The best: Theatre shows to book now in Manchester

Man Met Uni’s Manchester School of Theatre seasons are always a great opportunity to catch the city’s latest wave of acting talent before they make it big.

Still to come in this latest instalment is Caryl Churchill’s mind-bending contemporary drama Love and Information which will run from Wed 2 Apr – Sat 5 Apr, and Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen, an visceral exploration of female rage, which is showing Thu 1 May – Sat 3 May.

Floating cordially down onto the Palace stage for a five-week run this April, Cameron Mackintosh and Disney’s production of Mary Poppins presents a delightfully uplifting take on the world’s favourite nanny and her domestic adventures on Cherry Tree Lane.

Starring renowned Australian actors Stefanie Jones and Jack Chambers, the unmissable iteration of the children’s classic is described as  ‘more magical than ever’ with wondrous choreography, captivating special effects and a score including Jolly Holiday, Step in Time and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, alongside new songs by the Olivier award-winning British team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.

Running as the centrepiece of the Royal Exchange’s spring season, Mike Leigh’s cult tragicomic masterpiece Abigail’s Party brings theatre’s most chaotic cocktail party to Manchester from Fri 4 Apr – Sat 17 May.

Directed by award-winner Natalie Abrahami and starring Coronation Street’s Kym Marsh, the bold new production utilises the Royal Exchange’s uniquely intimate in-the-round staging to invite audiences into Beverly Moss’ ill-fated soiree in the heart of nondescript 1970s suburbia.

The latest tracks are on the record player and the drinks are flowing. As the night progresses, the gathering becomes thick with sexual tension, and Beverly’s exclusive shindig quickly falls into disarray.

Based on Brian Helgeland’s raucous medieval romp which saw Heath Ledger and Paul Bettany take on malicious monarchs in the jousting arena, the world premiere stage production of A Knight’s Tale charges into Manchester Opera House from Fri 11 Apr – Sat 10 May, with new writing from the producers of Disney’s Newsies, Girl From the North Country, 2:22 A Ghost Story and 101 Dalmatians.

Audiences can expect an action-packed tale of chivalry, combat, heroes and villains, set to a soundtrack of galloping hit songs.

HER Productions is formed of a Manchester-based team of female theatre makers who specialise in platforming plays with important, female-identifying voices. This May, HER brings an acclaimed ‘Unseemly Women’ rendition of Shakespeare’s polarising comedy, Taming of the Shrew, to HOME.

Hailed as ‘powerful’ and ‘timeless’ by The Guardian, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman comes to Lowry in a searing new interpretation led by renowned director David Hayman.

One of the greatest plays of the twentieth century, the gripping and deeply affecting tale charts the final twenty-four hours of Willy Loman’s life, as he contends with his memories, dreams and regrets against the backdrop of lifelong paternal pressure.

Winner of thirteen Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Death of a Salesman promises a profound and achingly resonant story of ambition, family and the sacrifices made in pursuit of the American Dream.

In what is surely one of the most-anticipated productions of the year, Hamlet Hail to the Thief sees Shakespeare’s classic tale reimagined with a soundtrack of Radiohead songs orchestrated by the band’s own Thom Yorke and performed live on stage by a cast of 20 musicians and actors.

In this fast-paced distillation of the play, Shakespeare’s words and Radiohead’s acclaimed 2003 record, Hail to the Thief, ‘illuminate one another in thrilling new ways as the music becomes a critical part of the narrative.’

Hailed as ‘dance theatre at its most compelling’ in The Arts’ Desk glowing five-star review, Matthew Bourne’s award-winning The Midnight Bell comes to Salford for the first time in July 2025.

Inspired by English literary titan Patrick Hamilton, Bourne’s wondrous period masterpiece unfolds on the streets of 1930s London, where a diverse cohort of workers, vagabonds and local denizens pour out of boarding houses to bask in their dreams and exorcise their regrets inside the titular Soho tavern.

Devised as a paean to the classic London pub, The Midnight Bell follows a lonely hearts club who gather to share their diverse yet transcendent stories of sorrow, longing, betrayal and salvation in a ‘gloriously atmospheric’ dance production.

Hailed as an ‘agile, vivid piece of storytelling’ by The Scotsman and ‘joyous’ in The Guardian, James Rowland’s Piece of Work presents a mesmerising mixture of comedy, dynamic narrative and a dash of Shakespeare’s Hamlet to render a hilarious, heartbreaking road trip through the acclaimed writer’s life.

Returning home following his first time away, James received a letter that turned his life upside down, and ignited a new tour which became a search for the sender, an understanding of home and even the chance to save a life.

A new show from Sam Danson (BI-TOPIA) and award-winning director, Rikki Beadle-Blair, Daddy’s First Gay Date is a candid exploration of identity and self-acceptance told through the awkwardness of a first date set in a local pub.

Offcut Festival is back at 53Two this summer, bringing with it a whopping 20 plays spread across two weeks of fantastic, up-and-coming theatremakers.

Shows will be narrowed down to five finalists and ultimately one overall winner, in what has become a renowned springboard for new directors.

Following a sensational smash-hit residency in Salford last summer and sell-out successes around the world, the riotous Tudor satire SIX returns to Lowry with an irresistible pop-infused celebration of Henry VIII’s wives and their unsung bravery while wed to Britain’s most infamous king.

Divorced, Beheaded, Live – one by one, the problematic monarch’s spouses take to the mic to remix five centuries of anguish into an evening of defiantly rebellious girl power, as these overlooked icons of history deliver a series of brutal invectives with infectious melodies and ingenious lyricism, set to a rollicking original score.

Winner of Best New Play at the WhatsOnStage Awards after its West End debut in 2021, the hair-raising supernatural thriller 2:22 A Ghost Story takes over Opera House Manchester for the first time with a new slate of star performers from stage and screen, with former cast members including Lily Allen, Tom Felton, Jake Wood and James Buckley.

Billed as a ‘brilliantly funny and adrenaline-filled night’, the innovative edge-of-your-seat theatre experience introduces audiences to Jenny, a new homeowner who – to the disdain of her husband – believes the house is haunted. Over the course of an argument about belief, scepticism and the paranormal between the couple and their dinner guests, an unsettling atmosphere fills the room, and they eventually agree to stay up until 2:22am to uncover the conclusive truth.

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.

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.

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.