Something Rotten! Tickets

How do you possibly compete with the greatest living playwright of all time? You write the first ever musical, of course! Something Rotten, an outrageous, crowd-pleasing farce that took Broadway by storm, is receiving its UK premiere in Birmingham later this year, with a London transfer expected to follow soon after.

Something Rotten is set in the 1590s and follows brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom as they try desperately to write a hit play but are stuck in the shadow of a certain ‘Renaissance Rockstar’, William Shakespeare. When a prophet tells them that the future of theatre involves singing, dancing and acting at the same time, they set out to write the world’s very first musical.

Created by Grammy Award-winning songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick, alongside his brother Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell, the musical was nominated for 10 Tony Awards when it premiered on Broadway in 2015.

Something Rotten will have its UK premiere as part of director Sean Foley’s inaugural season at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. Foley (Upstart Crow, The Ladykillers) will direct the production, with choreography from Carrie-Anne Ingrouille (Six, Hamilton). Further creatives are yet to be announced.

The musical is being produced by Jamie Wilson, who is also lead producer on the upcoming major revival of Sister Act, starring Whoopi Goldberg and Jennifer Saunders. Wilson's production company has also recently staged the UK premiere of On Your Feet at the London Coliseum and is co-producing the world premiere of Mrs Doubtfire: A New Musical.

Something Rotten is already teasing a future life after its Birmingham premiere in October, and should the production be well received, a London run can be expected to follow.

With a healthy dose of jazz hands, chorus lines and a sure-fire standing ovation, you don’t want to miss the highly anticipated UK production of this Broadway hit.