Leo Sayer is set to play the Wickham Festival – five years late! The Shoreham-born chart-topper was due to headline the four-day event in 2020, only for it to be cancelled because of Covid. With Sayer now living in Australia, it has been difficult for organisers to fit Wickham...
Review: Now That’s What I Call a Musical, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 14 January 2025
By Catherine Collins. In 1989 I was 15, so when I saw Now That’s What I Call a Musical – which opened at Mayflower Theatre last night – was set then (and in 2009 for the friends 20 year reunion) I knew I had to go. Much like we...
Preview: Far from the Madding Crowd, Theatre Royal Winchester
Fans of the author Thomas Hardy will enjoy an adaptation of the classic, Far from the Madding Crowd, coming to Theatre Royal Winchester on Tuesday 4 and Wednesday 5 February. Set against the rural landscape of Victorian England, Far from the Madding Crowd tells the story of the beautiful...
Mayflower announces transport bursary in partnership with Xelabus
Thousands of local school pupils will be provided with subsidised transport to theatres thanks to new partnership between Mayflower and Xelabus. The new bursary scheme, announced today, will help fulfil the belief that every person has the right to attend the theatre and experience the joy and opportunity this...
Preview, Ghost the Musical, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
The globally acclaimed, Ghost the Musical, comes to Mayflower Theatre from Tuesday 11 to Saturday 15 February 2025. The movie Ghost is one of cinema’s biggest all-time hits. Starring the late Patrick Swayze, alongside Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg, it was the highest grossing film of 1990 and won...
Preview: Emily Barker, St Mary’s Church, Twyford
Photo by Luke Kellett Bridgetown-born Americana artist Emily Barker is set to kickstart the new year with a tour of the UK, including a stop at St Mary’s Church, Twyford on Thursday 6 February. Following the release of her new album, Fragile As Humans, and accompanied by her full...
Open auditions to take place for FRIENDS! The Musical Parody
Open auditions will take place for FRIENDS! The Musical Parody, which tours Mayflower Theatre from Tuesday 6 to Saturday 10 January 2026. Producers of FRIENDS! The Musical Parody, the hit New York and Las Vegas sensation, have announced that they will hold open auditions to discover new talent who...
Jason Donovan returns to Mayflower Theatre in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat favourite, Jason Donovan, will return to Mayflower Theatre this spring. For one week only, he will reprise his celebrated role as Pharaoh. Playing from 13 – 18 May 2025, these dates mark the only opportunity to see Jason on the 2025 UK tour....
Record-breaking 100,000 attend Mayflower shows over festive period
The city’s Mayflower venues (Mayflower Theatre and Mayflower Studios) are celebrating a record-breaking run of festive shows. Over 100,000 people came to see English National Ballet’s Nutcracker, Elf the Musical, A Very Hungry Christmas Caterpillar, Jack and the Beanstalk, and The Wind in The Willows, across both venues. Mayflower...
Review: Hairspray, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 7 January 2025
Photo credit – Ellie Kurttz By Catherine Collins. 23 years after Hairspray the Musical first premiered there was no stopping the beat as it took to Mayflower Theatre’s stage last night. From start to finish, this vibrant, high-energy show took the audience along on the journey of teenage misfit,...