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Theatre

Paddy McGuinness announces first UK tour in EIGHT years, including Salford show

He's heading to The Lowry as one of 40 shows.

Daisy Jackson - 4th December 2023

Paddy McGuinness has just announced a major UK tour for the first time since 2016.

The much-loved Bolton comic and TV presenter has included a gig at The Lowry in Salford on the massive run of dates.

The Paddy McGuinness Nearly There tour will kick off next October and run all the way in to 2025.

He’s said that the stand-up show will touch on topics including cancel culture, clickbait and fake news.

The 50-year-old star is known for his roles in shows including Phoenix Nights, Max and Paddy, and The Keith and Paddy Picture Show, as well as for presenting primetime TV shows such as Take Me Out and BBC’s Top Gear.

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This newly-announced tour is the first he’s undertaken since 2016, and will start in Blackburn.

Paddy McGuinness will then perform 40 dates across the UK, including a Salford gig at The Lowry, as well as shows in cities including Leeds, Sheffield, Halifax and Newcastle.

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Paddy said: “It’s been eight years since my last tour and there’s lots of things to laugh about! I’m looking forward to getting back in front of a live audience, along with running the gauntlet of cancel culture, click bait and fake news!”

Paddy McGuinness will perform at The Lowry, Salford on Friday 28 March 2025.

Tickets go on sale Friday 8 December at 10am via See Tickets.

Paddy McGuinness Nearly There UK tour dates

Thu 24 Oct 2024 Blackburn King Georges
Fri 25 Oct 2024 Sunderland Empire
Sat 26 Oct 2024 Hull Connexin Live
Thu 31 Oct 2024 Llandudno Venue Cymru Theatre
Fri 01 Nov 2024 Leicester De Montfort Hall
Sun 03 Nov 2024 Milton Keynes Theatre
Thu 07 Nov 2024 Middlesbrough Town Hall
Fri 08 Nov 2024 Dunfermline Alhambra
Sat 09 Nov 2024 Dundee Caird Hall
Sun 10 Nov 2024 Aberdeen Music Hall
Thu 14 Nov 2024 Leeds Grand Theatre
Fri 15 Nov 2024 Leeds Grand Theatre
Sat 16 Nov 2024 Glasgow SEC Armadillo
Sun 17 Nov 2024 Edinburgh Usher Hall
Fri 22 Nov 2024 Bradford St Georges Hall
Sat 23 Nov 2024 Stoke-On-Trent Regent Theatre
Sun 24 Nov 2024 Oxford New Theatre
Thu 28 Nov 2024 Halifax Victoria Theatre
Fri 29 Nov 2024 Sheffield City Hall
Sat 30 Nov 2024 Newcastle O2 City Hall
Sun 01 Dec 2024 Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
Thu 13 Feb 2025 Truro Hall for Cornwall
Fri 14 Feb 2025 Swansea Arena
Sat 15 Feb 2025 Cardiff New Theatre
Thu 20 Feb 2025 Ipswich Regent
Fri 21 Feb 2025 Southend Cliffs Pavilion
Sun 23 Feb 2025 Dartford Orchard Theatre
Fri 28 Feb 2025 Birmingham Alexandra Theatre
Sat 01 Mar 2025 Wolverhampton The Civic at The Halls
Sun 02 Mar 2025 Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
Thu 06 Mar 2025 Eastbourne Congress Theatre
Sat 08 Mar 2025 Bournemouth Pavilion Theatre
Sun 09 Mar 2025 Torquay Princess Theatre
Thu 13 Mar 2025 Bath Forum
Fri 14 Mar 2025 London Palladium
Thu 20 Mar 2025 York Barbican
Fri 21 Mar 2025 Scunthorpe Baths Hall
Sun 23 Mar 2025 Stockton Globe
Fri 28 Mar 2025 Salford Lowry Lyric Theatre
Sat 29 Mar 2025 Blackpool Opera House

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Featured image: Publicity picture

Theatre

The all-new Cirque Wicked Wizard of Oz is coming to the AO Arena in 2025

Danny Jones Cirque Wicked Wizard of Oz Manchester tickets

Cirque Wicked Wizard of Oz Manchester tickets

Something Wicked comes this way but not as you know because a high-flying twist on the Wizard of Oz lands in Manchester next year – only this time, make it Cirque!

That’s right, AO Arena is set to welcome the Cirque Wicked Wizard of Oz: an acrobatic take on the classic children’s story and much-loved 1939 film starring Judy Garland.

With Wicked fever having taken over the global zeitgeist following the release of this year’s feature-length adaption and even more people, theatre fans or not, going along to see the long-hailed theatre production that inspired it, it seems there’s no better time to announce this latest entry into the universe.

Set to embark on its inaugural tour in 2025, the experience is being described as ‘cirque meets panto’ and is set to deliver a magical retelling of the iconic tale like never before.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">NOW ON SALE!⚡ CIRQUE WICKED WIZARD OF OZ!<br><br>Panto meets Cirque... Be amazed by a brand-new, breath-taking, Cirque staging… of the Wicked Wizard of Oz, coming to the AO Arena next year on Tuesday 23rd December 2025! 💫✨ <br><br>Buy tickets now: <a href="https://t.co/uQTPa3YJqW">https://t.co/uQTPa3YJqW</a> <a href="https://t.co/kTctGVXZIn">pic.twitter.com/kTctGVXZIn</a></p>&mdash; AO Arena (@AOArena) <a href="https://twitter.com/AOArena/status/1870046804659568980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Turning the Emerald City into the Emerald Circus, World’s Biggest Productions (the same team behind Elf: The Musical, Peter Pan and many other pantomime hits) are bringing this new concept to the masses starting in Autumn 2025, with a Manchester date pencilled in for the following winter.

Featuring a cast of more than 60, including already familiar audience favourites like Jordan Conway, Kelly Banlaki and Kev Orkian in starring roles, anyone who has seen one of their productions before will know how big and bold an affair they are.

Combine that with one of the most well-known stories on the planet and what do you get? Well, what we can only expect to be a supremely energetic, colourful and heartfelt spectacle on a huge scale.

Promising aerial stunts, amazing special effects and the big-budget perks of an arena as legendary as the AO, this is not one you’ll want to miss if you’re a musical theatre fan.

It’s also not the show the theatre company are bringing to the stage next year either, as their hugely successful run of Elf will be returning alongside Scrooge – yes, another circus spin, only this time on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

world biggest productions musicals manchester — Credit: Press Image (via World’s Biggest Productions)

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Most importantly, all of these shows are fundamentally family-friendly, meaning not only can they be enjoyed by people of all ages but they’ll make for a perfect day out come the festive period.

Cirque Wicked Wizard of Oz comes to Manchester for one night only on Tuesday, 23 December 2025 with the fun starting from 7pm.

You can grab your tickets HERE.

In the meantime, if you’re still in need of a musical theatre of fantasy fix, you can read all about what we made of the most recent showings of Wicked at the Palace Theatre down below.

Wicked at the Palace Theatre – the magical musical EVERYONE is talking about arrives in Manchester

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Featured Images — Press Image (supplied)

Theatre

Thousands of FREE tickets to The Big Night of Musicals at AO Arena have been released

There are thousands of free tickets up for grabs to attend ‘The Big Night of Musicals’ in Manchester next year which features a variety of theatre classics.

The curtain has risen once again as returning favourite, The Big Night of Musicals, is coming to AO Arena for a fourth year.

Hosted once again by the one and only Jason Manford, this event contains segments from some of the world’s greatest theatre productions.

Fronted by The National Lottery, this showcase is a thank you to all players whose money has supported more than 20,000 theatre-related projects totalling £1.3 billion.

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These funds have been used on many performing arts resources including restoring theatres and enabling hundreds of musical-related projects to commence.

This isn’t something to be missed out on as the bill is shaping up to be one of the event’s biggest to date featuring stars from the West End and some of the most notorious shows.

Attendees can expect to hear some familiar favourites in the likes of Bat Out of Hell, Here & Now: The Steps Musical, Mean Girls and more.

There’s even an exclusive preview of the upcoming theatre adaptation of a Disney superhero as snippets from ‘Hercules’ will be performed live.

Guests even have a chance to be in the same room as musical theatre legend Carrie Hope Fletcher as she takes on the role of Calamity Jane in the theatre show of the same name.

Dear Evan Hansen is also on the bill and if you aren’t free for the musical ensemble, it’s running at Palace Theatre Manchester from 18-22 February next year and tickets are available right now.

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This event has a super varied lineup too, from throwback pop bangers to Wild West heroines, this night really caters to everyone.

In true musical style, there will be big, bold performances and, of course, lots of excellent surprises all set to make a fantastic night of live music at the AO Arena.

All National Lottery players have the chance to reserve up to four tickets, the only cost is proof they’ve purchased a product from the National Lottery and a £2 booking fee per ticket.

Tickets for the ‘Big Night of Musicals’ on 25 January are already on sale you can try your luck at grabbing some free seats HERE.

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

Featured Image — Publicity Picture (Supplied)