Sep

JAKE QUICKENDEN TO LEAD RITA, SUE & BOB TOO! NATIONWIDE TOUR IN 2027

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JAKE QUICKENDEN TO LEAD RITA, SUE & BOB TOO! NATIONWIDE TOUR IN 2027 – Coming to us on 4th May 2027.

TV favourite returns as Bob in the cult comedy classic

Regal Entertainments Ltd presents the unmissable production at 11 venues across Britain

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The acclaimed stage version of cult classic comedy Rita, Sue & Bob Too! is set to embark on a new nationwide tour in 2027.

And today it can be announced that stage and screen star Jake Quickenden will return to the role of Bob which he previously played on tour in spring last year.

The Regal Entertainments Ltd production will visit 11 leading British venues between Friday 16 April and Sunday 4 July 2027.

The 2027 tour opens at St Helens Theatre Royal on Friday 16 April.

It will then travel to Harrogate, Northampton, Lincoln, Billingham, Birmingham, Bradford, Southport, Malvern and Stockport before ending at the Liverpool Olympia where it will play from 30 June to 4 July.

Tickets for all venues are on sale now.

Singer, actor, presenter and TV personality Jake Quickenden rose to fame as a contestant on The X Factor. Following his departure from the show, he was immediately signed up to appear on I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here (where he finished as runner-up).

Since then, he has become a regular fixture on our screens, appearing in shows such as Celebrity Masterchef, The Real Full Monty: On Ice, The Chart Show, Keep It in the Family, Celebrity Bumps, Ninja Warriors UK, Celebrity SAS Who Dares Wins, Celebrity Help! My House is Haunted and Dancing on Ice – lifting the trophy in 2018 with professional skating partner Vanessa Bauer. He can currently be seen starring as Richie Reeves in the BAFTA-nominated Jamie Johnson FC (BBC) and previously made his screen acting debut as Woody in Hollyoaks.

Jake regularly appears on shows such as Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women as a panellist and guest reporter and previously co-hosted the hugely popular podcast UNTAPPED.

In addition to Rita, Sue & Bob Too! his other stage credits include national tours of Hair the Musical, Friendiscal, Footloose and The Full Monty.

Speaking today he said: “I had such a great time when we toured with Rita, Sue & Bob Too! last year – audiences up and down the country were so enthusiastic, and there’s a really warm family atmosphere among the Regal Entertainments team.

“So, when I was asked if I would like to return for a second UK tour, I jumped at the chance. Andrea Dunbar’s writing is brilliant, and the story of Rita, Sue and Bob is very funny but with a darker underside which dramatically really appeals to me. I can’t wait to get back on the road now as Bob.”

Further casting is yet to be announced.

Andrea Dunbar’s hilarious and gritty tale of love, lust and tested friendships is based on the 1987 British film and features a brilliantly funny script along with all the best 80s music, taking audiences on a riotous trip down memory lane through this cult classic.

Rita and Sue are two working class girls from a run-down council estate who are about to finish their final year at school. In their spare time, they earn money babysitting for married couple Bob and Michelle.

Behind Michelle’s back, Bob embarks on an affair with both Rita and Sue, who take it in turns with him in his car in the countryside. Michelle eventually finds out and leaves lothario Bob. When Bob later develops a preference for Rita, the two girls fall out but when Sue ends up in an abusive relationship, the trio are reunited.

Rita, Sue & Bob Too! is brought to the stage by Regal Entertainments Ltd and directed by Chantelle Joseph.

When Regal Entertainments Ltd previously toured the smash hit comedy in spring 2025 it received praise from critics and standing ovations from audiences, selling out at venues across the country. Theatregoers described the show as “a fabulous story” and “very funny from start to finish”.

Director Chantelle Joseph said: “We’ve had a fabulous reaction to news that Rita, Sue and Bob Too! is going back out on the road for a second UK tour. And I’m really delighted that Jake Quickenden has agreed to return in the role of Bob.

“He was a huge hit with audiences up and down the country and really understands the role, so I know this latest outing for Andrea Dunbar’s classic comedy is going to be absolutely brilliant. Roll on 2027!”

2027 SHOW LISTINGS FOR RITA, SUE AND BOB TOO!

St Helens Theatre Royal

Friday 16 – Sunday 18 and Tuesday 20 – Saturday 24 April 2027

sthelenstheatreroyal.com | 01744 756000

Harrogate Theatre

Tuesday 27 April – Saturday 1 May 2027

harrogatetheatre.co.uk | 01423 502116

The Old Savoy, Northampton

Tuesday 4 – Saturday 8 May 2027

theoldsavoy.co.uk | 01604 491005

New Theatre Royal, Lincoln

Wednesday 12 – Saturday 15 May 2027

newtheatreroyallincoln.co.uk | 01522 519999

Forum Theatre, Billingham

Tuesday 18 – Saturday 22 May 2027

forumtheatrebillingham.co.uk | 01642 552663

Crescent Theatre, Birmingham

Monday 24 – Saturday 29 May 2027

crescent-theatre.co.uk | 0121 643 5858

St George’s Hall, Bradford

Wednesday 2 – Saturday 5 June 2027

bradford-theatres.co.uk | 01274 432000

The Atkinson, Southport

Tuesday 8 – Saturday 12 June 2027

theatkinson.co.uk | 01704 533333

Malvern Theatre

Tuesday 15 – Saturday 19 June 2027

malvern-theatres.co.uk | 01684 892277

Stockport Plaza

Tuesday 22 – Saturday 26 June 2027

stockportplaza.co.uk | 0161 477 7779

Liverpool Olympia

Wednesday 30 – Sunday 4 July 2027

liverpoololympia.co.uk | 0151 263 6633

Mar

OPEN AUDITIONS FOR THE ROLE OF DOROTHY!

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OPEN AUDITIONS – DOROTHY

The Wizard of Oz Christmas Pantomime 2026

We are delighted to announce open auditions for the role of Dorothy in this year’s Christmas pantomime production of The Wizard of Oz.

If you are a talented performer aged 18 or over, can convincingly portray a character aged 16–22, and have at least two years of stage performance experience, we would love to hear from you.

FInd out more >

Apr

WE ARE HIRING!!

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Social Media Content Creator

Are you passionate about theatre, storytelling and creating engaging content that captures the magic of live performance?

The Old Savoy Theatre in Northampton is seeking an enthusiastic and creative Social Media Content Creator to join our team.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives on generating fresh ideas, creating engaging digital content and helping audiences connect with one of Northampton’s most treasured entertainment venues.

Find out more here >

Dec

IMPORTANT! COVID UPDATE 15th December 2021

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Following the announcement from the government yesterday it is now law to prove that you are vaccination & covid status when entering the theatre.

Here is the list of rules in place at the theatre:-

• COVID PASSES – Over-18s in England must prove they are double vaccinated against Covid-19, had a negative PCR or lateral flow test result within the last 48 hours, or have an exemption, to enter large events and venues. Find out more here >

• MASKS – Face coverings MUST be worn in the theatre – they can ONLY be removed if you are eating, drinking or taking part. We have a duty of care to our staff & customers and reserve the right to refuse entry if you do not wear a face mask. If you are medically exempt from wearing a face covering proof WILL be required on entrance to the theatre.

• TEMPERATURE CHECKS – On arrival we will record your temperature with a non-invasive thermometer that records accurately in one second. This can be taken from your forehead or wrist.

• ILLNESS – If you are feeling unwell or have any symptoms please do not visit the theatre, and call us on 01604 491005.

Jul

Our covid policy – with effect from 11th December 2021

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COVID 19 Policy

Update with effect from 10^th December2021

Following the update from the Prime Minister on 10^th December 2021, we have revisited our policy in relation to COVID 19 guidance, to ensure the safety of all our customers and staff going forward. These requirements will remain in place until we receive any further guidance from the government:-

Face coverings ARE required when visiting our venue and moving around in ‘shared’ areas, or evidence of exemption will be required to be shown/or be visible. – We retain the right to refuse admission if face coverings are not worn or exemption visible. Once seated these can be removed, or can be removed at the discretion of a tutor/group leader in a training/care situation.
A non-invasive temperature check will continue to be taken and we will ask you to sanitise on arrival.
We will continue to ensure that all areas of our venue are regularly disinfected with the ‘fogger’ and toilets regularly cleaned throughout any event.
We will ensure that the venue is well ventilated.
In line with government guidance there will be no limit on the number of people allowed to sit together as a party either as a family, extended family or households together. We have removed the rule of 6 from our online system which will mean up to 20 can now be booked in one transaction online, larger parties can book direct with the box office on 01604 491005.
For the immediate future whilst infection rates remain high, we reserve the right to request sight your printed NHS COVID PASS which can obtained using the Government NHS app or sight of a negative lateral flow test. We will notify customers when these additional measures are required dependent on audience size.

We promise to provide you with a safe environment in which to enjoy live theatre, learn a new skill, meet friends, enjoy our coffee shop, celebrate your special occasion with us, simply come to work, whatever your reason to visit The Old Savoy, your safety, well-being and comfort is and always will be paramount.

We thank everyone for their support and very much look forward to the opportunity of welcoming you back soon.

Jill and Kev Roach and the team at The Old Savoy

Feb

Covid Update – 21st June 2021

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COVID – 19 – UPDATE 21/06/21

Team Deco continue to work incredibly hard socially distancing & rescheduling shows. Where possible we have rescheduled the shows and your original tickets will automatically be valid for these future performances.

Please find below the details and status of upcoming shows:

IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS VIEWING THIS PAGE PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE LIST HERE >

Due to the unprecedented level of enquiries we continue to receive, we request that you do not call our Box Office regarding any existing bookings please email admin@thedeco.co.uk. However, if you do need to speak to us direct, our phone line will be manned between 10am and 4pm on a Friday and Saturday, please leave a message if we do not answer we will return your call.

For new bookings all shows can be accessed online at www.thedeco.co.uk.

We cannot begin to thank you enough for your understanding, patience and continued support during these challenging times, and will aim to keep you all regularly updated, as soon as information becomes available.

Take care & stay safe.

Team DECO

Oct

Our Dame ‘par excellence’ – and Colin’s delighted to be back at The Deco

Tags: Christmas 2020, family entertainment, Northampton, Panto, Sleeping Beauty, The Deco

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Just seven weeks today until the opening night of ‘Sleeping Beauty’, our socially distanced Christmas 2020 Panto. And at The Deco we are determined to bring some seasonal cheer to your lives after what has been a totally testing year in so many ways for all of us. So join us for a fantastic family treat!

‘Sleeping Beauty’ runs from Friday, December 11^th until Christmas Eve, and taking into account current guidelines, and our absolute priority that your well-being while visiting our theatre is of paramount importance, our show will run for approximately 1-hour 20 minutes without an interval (for social distancing purposes).

We’ve another awesome cast, including some fantastic local talent, but also the return of some highly popular Deco Panto favourites, including Chris Wills, Lydia Lucy, and our regular ‘dame par excellence’, Colin Ridgewell.

Be it as an hilarious dame or a dastardly baddie, Colin’s always been hugely popular with our audiences, and we’re as delighted to hear he’s excited about coming back for his sixth Panto at The Deco, as we are having him on board once again.

“It’s absolutely fantastic that The Deco is going ahead with it’s Panto,” said Colin. “And it’s my privilege to be a part of it, and I can’t wait to be back at a theatre I love, and working with another absolutely brilliant group of performers, and being around the fantastic team behind the scenes who make The Deco so special.

“What is so important to me is putting on another brilliant Panto that families can come along and enjoy, and have a great time while they’re with us – and don’t we all deserve something to cheer us all up after what has been a shocking year for so many.

“Not just that, The Deco has worked so hard to make sure that all visitors, performers and staff are in a totally safe and secure environment – I know that no stone has been left unturned in terms of achieving that, and the staff deserve every credit for being as meticulous about it as they are.”

Colin, who lives across the border in Buckinghamshire, first made a name for himself as a teenager, when he was a regular in the legendary BBC children’s TV drama ‘Grange Hill’, and has loved acting and performing all his life – none more so than Panto.

“As you well know, I absolutely love Panto,” he told us. “It really is a privilege to be on stage being part of a performance that is giving so much fun to so many people, and I include us on stage as well as our audiences.

“So it won’t surprise you to know that I’m really excited about ‘Sleeping Beauty’, and as I say, nothing will make me happier than putting a smile of the faces of our audiences, and helping make Christmas 2020 as memorable as it can be – so come and see us, join in the fun, and have another great time at the wonderful theatre that is The Deco.”

For tickets, and for full details of our social distancing guidelines, go to www.thedeco.co.uk/event/sleeping-beauty-christmas-2020/

Make Christmas special at The Old Savoy, home of The Deco Theatre

Oct

Deco’s three Panto amigos all delighted to be heading back to Northampton

Tags: Christmas 2020, family entertainment, Northampton, Panto, Sleeping Beauty, The Deco

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Three popular Deco Panto regulars are returning to Northampton for another Christmas spectacular – and are all determined to spread some ‘extra special’ Christmas cheer to audiences this December.

Colin Ridgewell, who first made his name in the classic BBC children’s series ‘Grange Hill’, actor and entertainer Chris Wills, and singer-actor Lydia Lucy have all thrilled audiences in Deco Christmas Pantos over the past five years, and are all delighted to be heading back to appear in Sleeping Beauty at what all three call their favourite venue.

Said Colin, who has established his popularity with his performances as a Panto Dame: “Under all the circumstances, it’s brilliant that the Deco team are putting on their annual Christmas Panto, and I am determined to make ‘Sleeping Beauty’ as much a great night out for our audiences as all the others I’ve appeared in.

“I absolutely love The Deco, as I so the people of Northampton and all around the county, who make performing there in Panto such an enormous pleasure each year, and after the year so many have endured, the least I can do is help spread some extra special Christmas cheer.”

Lydia first appeared at The Deco four years ago, and captivated everyone with her fantastic singing voice. Indeed, weeks later, the whole nation was likewise, as she made it all the way through to the final of ITV’s The Voice. She returned to The Deco two years ago, and is delighted to be back.

“Life is never boring these days, and I’ve been very busy,” she said. “Lockdown was weird, but since we emerged from that I’ve rarely had a dull moment, and doing Panto again is a lovely way to round off the year – I love Christmas, and what would it be without Panto!

“As Colin says, we’re all in need of some Christmas cheer; mine will be appearing in another Deco Panto, and I hope that we as a cast, and a production team, can spread lots of goodwill, laughter and happiness throughout our audiences during the performances of ‘Sleeping Beauty’.”

Said Chris: “The Deco is an awesome theatre, and every year we have fantastic audiences, and it is a pleasure to be back in Northampton again – I love the place. Full credit to the management for working so hard to make The Deco a totally safe environment, and giving people something to look forward to this Christmas, and I can’t wait to be back on stage there.”

Sep

‘Sleeping Beauty’ cast has a very local feel to it!

Tags: Christmas 2020, Panto, Sleeping Beauty, The Deco, The Old Savoy

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There’s very much a local feel to ‘Sleeping Beauty’, this year’s Deco Panto, thanks to singer and dancer Fern Roach, dancing specialist Andrzej Mialkowski, BBC Northampton presenter Wayne Bavin, and comedian and entertainer Mark Jones lining up in the cast.

Fern, who was born and bred in the town, has a senior role for the third year running, having previously appeared as a member of the support cast, while Andrezj, an accomplished dancer, is well known in and around Northampton as the owner of the Henry Street based Step by Step Dance Studio.

Wayne has established himself as a popular afternoon presenter on BBC Radio Northampton since joining the statin in 2018, and though Mark now lives in London, he has a big local connection, having previously lived in Northampton, and being a regular visitor to the town to visit relatives who still live in and around the county.

“We pride ourselves on supporting and encouraging local talent, and we’re very proud of our town, and our county, so we’re delighted with so many local connections in this year’s Panto,” said House Manager Jill Roach, who is also Fern’s mum.

“Fern has been outstanding in her two Panto performances so far, and I’m very proud of her – and she has won her parts on merit, auditioning like everyone else.

“I’m delighted she’s established herself as a Deco Panto regular, along with Chris Wills and Colin Ridgewell, who are also firm favourites with our audiences, and back again this year, as is Lydia Lucy, who previously appeared in 2016, and again two years ago.

“Andrzej has a huge personality, and every time we’ve met him we’ve felt he’s a natural for Panto, so when he told us he’d love the opportunity, and then put himself up for audition, we were delighted,” said Jill. “And we’re certain we’ve discovered another great local stage talent: he’ll be brilliant.

“Wayne and Mark are two highly experienced Panto performers, and great entertainers too, and we’re delighted that they’re making their Deco debuts this year – our audiences will love them, and they’re both really looking forward to being part of our show.”

The Deco Panto runs from December 11th to 24th, and tickets are now on sale. It will last approximately 1 hour 20 minutes, with no interval: just the right length for a festive family treat, but without the traditional break in between because it would make social distance planning a little tricky.

For tickets and full details: https://www.theoldsavoy.co.uk/event/sleeping-beauty-christmas-2020/

Sep

The Every Brothers – a very local WW2 story and production about three tragic brothers

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The Deco is delighted to be hosting a performance of ‘The Every Brothers’ this November, a poignant story of the ultimate sacrifice made during World War Two by three brothers whose family moved to Roade during the conflict.

It has been written as a stage play by local writer Ron Johnson, and was first performed on the eve of Remembrance Sunday last year at Elizabeth Woodville School to much acclaim. We are delighted it is going to be performed at our theatre on Remembrance Sunday this year, November 8th.

Tom, Jack, and William Every are honoured on Roade’s War Memorial, and the play Ron wrote is based on a collection of documents, phots and letters that were donated to the Roade Local History Society by their family.

The three brothers were the sons of Thomas and Winifred Every, from Paddington, who also had two other boys – one who died in infancy, and their youngest, Frank, who passed away a few years ago.

Said Ron, a volunteer archivist for Roade Local History Society: “When Frank deposited some family papers and photos with us, I sifted through them and realised there was a great story to be told, even though I’d never written a play before.

“It was daunting, but I was convinced the story was well-worth telling so, based on – and utilising – some of the material, which included letters from a POW camp, Press cuttings, and other official letters, the play eventually came about.

“When it was first staged to a sell-out audience last year, we had a standing ovation, and what made it more special was that the cast and crew were all local – either Roade villagers, or from Northampton and Wellingborough.”

Set in Roade, with scenes in a POW camp, Monte Cassino, and the African desert around El Alamein, the play is interspersed with specially selected, and poignant, pieces of classical music, and one song by Bob Dylan.

“I was amazed at the professionalism of cast and crew, who were all volunteers,” said Ron. “The way they brought my words to life left me with a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. In fact I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house.”

The Every Brothers will be performed at The Deco on Sunday, November 8th. For tickets, and more details, visit our website: https://www.theoldsavoy.co.uk/event/the-every-brothers/

As usual we will be following social distancing and COVID-19 safety guidelines. Your well-being is paramount at all times, but it’s also very important to us you have a great night out, and enjoy this fantastic production.

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JAKE QUICKENDEN TO LEAD RITA, SUE & BOB TOO! NATIONWIDE TOUR IN 2027 – Coming to us on 4th May 2027.

OPEN AUDITIONS – DOROTHY

The Wizard of Oz Christmas Pantomime 2026

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