It’s that time again! We’re back with our top 10 theatre news stories from the week running 9-15 June, brought to you by Theatre and Tonic. This week’s roundup includes news of a concert from theatre heartthrob Jeremy Jordan, the cast is revealed for Young Frankenstein The Musical and we have some news on the Mean Girls UK Tour. From major West End debuts to standout regional gems, our bite-sized bulletin has something for every theatre fan. Stay tuned—another round of the week’s hottest headlines is coming your way next week!

Mean Girls reveals more information about 2026 UK and Ireland Tour

Mean Girls at the Savoy Theatre. Photo by Brinkhoff Moegenburg,

As the West End production played its final show at the Savoy Theatre on 8th June, dates and venues have been announced for the new UK and Ireland tour of Mean Girls. It will begin at the Manchester Opera House in February 2026, before stopping off at Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow and many more.

Based on the hit film written by Tina Fey, Mean Girls follows the story of Cady who moves to a US High School from South Africa. There she encounters ‘the plastics’ led by “Apex Predator” Regina George. For a full list of tour venues and dates (with more to be announced) you can visit the website. Cast for the tour to be announced…watch this space!

King’s Head Theatre to present revival of Four Play this summer

*LtoR Daniel Bravo, Lewis Cornay, Jo Foster and Zheng Xi Yong. Photo by Rich Lako*

In other news, this week we heard that the new revival of Jake Brunger’s hit comedy Four Play will run at London's King's Head Theatre from the 11th July. It will star Daniel Bravo (Mean Girls), Lewis Cornay (The History Boys), Jo Foster (Why Am I So Single?) and Zheng Xi Yong (Your Lie in April).

Exploring themes of intimacy and freedom in modern relationships, the play follows long-term couple Rafe and Pete who devise a plan to have no-strings hook-ups with their mutual friend Michael to keep their relationship fresh. What could possibly go wrong? Four Play was first seen at the Old Vic Theatre starring Richard Madden and Jeremy Irvine, before completing a sell-out four-week run at Theatre503.

Cast revealed for Anne Boleyn The Musical

Casting has been revealed for the upcoming production of Anne Boleyn the Musical, which will debut at Hever Castle this Summer. The castle, which fittingly was Anne Boleyn’s childhood home, has constructed a new 1,800 seat auditorium in the grounds, with actors using the castle itself as part of the set.

Starring as Anne Boleyn will be Emily Lane (Frozen, Hello Dolly!), with Mark Goldthorp (Sister Act, A Christmas Carol) as Henry VIII. The professional cast of musical theatre performers will be joined by a community cast from Kent. The musical’s original score is composed by Sam Gevers with lyrics by Rebecca Knight & Sam Kenyon.

Featuring binaural sound design by the Ringham Brothers, the first of its kind at an outdoor venue in the UK, audience members will wear headsets that will fully immerse them in the show. Anne Boleyn The Musical will run from 2nd – 30th August.

Cast revealed for The Blackprint Concert this summer

The Blackprint Concert has revealed its lineup, with a host of West End stars performing at the Phoenix Arts club on Sunday 3rd August in “a fearless declaration of Black artistry taking up space”. Celebrating black creative brilliance in theatre, the concert is created and produced by Emmanuel Akwafo and Marcus Collick and will be hosted by Collick himself. Sean Green will serve as Musical Director.

Performing at the concert will be Koko Alexandra, Lauren Azania, Tanasha Chege, Elan Ayana Davies, Cameron Benard Jones, Idriss Kargbo, Claudia Kariuki, Leah St Luce, Paige Miller, Georgina Onuorah, Jordan Shaw, and Jaz Terry. All proceeds from the concert will fund scholarships, mentorships, and career development programmes for the next generation of Black artists.

New co-production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream announced

The RSC and Unicorn Theatre have announced a major new co-production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which will run from Sat 21 Mar – Sun 3 May 2026. The production will be directed by Rachel Bagshaw, the Unicorn’s Artistic Director, and Robin Belfield will adapt Shakespeare’s most popular comedy which promises to be a “riotous reimagining”. Tickets will go on sale in September, casting news to follow.

New musical ‘Mona Loser’ is announced

The creative team behind Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is back with a series of workshop performances for Mona Loser, a brand-new musical featuring an original pop score by British songwriting duo Kit Buchan and Jim Barne. Tim Jackson will direct the production.

Audiences will have the chance to experience this work-in-progress during four workshop performances at Southwark Playhouse Borough (The Little) from 16 to 19 July, with all tickets priced at £20.

Produced by Tim Johanson Productions in collaboration with Birmingham Hippodrome, Mona Loser is a modern musical set within the music industry. It explores themes of viral stardom, deception, and self-identity, drawing inspiration from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the contemporary “monsters” both online and in real life.

Cast revealed for Young Frankenstein The Musical at Hope Mill Theatre

Sticking with the theme of monsters, casting has been revealed for Young Frankenstein The Musical, which will be playing at The Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester from the 10th October until the 30th November 2025. This reimagining of Mel Brooks’ comedy, based on the 1974 film, is being directed and choreographed by Nick Winston.

As previously announced, Ore Oduba (Pretty Woman, The Rocky Horror Show, Grease) will be playing the title role in the new production. Also starting will be Jessica Martin as Frau Blücher, Rhiannon Chesterman as Elizabeth Benning, and Pete Gallagher as The Monster, Curtis Patrick will play Igor, and Julie Yammanee will be Inga. The ensemble includes several other notable actors.

New musical ‘Shake It Up Baby!’ to premiere in Liverpool.

A brand-new musical telling the story of the Beatles’ wild and eventful time in Hamburg is set to make its world debut this September at the Epstein Theatre. The musical will be directed by Stephen Fletcher.

Titled Shake It Up Baby! and penned by Liverpudlian playwright Ian Salmon (Girls Don’t Play Guitars), the show will run from 26 September to 11 October as part of the theatre’s upcoming autumn lineup. The production features a cast of Liverpool-based actor-musicians, with Andrew Schofield starring as the band’s first manager Allan Williams, famously known as the man who “gave the Beatles away.”

Jeremy Jordan announces London concert this summer

Broadway Icon (and heartthrob!) Jeremy Jordan will be returning to London for his biggest ever solo concert at the Royal Albert Hall. The star of Newsies, Waitress, The Great Gatsby, Bonnie & Clyde and many more will perform songs from his impressive stage and screen career for one night only on 12th July.

Described as a “once in a generation talent”, Jordan will be joined by his longtime music director, Benjamin Rauhala, and a stellar line-up of musicians. Tickets are on sale now!

Winners of the 2025 Tony Awards were revealed

And finally, the end of last week saw the prestigious Tony Awards hosted by Cynthia Erivo. The big winners of the night included Nicole Scherzinger who scooped best leading actress in a Musical for Sunset Boulevard. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic show, directed by Jamie Lloyd, also won awards for best revival of a musical and lighting design.

Cleaning up with 6 awards was ‘robot romance’ musical Maybe Happy Ending winning best new musical as well as leading actor in a musical for its star Darren Criss. However, the biggest news of the night (at least for us at Theatre & Tonic!) was the UK’s very own Jak Malone scooping the award for actor in a featured role in a musical for Operation Mincemeat. Malone, who plays a woman in the show, focused on highlighting trans rights in his acceptance speech, saying that his role as Hester in Operation Mincemeat opened up audiences to “a world of glorious Technicolor that isn’t going away anytime soon”.

Before you leave us, why don’t you read one of this week’s reviews? Highlights this week include Peaky Blinders – The Redemption of Thomas Shelby by Rambert Dance Company Review, Just For One Day - The Live Aid Musical at Shaftesbury Theatre Review, and Footloose by MTS at The Fire Station in Sunderland Review. We’ll see you next week for more exciting news!

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