UK premiere a decade after Broadway success

Jason Manford is to return to the stage in the comedy musical Something Rotten! in Manchester next summer.

First performed on Broadway in 2015, where it received 10 Tony Award nominations, the show is set in 1595 when the Bottom brothers are struggling to find success in the theatrical world against the juggernaut of William Shakespeare – so create the world’s first musical.

The show has been created by the team behind Mrs. Doubtfire: The Musical: Grammy award-winning songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick, screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick, and comedy scriptwriter John O’Farrell.

It will receive its UK premiere at Manchester Opera House from June 16 to Jul 19, ahead of a planned  West End run.

Manford will also be performing in panto at the same venue this Christmas, starring in Robin Hood from December 4.

He previously appeared in a concert performance of Something Rotten! in London last year, alongside  Richard Fleeshman, Gary Wilmot, Evelyn Hoskins and Marisha Wallace.

His previous stage credits include The Wizard Of Oz, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. 

Tickets for Something Rotten! in Manchester go on sale on Thursday.

Published: 4 Nov 2025