Jason Manford to star in the UK premiere of Something Rotten! in 2026

The Comedy, TV and musical theatre icon Jason Manford will make his highly anticipated return to the stage, after starring in the concert production at Theatre Royal Drury Lane last summer.

A side-splitting mash-up of song, dance and Elizabethan absurdity that tells the story behind the creation of the world’s very first musical, Something Rotten! will premiere in the UK - the land where it all (most definitely) happened!

The ‘90s are back! The 1590s, that is. Brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but remain stuck in the shadow of that pompous Renaissance rockstar Will Shakespeare. When a quirky soothsayer foretells an outlandish future for theatre – full of acting, singing and dancing all at the same time – Nick and Nigel set out to write this strange new creation called A MUSICAL! But amidst the scandalous excitement of Opening Night, the Bottom Brothers discover that reaching the top means being true to thine own self… and all that jazz.

Created by the award-winning team behind Mrs. Doubtfire: The Musical: Grammy award-winning songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick (Change the World, Every Heartbeat), screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run, Over the Hedge,  James and the Giant Peach) and best-selling author and comedy scriptwriter John O’Farrell (Spitting Image, Have I Got News for You, Just For One Day), Something Rotten! was the toast of Broadway where it received 10 Tony Award nominations. 

This new production will be directed and choreographed by Tim Jackson (Merrily We Roll Along, Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York) and presented by Broadway and West End producers, Kevin McCollum of Alchemation and Joshua Andrews of JAS Theatricals. Music Theatre International licenses this production. 

Something Rotten! will play at the Manchester Opera House from 16 June to 19 July 2026, ahead of a West End run. Tickets go on sale from 5 November at somethingrottenthemusical.com