Theatre

Hit musical & Juliet is returning to Manchester, with tickets on sale today

Imagine if Juliet's story didn't stop at Romeo... Contains affiliate links.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 1st November 2023

& Juliet, a runaway Broadway and West End hit musical, is returning to Manchester next year, with tickets on sale today.

The musical reimagines Shakespeare’s iconic love story from a new angle – what would have become of Juliet if she’d given up on Romeo before their tragic ending?

Audiences are whisked away on a journey that shows Juliet’s life if she’d skipped her famous ending for a second chance at life and love, created by the Emmy-winning writer from Schitt’s Creek.

And with a soundtrack that includes Max Martin-written hits like Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time, Katy Perry’s Roar, and chart toppers Since U Been Gone, It’s My Life, I Want It That Way, and Can’t Stop the Feeling!, it’s clear why the theatre production has been such a success.

& Juliet first premiered here in Manchester back in 2019 before pitching up at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre and the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Broadway.

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In that time, it has won Olivier and WhatsOnStage Awards, and earned Tony Award nominations.

And now the musical & Juliet is heading back to the stage where it all began, visiting Manchester’s Opera House Theatre as part of a new UK tour.

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It will return to the city from 8 July 2024 before heading to Southampton, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Birmingham, Cardiff, Nottingham, Leeds and more.

Ben Jackson Walker, Lorna Courtney, Betsy Wolfe, Melanie La Barrie in & JULIET. Credit: Matthew Murphy
Ben Jackson Walker, Lorna Courtney, Betsy Wolfe, Melanie La Barrie in & JULIET. Credit: Matthew Murphy
Lorna Courtney in & JULIET. Credit: Matthew Murphy
Lorna Courtney in & JULIET. Credit: Matthew Murphy

& JULIET is directed by Luke Sheppard (In the Heights, Rent, Little Big Things), with a Book by David West Read (Schitt’s Creek), choreography by Jennifer Weber and set design by Soutra Gilmour.

Music is by Max Martin & Friends, costume design by Paloma Young, musical supervision, orchestration and arrangements by Bill Sherman, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Gareth Owen, video & projection design by Andrzej Goulding, hair, wig and makeup design by Suzy Barrett, musical direction, additional arrangements and orchestrations by Dominic Fallacaro, and casting direction by Stuart Burt.

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& Juliet will be at the Opera House Manchester theatre between 8 and 20 July.

Tickets go on sale at 10am for ATG Tickets members, and general sale begins from 1pm on Wednesday 1 November.

You can get your & Juliet Manchester tickets here.

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Featured image: Matthew Murphy

Theatre

Hamilton at the Palace Theatre, Manchester – a revolutionary musical that will stay with you for a lifetime

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Hamilton is at the Palace Theat until February 2024. Credit: Danny Kaan

Hamilton is a masterpiece. Its creator – Lin-Manuel Miranda – a genius. This review could simply stop at ‘10/10, no notes’. 

But there is so much more to say about this revolutionary, record-breaking musical, which has secured shelves full of awards and dazzled tens of millions of audience members across the globe.

The smash-hit theatre production has just hit Manchester on its first-ever UK tour, already selling out dates through to the end of February. 

It follows the life of Alexander Hamilton and his fellow Founding Fathers, through the American Revolutionary War to the creation of America’s economic system (there’s a reason his face is on the $10 bill).

Lin-Manuel Miranda has taken politics, a pen, and a piano, and struck gold.

This is a stage experience with very few frills – the set barely changes, and most of the cast members wear the same beige costumes throughout – and yet the talent on stage, and the fast-paced sung-spoken script will whisk you through three decades in a little under three hours and in what feels like the blink of an eye. 

Despite earning its place as arguably the biggest musical in the world, I walk into Hamilton a complete novice. I’ve completely avoided spoilers (although can we really call them ‘spoilers’ when the production is centred on events that happened literal centuries ago). I’ve dodged the Disney+ streams, swerved the Spotify soundtrack, swiped past any Hamilton TikToks, and gone into the Palace Theatre blind. I wanted to experience the whole thing for the first time in the way that Miranda intended – in the room where it happens. 

The Schuler sisters in Hamilton. Credit: Danny Kaan
Maya Britto, Aisha Jawando and Gabriela Benedetti as The Schuyler sisters in Hamilton. Credit: Danny Kaan
Daniel Boys as King George in Hamilton, which is in Manchester until 2024. Credit: Danny Kaan
Daniel Boys as King George in Hamilton, which is in Manchester until 2024. Credit: Danny Kaan

People warned me that I should have done my homework, and while a loose understanding of America’s founding fathers is useful, and you’ll need to have your wits about you to keep up with the ferociously fast pace of the spoken word dialogue, it’s impossible not to be swept away by Hamilton even if the plot does slip away from you. 

These are songs – ‘My Shot’, ‘Helpless’, ‘Say No To This’ – so brilliant you actually want to listen to them away from the theatre, songs which weave back throughout the story of Hamilton so that by the second act they feel like familiar friends. 

Of the touring cast in Manchester, Shaq Taylor is astonishing in the lead role of Hamilton, while Billy Nevers nails his split role between Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson through charisma and comic timing. 

Maya Britto as Eliza Hamilton is another star, who whips from sweet, hopeful bride to fierce independent woman, the transformation brought to life in a staggering rendition of ‘Burn’. 

The full touring company of Hamilton in Manchester. Credit: Danny Kaan
The full touring company of Hamilton in Manchester. Credit: Danny Kaan
Shaq Taylor as Hamilton. Credit: Danny Kaan
Shaq Taylor as Hamilton. Credit: Danny Kaan

I can’t help but wonder if we’d all be a little more engaged with modern-day politics if there was an element of hip-hop to it – if parliamentary debates took place as rap battles. Although, we’ve all seen Theresa May’s sense of rhythm, so maybe not… 

Hamilton has arrived in Manchester in a cloud of the largest hype I can remember in decades, and let it be known – it’s here to Blow Us All Away. 

Hamilton is at the Palace Theatre in Manchester until Saturday 24 February 2024 – you can book tickets here.

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Featured image: Danny Kaan

Theatre

Beloved musical Dear Evan Hansen is coming to Manchester on its first ever UK tour

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Smash-hit musical Dear Evan Hansen is heading out on a UK tour for the first time ever, and it’ll be making a stop off here Manchester.

Known for being one of the most beloved new musicals of the last decade, having scooped up dozens of coveted awards after it first debuted on Broadway back in 2016 and then went on to take the West End by storm in 2019, a new production of Dear Evan Hansen is about to embark on its first ever tour of the UK from next autumn onwards.

And luckily for musical fans in Manchester, the show will be capturing the hearts of audiences in our city as part of that long-awaited tour.

The multi-award-winning production will be gracing the Palace Theatre stage in February 2025.

Unfamiliar with the show? Dear Evan Hansen tells the story of Evan – an anxious high school kid who wants nothing more than to fit in, but the only thing is, on his way to fitting in, he didn’t tell the whole truth, and now must give up on a life he never dreamt he’d have.

As events spiral and the truth comes out, Evan faces a reckoning with himself and everyone around him.

Packed with some of the biggest musical theatre songs of this century from a score by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul – who are the Oscar-winning composers for The Greatest Showman – the original production of Dear Evan Hansen took home the Tony Award for Best Musical, the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Score.

And this new touring iteration sounds set to be just as successful, as it’s directed by Adam Penford with a book by Steven Levenson.

Dear Evan Hansen is coming to Manchester on its first ever UK tour / Credit: Matthew Murphy (via Dear Evan Hansen UK)

“Dear Evan Hansen has thrilled audiences on both sides of the Atlantic since it first premiered in 2015,” commented director Adam Penford on the announcement that the production is heading out on a tour of the UK and Ireland.

“Evan’s powerful story grips and moves people, told through a captivating script and musical score, and this first new and exciting UK production offers the opportunity to reexamine some of its contemporary themes.

“I’m excited to begin the search for our Evan very soon.”

The beloved musical will take to the Palace Theatre stage in February 2025 / Credit: Supplied

Dear Evan Hansen will take to the stage at the Palace Theatre Manchester from Tuesday 18 – Saturday 22 February 2025, with tickets set to go on general sale this Friday (17 November) at 10am.

Given how popular the production has been in the past, how well-loved it is among musical theatre fans, and the fact this is the first UK tour, it’s expected that tickets will be snapped up quick, so you’ll want to make sure you act fast to get your hands on them.

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You can grab tickets here when they go on sale.

Featured Image – Matthew Murphy (via Dear Evan Hansen UK)

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