The best: Theatre shows to book now in Manchester

A special al-fresco performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night comes to Ordsall Hall this August. In a whirlwind of mistaken identities, shipwrecked and separated from her twin brother, Viola disguises herself as a man and becomes entwined in a hilarious love triangle. Serving Duke Orsino, who secretly loves Countess Olivia, Viola finds herself in a twist when Olivia falls for her in disguise…

The world-famous Moulin Rouge! The Musical comes to The Palace this year. Winner of ten Tony awards, including Best Musical, Best Director, and Best Choreography, Baz Luhrmann’s revolutionary film comes to life in a Belle Époque blaze of glamour, glitz and eye-popping excess.

Jonathan Harvey’s classic 90s play has relocated from its original London setting to Manchester’s Canal Street, delving into the dysfunctional relationship of two bothers — one gay, one straight — and their electic, sometimes chaotic, group of acquaintances.

This September, Aviva Studios hosts the critically acclaimed immersive experience, FLIGHT. One of DARKFIELD’s most talked-about projects — a group specialising in cutting-edge 360-degree audio experiences blending technology and theatre — FLIGHT takes place in absolute darkness inside a 40ft shipping container built to resemble an economy aeroplane cabin. It explores the Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics, which proposes that every possible outcome is happening at the same time in countless parallel worlds. With this as its starting point, FLIGHT takes audience members through two worlds, two realities and two possible outcomes to their journey.

An immersive audio experience that transports visitors into a Victorian séance room by way of a pitch-black shipping container comes to HOME this September.

SÉANCE transforms the interior of a shipping container into a Victorian parlour room, using 360-degree binaural sound to carry guests through a gripping journey guided by a mysterious medium.

Over the course of 20 minutes, SÉANCE explores the power of suggestion and the human psyche in a unique and thought-provoking experience inspired by a spiritual meeting.

Stuntman is an ‘intensely physical, funny and tender duet’ by two men who are wrestling with their relationship with violence, both on the screen and off it. Mixing the duo’s dramatic staged capers with deeply personal stories of real encounters, Stuntman explores the links between violence and masculinity, and the impact this has on our perceptions of men.

A smash hit when it debuted at the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival back in 2013, New Dawn Fades has continued to impress up and down the country. For 2025, New Dawn Fades reunites the creative team from last year’s triumphant tour, with producers Nigel Carr and Tony Davidson, and the award-winning writer Brian Gorman, who reprises his role as Factory Records boss, Tony Wilson

Brian Friel’s multi-award-winning drama, described as a ‘powerful and moving exploration of reflection, memory and how the future will arrive now matter how much we resist’, comes to Royal Exchange this autumn. The production, which is set in County Donegal, follows the five Mundy sisters, who are swept along in a sea of change until the life they know is gone for good.

The most unlikely of worlds collide at Lowry this October, as heavy metal and ballet come together in a celebration of one of the most famous musical groups in history. Led by the legendary Carlos Acosta, Black Sabbath – The Ballet delivers a spectacular theatrical experience featuring thrilling dance alongside orchestrations of legendary Black Sabbath tracks such as Paranoid and Iron Man, and new orchestral works inspired by their music.

This October, the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre’s electrifying adaptation of Joseph Stein’s epochal masterpiece comes to Manchester for two weeks as the marquee show of the Palace Theatre’s autumn season.

Described as ‘the theatre of event of 2025’, Fiddler on the Roof breathes new life into the soaring saga of joy, revolution, love and life, transporting audiences the tiny village of Anetevka in 1905, where staunchly traditional Jewish milkman Tevye lives with his five daughters. Faced with being married off through the matchmaker, each daughter begins to challenge Tevye’s long-held beliefs against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world.

Book tickets below to one of the greatest musicals of all time, featuring definitive songs like If I Were A Rich Man, Tradition, Matchmaker and Sunrise, Sunset.

Bigger, bolder and more thrilling than ever, the all-new production Cirque: The Greatest Show brings a heart-stopping fusion of musical theatre and circus performance to Aviva Studios this October.

Promising an experience ‘bursting with colour, energy and excitement’, the stunning stage spectacular blends nerve-shredding acrobatics with bombastic songs led by acclaimed vocalists in a mesmerising family-friendly bonanza.

Chillingly intimate and darkly funny, Wightwater is a bold, haunting debut play from Frankie Lipman about shame, fear and buried secrets that sing under the static of the radio. Following washed-up radio host Terie, who, whilst clinging to a fading career, is left alone to present The Paranormal Show, Terie spins kitsch haunted-house jingles and cereal ads to a dwindling audience.

Lost Atoms explores the ways in which memory shapes our understanding of love through the story of a transformative relationship at Lowry.

Fresh from sell-out tours of Othello and Metamorphosis, Frantic Assembly return with a hilarious and heartrending new play for its 30th anniversary year, written by Anna Jordan (Succession, Killing Eve).

Starring Coronation Street’s Brian Capron (Richard Hillman) as the wicked Abanazar – the original stage inspiration for Jafar – Stockport Plaza’s family-friendly pantomime spectacular whisks audiences on a magic carpet ride through the souks, streets and desert caves of Agrabah in a dazzling festive extravaganza this December.

Transforming the cavernous AO Arena into a breathtaking big top experience for one night only this Christmas, the World’s Biggest Productions presents an all-new staging of the Wicked Wizard of Oz with a show-stopping circus twist, as forty performers rework the beloved play in a whirlwind of aerial stunts and spellbinding special effects.

Led by the stars of Elf – The Arena Spectacular, the iconic pantomime collides with jaw-dropping acrobatics and incredible choreography as Dorothy, Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and and the Tin Man – reimagined as a ten-foot transformer – venture over the rainbow and along a yellow brick road filled with high wires, broomstick-borne witches and flying monkeys on the way to the wicked wizard’s Emerald Circus.