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Review: Moulin Rouge! the Musical at the Liverpool Empire ****
Time flies and it’s somehow now a quarter of a century since Ewan McGregor’s Christian met Nicole Kidman’s Satine at the Moulin Rouge. It seems though that truth, beauty, freedom and love don’t have a shelf life, certainly if the reported ticket sales for Moulin Rouge! The Musical, the Empire’s glitzy summer blockbuster offering, are anything to go by. The stage musical, which started its life over the pond eight years ago where it gathered armfuls of awards, takes Baz Luhrma


Liverpool dates for Sam Ryder in Jesus Christ Superstar
Eurovision star Sam Ryder is set to return to the stage in 2027 reprising his acclaimed performance in Jesus Christ Superstar on tour - with dates confirmed in Liverpool. The UK tour of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash hit sung-through rock opera is set to visit the Liverpool Empire from September 21 to October 2, 2027. Tickets go on general sale this Wednesday, June 24 at 10am. Originally released as an album, Jesus Christ Superstar opened on Broadway in 1971, where


Review: The Bodyguard at the Liverpool Empire ***1/2
When The Bodyguard was released in cinemas in 1992 it propelled Whitney Houston from successful music artist to global superstar. And while film critics were generally unimpressed (the movie picked up no fewer than six Razzie nominations), audiences loved it, and the soundtrack swept the board at nearly every music awards, clocking up an estimated 45 million sales to date. That music remains the beating heart (and backbone) of this stage version, on its latest visit to Liverp


Review: The Rocky Horror Show at the Liverpool Empire ****
It’s astounding, time really is fleeting – because it seems only a matter of months ago that Rocky Horror was at the Playhouse. But in reality that was Christmas 2024, and now Richard O’Brien’s timeless shlocky horror juggernaut has rolled back into town again (fresh from a New Zealand sojourn), returning to its usual Liverpool Empire stamping ground with a mixture of a few familiar and lots of fresh faces among the cast. Two years ago, Jason Donovan appeared in a handful of


Review: Miss Saigon at the Liverpool Empire ****
It’s been two decades since Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg’s ‘Nam-set wartime weepie Miss Saigon last touched down on the Empire stage – practically the same length of time as the entire conflict lasted. Has it been worth the wait for Liverpool audiences? It appears so. But it’s not entirely the same creature fans of the dramatic retelling of the Madama Butterfly story may have encountered before, with Michael Harrison and Cameron Mackintosh – sharing producer cred


Jackie Clune talks Rocky Horror ahead of Empire date for cult classic
When Jackie Clune was first approached to play the Narrator in The Rocky Horror Show it’s perhaps fair to say she wasn’t really aware of what she had signed up for. Although she had watched the film at some point, she reveals she had never actually seen Richard O’Brien’s cult smash hit stage show. At least not until the day before she went on for the first time. “It was a bit of an eye opener,” she admits. “I didn’t really know what’s going on. “If you don’t know the plot, it


Liverpool Empire dates for Live Aid musical Just for One Day
Live Aid musical Just for One Day is set to come to the Liverpool Empire as part of an inaugural national tour. The musical, written by John O’Farrell and directed by Luke Sheppard, will be staged at the Lime Street landmark from August 3-7, 2027. Just For One Day - The Live Aid Musical is the story behind the greatest concert in music history, and features hit songs by Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, Madonna, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney and Diana Ross


Liverpool Empire set to be rocked by talented young performers
Talented young performers from the Liverpool Empire Youth Theatre are set to rock audiences at the Lime Street venue next month. They will perform the Queen-inspired musical We Will Rock You on the Empire stage over the Easter weekend of April 3-4. The smash hit dystopian musical from the pen of Ben Elton has played to more than 15 million people in nearly 20 countries worldwide since it was premiered 24 years ago. Set 300 years in the future on the Orwellian iPlanet, it foll


Cast revealed for Little Shop of Horrors at Liverpool Playhouse
Liverpool favourite Michael Starke will return to the Playhouse this Christmas to appear in a new production of Little Shop of Horrors. He will play flower shop owner Mr Mushnik in the cult comedy-sci fi musical which comes to the Williamson Square theatre from December 3 to January 9, 2027. Starke previously appeared at the Playhouse for Christmas in 2016 when he played the Chairman in Michael Wynne’s music hall show The Star to mark the 150 th anniversary of the theatre. T


Review: Mary Poppins at the Liverpool Empire *****
Author PL Travers actively disliked Disney’s Oscar-winning screen version of Mary Poppins with its dancing penguins, (in her view) overly sugary heroine and twee sentimentality and, perhaps more incomprehensibly, the Sherman Brothers’ soundtrack of songs. Apparently, she took a lot of persuading before agreeing to let Cameron Mackintosh create a stage version and only then with a whole raft of provisos – although she didn’t live to see the subsequent show premiere in the West
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