Take That musical heads to Northampton

Take That band members Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald

The new musical, The Band, featuring songs from Take That and the winners of the recent Let It Shine show, will be coming to Northampton next year.

The show, written by Calendar Girls scribe Tim Firth, comes to the Royal & Derngate from May 29 to June 9 2018.

The producers of the show made the announcement on Sunday 2 April, on stage at the Manchester Apollo (where Take That first performed in 1992), following a rapturous reception to a rehearsed reading of the new musical in front of an audience of invited guests, from fans to friends.

Take That said in a statement: “We are incredibly proud and excited that our first production as theatre producers is The Band – a musical that we think will touch the hearts of not just our fans, but everyone.”

Howard Donald, Gary Barlow, Dafydd Rogers, David Pugh, Mark Owen, Robbie Williams

It is a new musical about what it’s like to grow up with a boyband. For five 16 year-old friends in 1992, ‘the band’ is everything. 25 years on, we are reunited with the group of friends, now 40-something women, as they try once more to fulfill their dream of meeting their heroes.

The Band will be played by AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Yazdan Qafouri Isfahani, Curtis T Johns and Sario Watanabe-Soloman, who, as Five to Five, won BBC’s Let It Shine. Playing the parts of Rachel and Young Rachel will be Rachel Lumberg and Faye Christall respectively. Further casting is to be announced.

It will be produced by David Pugh & Dafydd Rogers and Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen, Robbie Williams.

Tickets for the show can be booked by calling the box office on 01604 624811 or visit www.royalandderngate.co.uk.

The tour starts at the Manchester Opera House in September this year. For more details and to find out about other tour dates visit www.thebandmusical.com.