engaged and it was clearly an enjoyable experience for them.”

Images from the 2024 ‘Romeo and Juliet’ schools tour

Helen Matravers, Artistic Director at Polka said, “Sisters 360 skated into Polka this year with exceptional reviews and feedback – particularly from young people and adults experiencing the cultural backgrounds of the characters, contemporary subject matter and dynamic staging for the first time in a theatre.  It felt important that we share this story and access to theatre with as many young people as possible, especially to schools that find cost and transport prohibitive to their students seeing live performance. I am over the moon therefore that Sisters 360, and all its inspirational, creative and energising storytelling is heading into schools for three weeks, completely for free. Our schools tour is a crucial part of our work at Polka in delivering exceptional theatre-quality productions into school halls, gyms and classrooms. It enables us to reach an age group who are heading into some of the most formative years of their lives – for whom exploring creative expression could be so impactful on confidence and mental health, if not life changing. We are indebted to The Garek Trust for ensuring this work can happen, completely cost-free for schools at a time when budgets are at breaking point for them. Their support means thousands of children will experience live theatre, many for the first time, and Sisters 360 is an exceptional, inspiring show to soar into their worlds.”

State schools in London, Surrey and Essex can register their interest for the Sisters 360 2026 Schools Tour by 19 December 2025. Read more about the show and the tour here. 

More information in the Curtain Up! scheme can be found here.