American performance artist Taylor Mac is set to make a significant mark on London’s cultural calendar this winter, with two ambitious productions arriving in the capital across November and December 2026. The engagements mark a rare opportunity for UK audiences to see one of New York’s most celebrated and unconventional theatrical artists in major live settings.

On 26 November 2026, Taylor Mac and the Philharmonia Orchestra will perform the UK orchestral premiere of A 24-Decade History of Popular Music at the Royal Festival Hall on London’s Southbank, beginning at 7:30pm. Then, from 17 to 23 December, Mac’s alternative festive show Holiday Sauce will play at Soho Theatre Walthamstow, 186 Hoe Street, E17 4QH, also featuring musicians from the Philharmonia in its live band — the first time the show has been performed live in the UK.

Taylor Mac holds a remarkable set of accolades: a MacArthur Fellowship, a Pulitzer Prize nomination, a Tony nomination for Best Play, and the International Ibsen Award. Mac is widely known for work that fuses music, queer history, political commentary and participatory theatre into experiences that are simultaneously celebratory and subversive. Previous productions include Hir, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus and The Walk Across America for Mother Earth, as well as a concert documentary of the 24-Decade project directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman.

A 24-Decade History of Popular Music at the Royal Festival Hall

A 24-Decade History of Popular Music is among Mac’s most ambitious undertakings — originally conceived as a 24-hour performance art concert tracing 240 years of American history through popular song. The new orchestral version, produced by Pomegranate Arts and Nature’s Darlings, reimagines that vast project as a single evening’s event. It was last seen at the Barbican in 2019, when Mac presented the first three decades of the piece; this November marks the UK premiere of the full orchestral rendering.

The production is conducted by Alan Pierson, with musical direction by Matt Ray and orchestral arrangements by Ted Hearne. Costume design is provided by Machine Dazzle, a frequent Mac collaborator known for elaborate, extravagant work. The show blends pop ballads, anthems and disco alongside theatrical storytelling and audience participation, weaving a subjective narrative of American identity that Mac describes as an act of resistance.

Taylor Mac said: