Sheffield theatres' new season filled with music, comedy, drama and family fun

The new season at Sheffield Theatres includes an exciting line-up of West End and Broadway musicals, witty comedy, chart-topping music, poignant drama and family fun.
The Glenn Miller Story, starring Tommy Steele, rightThe Glenn Miller Story, starring Tommy Steele, right
The Glenn Miller Story, starring Tommy Steele, right

The summer begins with music, as five-time Grammy award-winning singer songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter (Mon 25 July) and X Factor winner and West End star Matt Cardle (Wed 27 July) light up the Lyceum stage.

Operation Crucible, the highly-acclaimed play that tells the story of the bomb that exploded at the Marples Hotel in Sheffield on December 12,1940, opens the season in the Studio.

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In the Crucible, a brand new production of D H Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover takes to the stage in September. Directed by Phillip Breen (York Mystery Plays 2016), passion, class, love and sexual freedom are at the heart of this modern classic which will go on to tour the UK following its run in Sheffield.

Alongside previously-announced musicals Cats (Mon 3 – Sat 15 Oct) and Sister Act (Mon 16 – Sat 21 Jan) starring Alexandra Burke, the Lyceum hosts the very best musicals on tour in the UK this season.

Tommy Steele celebrates the life of a big band legend in The Glenn Miller Story (Tue 16 – Sat 20 Aug). This new musical features a 16-piece orchestra playing the hits of the era including In The Mood, Chattanooga Choo Choo and Moonlight Serenade.

Inspired by the moment in 1956 when Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins played together for the first and only time, the smash-hit show Million Dollar Quartet (Tue 27 Sep – Sat 1 Oct) stars Jason Donovan as Sam Phillips and features classic hits including Blue Suede Shoes, Fever, Great Balls of Fire and many more.

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Moving forward a decade to the Swinging Sixties, Sunny Afternoon charts the rise to stardom of one of Britain’s greatest bands, The Kinks, in October. That will be followed by Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments and cult musical Little Shop of Horrors in November.

Strictly Come Dancing and Coronation Street star Georgia May Foote plays the iconic role of Holly Golightly in Truman Capote’s Breakfast At Tiffany’s (Tue 18 – Sat 22 Oct).

The true and extraordinary story of the satirical newspaper created amidst the mud and mayhem of the Somme, The Wiper’s Times, adapted from Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s award-winning BBC film, takes the stage in November, followed later in the month by a stage adaptation of the nation’s favourite film, The Shawshank Redemption.

In the Studio theatre, audiences can see a rich selection of drama this season, from a unique West African version of one of the greatest dramas ever told in The Duchess of Malfi (Iyalode of Eti) (Mon 26 – Wed 28 Sep), via Clara Brennan’s award-winning Spine (Thu 27 - Sat 29 Oct), that charts the explosive relationship between a ferocious, wise-cracking teenager and a mischievous activist pensioner, to a laugh-out-loud coming of age story for our times in Broken Biscuits (Tue 15 – Sat 19 Nov).

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Younger children can enjoy Peppa Pig’s Surprise! (Fri 9 – Sat 10 Sep) a charming, colourful new show full of songs and of course, surprises in the Lyceum.

Then, in the autumn the whole family can enjoy the return of Fun Palaces (Sat 1 – Sun 2 Oct), where the theatre will be throwing open its doors to everyone for a free fun-filled weekend of workshops, tours and activities, offering an insight into what happens both on stage and behind the scenes.

At Christmas, audiences have the choice of three productions. Saddle up for the wildest of Wild West musicals in the Crucible as Annie Get Your Gun, Irving Berlin’s magnificent musical from the golden age of Broadway, dazzles on stage. Paul Foster (Tell Me On A Sunday, Sweet Charity) directs Anna-Jane Casey (Flowers for Mrs Harris, Company) as Annie.

At the Lyceum, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is this year’s festive family pantomime and features a cast including Wendi Peters (Coronation Street), Phil Gallagher (Cbeebies’ Mister Maker) and comedy legend Damian Williams.

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In the Studio, younger families can enjoy a wintery tale full of warmth with The Snow Child, a vibrant and inventive retelling of a traditional folk tale for audiences of all ages.

For details of the full autumn season visit sheffieldtheatres.co.uk or call 0114 249 6000. The new season of shows go on sale to Sheffield Theatres’ Centre Stage Members on Saturday, June 11 and on general sale to the public from Saturday, June 18 at 10am.