Acclaimed TV historian David Olusoga, known for his powerful BBC series ‘A House Through Time’ and ‘Black and British: A Forgotten History’, has announced 2026 dates for his ‘A Gun Through Time’ show.

As he is currently appearing on Celebrity Traitors, and fresh from interviewing Barack Obama on stage at The O2 in London, David is preparing to take this brand-new show on tour for the first time through November, asking the question of how a single weapon can change history. In ‘A Gun Through Time’, David takes audiences on a gripping journey into the hidden stories behind three firearms that changed the world.

Each gun carries a complex legacy, entwining conquest, survival, and social upheaval. This show couldn’t be timelier.

With Europe witnessing the return of mechanised warfare, the echoes of past conflicts feel all too present. Young Ukrainians are now fighting in trenches eerily like those from a century ago, and here in Britain, politicians discuss rearmament and a potential expansion of the military—history, it seems, may be poised to repeat itself.

David explains his fascination: “My first passions as a boy—when I first got into history—were the First and Second World Wars.

“But I was always much more interested in the experiences of ordinary people caught up in those great events than I was in the speeches and strategies of politicians and generals. So, this is not a show about guns and how they work technically, nor is it about the tactics of battle.

“It’s about the cultures that emerged from the millions of people for whom these weapons became part of their lives.” Why now?

David continues: “I come from a generation that, unlike our ancestors, has had little contact with firearms.

“This makes us incredibly fortunate and unique, living in a rare era of peace. In the last century, two generations were conscripted into massive armies, with millions bearing arms in wars. Today, most of us have never even seen a gun, thanks to strict gun laws and a smaller military.

“This show explores how guns were once integral to life, shaping our history and culture. Yet, as conflicts re-emerge, the peace we've known feels fragile, with echoes of the past returning to modern battlefields and a renewed call for defence readiness in Britain”.

David will bring four legendary firearms onto the stage, each with its own world-changing story: the ‘Thompson Sub-Machine Gun’, which transformed from a WWI “wonder weapon” to the notorious “Tommy Gun” of Prohibition-era America; the Maxim Gun, used to subdue African territories and later causing unimaginable devastation on the Western Front -a weapon still seen on today’s battlefields in Ukraine. The ‘Lee-Enfield Rifle’, the soldier’s companion in both World Wars and a legacy passed through two generations of British families.

And going back to the 18th and 19th Centuries the British ‘Brown Bess’ flintlock musket – the weapon British soldiers took to Waterloo and that American rebels used to win independence for the United States. In this powerful live experience, you’ll get to see these historic artifacts up close, understand their hidden social histories, and ask David your own questions about the stories behind them.

Don't miss this chance to experience history like never before, one weapon, one story at a time.

*Newly Announced 2026 Dates:

14 April                       Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells
16 April                       Charter Hall, Colchester
19 April                       Leeds Grand Theatre
20 April                       Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow
21 April                       Town Hall, Birmingham
22 April                       Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham
26 April                       Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
27 April                       G Live, Guildford
28 April                       Anvil Arts, Basingstoke
5 May                        Derngate Theatre, Northampton
7 May                        Richmond Theatre, Richmond
11 May                        Cadogan Hall, London
12 May                        The Alban Arena, St Albans
15 May                        Grand Opera House, York
18 May                        Hall for Cornwall, Truro
19 May                        New Theatre, Cardiff

Tour Dates 2025:

2 November               Beacon Hall Bristol
3 November               Barbican Hall, London
4 November               Theatre Severn, Shropshire
7 November               Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
9 November               Storyhouse, Chester
10 November             Lyric Theatre, Lowry, Salford
13 November             The Apex, Bury St Edmunds
15 November             Corn Exchange, Cambridge
16 November             Norwich Theatre Royal
20 November             Tyne Theatre and Opera House, Newcastle
22 November             Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh (Matinee)
22 November             Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh

Further dates have been added throughout April & May 2026, with tickets for all shows on-sale now via www.fane.co.uk/david-olusoga.