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A musical version of Disney classic 101 Dalmatians is coming to Manchester next year

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Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 19th October 2023

A beloved classic Disney film has been turned into a spectacular musical production, and it’s heading out on a UK tour this summer.

And of course, the new 101 Dalmatians stage show will be making a stop off to visit us here in Manchester.

Originally a novel written by Dodie Smith all the way back in 1956, first turned into an animated film by Walt Disney Productions a few years later in 1961, and then most-notably remade as a live-action movie by Disney again starring Glenn Close, Jeff Daniels, and Joely Richardson in 1996, 101 Dalmatians is tale known by millions worldwide.

It tells the story of an evil heiress named Cruella de Vil who decides to make a fur coat for herself out of the skins of Dalmatian puppies, but when teals a litter of 15 puppies, it’s up to their parents to rescue the innocent pups.

As well as the original animated film and the first live-action remake, the story of 101 Dalmatians has also been continued on with a number of sequel films and several spin-off TV shows, as well as through a recent new reimagining in 2021, titled Cruella, starring Emma Stone as the infamous title character.

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But while the story may be a familiar tale to millions across the world, never has been told quite like this before.

A musical version of 101 Dalmatians is coming to Manchester next year / Credit: Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

With a book by Johnny McKnight, and music and lyrics composed and written by Douglas Hodge, this new musical that’s heading out on a tour of the UK tour in 2024 comes from a stage adaptation by Zinnie Harris, and is being reimagined from what was the critically-acclaimed Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre production back in 2022.

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The story is brought to life on stage with spectacular puppetry, show-stopping choreography, hilarious songs, and, of course, irresistible puppies.

It’s now been announced that Kym Marsh will star as Cruella De Vil, with the remaining cast and creative team to be announced in the coming months.

Kym wrote: “I’ve got a tail-wagging announcement for you so lock up your puppies.. Cruella has arrived!

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“I’m so excited to reveal I will be starring as the greatest villain of them all, Cruella De Vil, in the smash-hit musical, 101 Dalmatians!”

101 Dalmatians The Musical is kicking off its 2024 UK with a launch in Wimbledon, before visiting several other major cities such as Birmingham, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Liverpool, Cardiff, Glasgow, and so many more.

It’ll take to the stage here in Manchester at the Palace Theatre from 30 July – 10 August 2024, with tickets on sale now.

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Featured Image – Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre

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Influential indie veterans The Wedding Present to embark on 40th anniversary tour

Danny Jones Danny Jones Wedding Present Manchester gig date tickets

Influential indie band The Wedding Present are about to begin a big live tour across the UK for their 40th anniversary, and one stop is right here in Manchester.

As boundary-pushing veterans of the genre for the best part of four decades, The Wedding Present have always been one of the most pioneering auteurs of the Northern music scene, and nothing has changed even after all this time.

The Leeds-formed icons are a favourite not only of ours but even more so among our friends over at The Hoot, and with an artistic legacy as strong as Yorkshire’s, that’s saying something.

David Lewis Gedge’s long-standing project rather quietly announced its major retrospective series of live shows back in June – so quiet, in fact, that we missed it until now – but as they gear up for a handful of very special dates, we’d urge Manc gig-goers to give themselves a Wedding Present.

Gedge and co. will be coming to the O2 Ritz in Manchester for just the second show of merely half a dozen confirmed for The Wedding Present 40th Anniversary Tour, having played the venue many times.

In fact, even after visits featuring live configurations over the years, the current lineup played the Ritz as recently as May 2023; the show was met with strong reviews pretty much across the board, and it seemed to signal somewhat of a falling back in love with the crowds of the North.

For anyone unaware of the self-styled ‘semi-legendary band’ (their PR’s words, not ours), The Wedding Present are probably in similar territory to fellow underdogs and Manc natives, James, when it comes to the amount of music they’ve put out over the years, inspiring generations of those who came after.

You might assume we’d name one of their most famous tracks, ‘George Best’, as our favourite, for rather obvious reasons – but you’d be wrong: it doesn’t get much better than ‘Dreamworld’, if you ask us.

Their rich back catalogue encompasses not only so many different eras but also sounds, styles and various other eccentricities; so much so that their multi-genre-spanning music has even produced its own musical.

But before we dive any deeper down into the rabbit hole, let’s get back on track.

Set to play Manchester on Friday, 10 October, The Wedding Present will be kicking off the tour in Bristol at the start of next month.

There are other dates in the likes of Sheffield, Liverpool, Chester, Holmfirth, Buxton, Newcastle and more, but only a few are officially part of the anniversary tour.

Tickets are live as we speak, so if you fancy going along to see them, you can grab yours HERE.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Karl Kathuria (supplied)

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The K’s book Castlefield Bowl for their biggest ever headline show

Danny Jones Danny Jones The K's Castlefield Bowl Manchester Sounds of the City 2026 tickets

High-flying indie rock outfit, The K’s, are set to play a landmark headline show right here in Manchester, as the local lads have been confirmed as the first act for Sounds of the City 2026.

The cult favourite working class heroes from down the road in Newton-le-Willows have had an incredible couple of years, climbing their way up the ranks around the North, playing bigger venues and festivals up and down the country, and now they’re on a fully-fledged European tour.

It’s been brilliant to watch their rise thus far, and we couldn’t be more buzzing to hear that they’ve booked none other than Castlefield Bowl for the single largest standalone gig of their careers to date, and you can bet The K‘s army will be out in full force.

Announced alongside another massive outdoor venue this week, the toast of Earlestown will be one of several artists set to play the Sounds of City (SOTC) concert series next year.

Confirming Castlefield Bowl alongside the magnificent Piece Hall in Halifax for summer 2026, the four-piece will make their way from Merseyside, not only down the M62 to Manchester but over to Yorkshire for what is one of the most stunning outdoor venues in the country.

These two incredible atmospheric amphitheatres are not only incredible spaces for live music, but in the case of our very own city centre stunner, Castlefield Bowl boasts a capacity of approximately 8,450 – making it comfortably The K’s biggest show yet.

Having opened for the likes of Blossoms at Live From Wythenshawe Park last year, and playing huge festival slots at the likes of Kendal Calling back in just last month, they’re no strangers to big crowds – but this will be something special.

Speaking of Kendal, we were in the field ourselves when the group got to revel in the moment of announcing their second album, Pretty On The Internet, had reached number one just in time for their main stage set.

You can watch the magical moment down below:

Official artist presale access will be available this Wednesday, 17 September from 9:30am by signing up to their mailing list, but general admission tickets for both dates will go live at 9am the following Friday (19 Sep).

You can get ready to grab yours HERE.

Once again, we can only say well done on the number one; having been there to discuss their debut record’s release while they threw plastic balls around a room, we couldn’t be more gassed to see how far they’ve come.

‘SYDTF x’

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shot (supplied)/Audio North

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