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Northern Theatre News
January 2026 - Week 2
Anthony Cawood
January 07, 2026
January 2026 - Week 2
Welcome to Northern Theatre News!
I hadn’t intended to get another newsletter out quite so quickly but when the opportunity came up to see Fawlty Towers at Leeds Grand Theatre I couldn’t resist getting our review up and sharing it!
As always we have the usual mix of news, listings, competitions and more. I’d love to hear your feedback. So let me know what you’d like to see featured (or not!) in future editions of your newsletter.
Enjoy, and see you in the stalls!
News roundup
Full cast announcement for Legally Blonde is now out…
Producers ROYO and Curve are delighted to announce that musical theatre and Tik Tok star, Hannah Lowther (SIX, West End; Heathers: The Musical, The Other Palace) will play Margot and Alternate Elle Woods. The full cast includes George Crawford (The Great Gatsby, London Coliseum; Newsies, Troubadour Wembley Park) as Emmett, Karen Mavundukure (Stranger Things, West End, The Colour Purple, Birmingham Hippodrome & UK Tour; Dreamgirls, West End) as Paulette, Adam Cooper (A Chorus Line, Curve/Sadler’s Wells; Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, Sadler’s Wells; Billy Elliot, Universal) as Callahan, Jamie Chatterton (The Little Big Things, Soho Place; The Osmonds: A New Musical, UK & Ireland Tour) as Warner, Annabelle Terry (Scissorhandz, Southwark Playhouse Elephant; Hamlet, National Theatre) as Vivienne, Jocasta Almgill (A Chorus Line, Curve/Sadler’s Wells/UK Tour; Grease, Dominion Theatre) as Brooke, Rosanna Harris (Grease, UK Tour; The War of the Worlds: Spirit of Man, Arena Tour) as Serena and Remi Ferdinand (Hamilton, West End; Grease, West End) as Pilar. With Ty-Reece Stewart (Footballer’s Wives, Assembly Rooms Edinburgh; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, UK & Ireland Tour) as Kyle and Bradley Delarosbel (A Chorus Line, Sadler’s Wells/Curve/Japan; Matilda the Musical, Netflix) as Carlos. The cast is completed by Keanna Bloomfield, James Lim, Aaron Shales, Jaime Tait, Daisy Twells, Louie Wood, Raiaz Fisher, Dylan Gordon-Jones, Lauren Hampton, and Ollie Hart-Bradford.
Another cast announcement is the spring tour of Blood Brothers which is hitting some of our northern venues!
Vivienne Carlyle will continue as Mrs. Johnstone having gained widespread critical acclaim and nightly standing ovations on the show’s most recent tours.
Richard Munday rejoins Blood Brothers as the Narrator, at certain venues. He will share the part with Kristofer Harding. Fresh from alternating the role of Elphaba in Wicked (Apollo Victoria) and covering Norma Desmond in Jamie Lloyd's production of Sunset Boulevard (Savoy), Laura Harrison returns.
Sean Jones and Joe Sleight will also be returning as the twin brothers, Mickey and Eddie and Gemma Brodrick will continue to play Linda. Also reprising their roles are Michael Gillett (Sammy), Tim Churchill (Mr Lyons), Francesca Benton-Stace (Donna Marie/Miss Jones), Latesha Karisa (Brenda), Danny Knott (Perkins), Dominic Gore (Neighbour), Alex Harland (Policeman/Teacher) and Graeme Kinniburgh (Postman/Bus Conductor).
Subscriber giveaway
£50 monthly prize giveaway
Every month we give away a £50 Theatre Token to one of our subscribers, usable at over 250 venues across the UK (including loads in the North). Just stay subscribed and you’ll be in the draw!
November’s winner was mcnultylou - congrats!
What’s on over the coming weeks
North East
Alnwick Playhouse have Aladdin 20 - 24 Jan.
Darlington Hippodrome has The Woman in Black 6 - 10 Jan - book here.
Newcastle’s Theatre Royal has Aladdin 25 Nov - 18 Jan.
Whitley Bay Playhouse has moves from one panto to another with Robin Hood on 13 - 18 Jan.
Sunderland Empire has The Rocky Horror Show coming 19 - 24 Jan.
Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond has Cinderella as their Christmas show, 2 Dec - 10 Jan. Check out our Theatre Spotlight on this awesome venue!
Up in Hexham at the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre they’ve followed their two seasonal shows with an extra one Hansel and Gretel running 15 - 17 Jan.
Arts Centre Washington have Beauty and the Beast 16 - 31 Jan
And over at the Empire Consett, we have Robin Hood 12 - 17 Jan.
North West
Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse has The Rock 'n' Roll Panto 2025: Jack and the Beanstalk 15 Nov - 17 Jan. Inspector Morse - House of Ghosts arrives 13 - 17 Jan.
Liverpool Empire has the timeless Mary Poppins 14 - 31 Jan.
Still in Liverpool and over at the Royal Court we have The Scouse Christmas Carol 7 Nov - 17 Jan - correction, it has been extended by an extra week, now runs to 24 Jan.
St. Helens Theatre Royal has Dick Whittington 28 Nov - 11 Jan.
In Port Sunlight on the Wirral the Gladstone Theatre has Beauty and the Beast 8 - 11 Jan.
Over at The Atkinson in Southport we have Peter Pan 15 - 25 Jan.
Palace Theatre in Manchester has SIX 13 - 17 Jan.
Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester has Singin’ In The Rain 29 Nov - 18 Jan… hot off the press, this has been extended through to 25 Jan!
Home in Manchester has the UK premiere of Freaky Friday 27 Nov - 10 Jan followed by The Home We Made 28 - 31 Jan
Still in Manchester, Hope Mill Theatre has Noel Coward’s Private Lives 28 Jan - 8 Feb.
Shakespeare North Playhouse has Cinderella 25 Nov - 10 Jan.
Over at the Floral Pavilion they have Robin Hood and the Babes in the Wood 8 - 11 Jan.
Over to Blackpool and the Grand Theatre has the very first performances of the touring version of The Constant Wife starring Kara Tointon 16 - 17 Jan followed by Murder at Midnight 28 - 31 Jan
The Lowry, in Salford has a super busy festive period with The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe 3 Dec - 11 Jan… then Unfortunate - The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch 5 Dec - 11 Jan. Then they have the amazing adaptation of To Kill A Mockingbird 13 - 24 Jan - check out our review from Leeds dates.
Storyhouse in Chester has The Ghost of Graves End 21 - 24 Jan.
Over in Crewe, The Lyceum Theatre has Blood Brothers 20 -24 Jan
Octagon Bolton has A Christmas Carol 13 Nov - 10 Jan followed by The Memory of Water 29 Jan - 21 Feb.
Theatre by the Lake in Keswick has The Wizard of Oz 14 Nov - 11 Jan. They’ve also just announced their Spring - Summer Season.
Yorkshire & Humberside
Leeds Grand Theatre has Fawlty Towers: The Play 6 - 10 Jan check out our review of this comedy classic. This is followed by Opera North’s The Marriage of Figaro 30 Jan - 20 Feb.
Still in Leeds and City Varieties has Aladdin: The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto 28 Nov - 11 Jan. Check out our review!
Leeds Playhouse have their amazing production of A Christmas Carol 20 Nov - 17 Jan, followed by Uncanny: Fear of the Dark 27 - 29 Jan.
Bradford’s Alhambra has Snow White 6 Dec - 18 Jan. Check out our review! and that’s followed by FRIENDS! The Musical Parody 27 - 31 Jan
Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield has Jack and the Beanstalk 10 - 17 Jan.
York Theatre Royal has The Constant Wife as it starts its UK tour 26 - 31 Jan.
The Grand Opera House in York has The Woman in Black 13 - 17 Jan followed by The Talented Mr Ripley 19 - 24 Jan.
Harrogate Theatre has Jack and the Beanstalk 26 Nov - 18 Jan.
Hull New Theatre has Miss Saigon 20 - 24 Jan, followed by The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical 28 Jan - 1 Feb
Rotherham Civic Theatre has The Incident Room 19 - 23 Jan.
Over in Sheffield at the Lyceum we have Nutcracker in Havana 7 - 10 Jan and The Rocky Horror Show 12 - 17 Jan with Top Hat playing 20 - 24 Jan
The Playhouse has My Brother’s A Genius 28 Jan - 14 Feb.
At The Crucible we have A Christmas Carol 29 Nov - 10 Jan.
Northern Theatre News reviews
When we’re lucky enough to be invited to press nights we add the review to the very next newsletter! Here are the shows we’ve seen recently.
Ticket offers not to miss!
Not so much of a ticket offer this time, but an offer to get an additional theatre fix from home with Marquee TV. They have a ton of theatre, opera, concerts and ballet, and they are running a new offer where your first month is subscription is just £1.
Also with a Jan offer we have The Theatre Channel at just £1.99 a month for 6 months! (Before it reverts to £5.99 a month)
Theatre competitions
They’re not all northern, but when they’re not they do involve a hotel stay too, good luck! All are free to enter and run by 3rd parties (not me!), and I will keep them in each newsletter whilst the entry date is still valid.
Theatre spotlight
Grand Theatre - Leeds     | Opened in 1878 with a huge seating capacity of 2600, this amazing venue, designed by James Robinson Watson, has been the beating heartbeat of the Leeds theatre scene for almost 150 years, despite nearly being demolished in the 60s! Today the Grade II* listed old lady is run by Leeds Heritage Theatres (who also run City Varieties and Hyde Park Picture House). Thanks to its investments in state of the art tech, the Grand lures blockbuster tours – Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Dirty Dancing, Six – alongside Opera North seasons and regular visits from Northern Ballet. Seating is now a more manageable 1500 over Stalls, Dress Circle, Upper Circle, Balcony, Upper Balcony and some 10 Boxes. Though, with that many seats it is still one of the largest venues in the country. The theatre boasts a beautiful Waterford Crystal chandelier with over 6000 Swarovski crystals, takes some cleaning that’s for sure, as you can see on this TikTok video Like many older theatres, stories of ghosts abound with the Lavendar Lady and the disappearing Waiter rumoured to haunt the stalls. Checkout the Dailymotion video for more spooky goings on! If you’d like to see this magnificent theatre then get yourself to Leeds and see one of their incredible shows… in the meantime here’s an amazing 360 Tour of all areas of The Grand They also have a great timeline of the history of the theatre and a wealth of additional info if you’d like to know more. |
Theatre index
I’ve collated an index of all the northern venues I could find, it’s broken down by region so you can find the ones nearest you.
Do let me know if I’ve missed any.
Courses & training
I’ve had a few reader requests to add theatre related courses/training to the newsletter, so when/if I find any I’ll feature them here.
If you know of any more just let me know and I’ll include them
That’s it for this week
I’d love to know what you think about this newsletter, what we could do to make it better, and what else you’d like to see.
Thanks for reading and subscribing, and please spread the news.
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