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Hit five star musical starring Lee Mead is coming to Manchester on UK tour with tickets from £15

It's billed as the "greatest show on earth"

Lee Mead will star in Barnum the musical heading on UK tour in 2026, including to Manchester's Palace Theatre(Image: Barnum)

Smash hit broadway musical Barnum is heading out on a major new UK tour, which will head to Manchester in 2026.

Billed as the "greatest show on earth" the classic musical celebrates the life of the man known as the world's greatest showman - circus ringmaster P.T. Barnum.

Producers Bill Kenwright Ltd are presenting the new tour which will open in Windsor in February 2026 before heading to Manchester's Palace Theatre and then to selected dates across the UK.

It has today been confirmed that West End favourite and TV star Lee Mead will take centrestage as the legendar P.T. Barnum. Audience goers can expect plenty of thrills and spills on stage too - with a cast of acrobats and circus performers as well as singing stars.

Known for his breakout win on the BBC's talent show Any Dream Will Do, Lee has gone on to acclaimed leading performances in a string of hit musicals including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Wicked and Legally Blonde.

Audiences are being promised that Lee will bring "charisma, vocal brilliance and emotional depth" to the title role.

Barnum first took the UK by storm when it played the London Palladium, with Michael Crawford making theatrical history with a death-defying nightly tightrope walk across the stage. And now, Lee Mead steps into Barnum’s shoes and on to the tightrope.

Jenny Seagrove, Chairperson at Bill Kenwright Ltd said: “I was captivated when I saw Barnum at the Watermill Theatre last year and knew immediately that this was a show I wanted to bring to audiences across the country.

"Our spectacular new staging will feature an extraordinary ensemble cast of over 20 actor-musicians playing 150 instruments, acrobats and amazing international circus acts led by the wonderful Lee Mead playing the title role."

Barnum has won a string of five star reviews from critics in recent years(Image: Barnum)

Barnum opens at Theatre Royal Windsor on Tuesday 3 February 2026 (previews from Friday 30 January) with tour dates including Manchester Palace Theatre (10 – 14 February), Cardiff Wales Millenium Centre (17 – 21 March), and Birmingham Hippodrome (21 – 25 April).

With direction by Jonathan O’Boyle (Picture You Dead; The Last Five Years) and choreography by Oti Mabuse (Strictly Come Dancing), The Observer called the Watermill Theatre production a “dazzling all-singing, all-juggling musical tribute to the 19th-century circus showman” in their five star review, one of many that the show has won over the years.

Audiences are invited to step right up and enter the dazzling world of P.T. Barnum, where imagination and ambition know no bounds. Hand in hand with wife Charity, Barnum’s life and career twists and turns as he schemes and dreams his way to headier heights.

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Come follow the band with the glorious music of multi-award-winner Cy Coleman, Michael Stewart’s lyrics and Mark Bramble’s book. The show features a whole host of classic show tunes including Join the Circus, Colours of My Life, Come Follow the Band and Love Makes Such Fools of Us All.

The creative team includes Lee Newby (Set & Costume Designer), Jai Morjaria (Lighting Designer), Tom Marshall (Sound Designer), George Dyer (Musical Supervisor, Arrangements & Orchestrations), Amy Panter (Circus Director), Matt Nicholson (Associate Choreographer) and Nick Lodge (Associate Sound Designer).

Barnum was originally produced on the Broadway stage by Judy Gordon, Cy Coleman, Maurice and Lois F. Rosenfield in association with Irwin Feld and Kenneth Feld.

How to get tickets

Tickets for the first four theatres announced, in Windsor, Manchester, York and Brighton, will go on sale on Friday, June 20.

You can get tickets from £15 for Manchester's Palace Theatre here.

TOUR SCHEDULE 2026

30 Jan – 7 Feb Windsor Theatre Royal On sale 20 Jun

10 – 14 Feb Manchester Palace Theatre On sale 20 Jun

24 – 28 Feb York Grand Opera House On sale 20 Jun

3 – 7 Mar Brighton Theatre Royal On sale 20 Jun

17 – 21 Mar Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre On sale 4 Jul

24 – 28 Mar Aylesbury Waterside Theatre On sale 20 Jun

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21 – 25 Apr Birmingham Hippodrome On sale 24 Jun

Further dates and casting to be announced

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