Major UK and Ireland Tour heading to the Liverpool Empire Theatre in 2022

SCHOOL of Rock - The Musical, Andrew Lloyd Webber's smash hit, Olivier Award winning West End show has revealed casting for its 1st ever UK and Ireland tour. Jake Sharp is getting the band back together as it is confirmed that he will lead the cast as Dewey Finn having previously performed the role in the West End. Alex Tomkins will perform in the role at certain performances. They are joined by Rebecca Lock as Rosalie Mullins, Matthew Rowland as Ned Schneebly and Nadia Violet Johnson as Patty Di Marco. The remaining adult cast comprise Ryan Bearpark, James Bisp, Joanna O'Hare, Samuel Haughton, Tom Hext, Harveen Mann, Richard Morse, Annell Odartey, Amy Oxley, Helena Pipe, Michaela Powell, Richard Vorster and Craig Watson.

1 of 3 incredibly talented teams of 12 children will perform live alongside Dewey each night and are currently getting ready to stick it to the man when the bell rings for the new School Term, in September. They comprise (including covers) Eva McGrath (13 years old from Birmingham), Emerson Sutton (13 years old from the West Midlands), Thomas Harvey (12 years old from Cheshire) and Isaac Forward (12 years old from Buckinghamshire) who will play Freddy; Chloe Marler (10 years old from Essex), Marikit Akiwumi (12 years old from Guildford), Daisy Hanna (13 years old from Surrey) and Ivy Balcombe (9 years old from Surrey) who will play Katie; Oliver Forde (12 years old from London), Angus McDougall (13 years old from Buckinghamshire), David Gluhovsky (12 years old from London) and Oliver Pearce (11 years old from North Wales)who play Lawrence; Joseph Sheppard (12 years old from the West Midlands), Harry Churchill (9 years old from Devon), Hanley Webb (10 years old from Northamptonshire) and William Laborde (12 years old from Surrey) who will play Zack; Wilf Cooper (12 years old from Surrey), Logan Matthews (11 years old from Berkshire) and Alfie Morwood (10 years from South Wales) who play Billy; Keira Laver (11 years old from Essex), Florrie May Wilkinson (10 years old from London) and Saffia Layla (11 years old from Hertfordshire) who will play Summer; Jasmine Djazel (11 years old from London), Souparnika Nair (10 years old from Bury St. Edmunds) and Angel Lucero (11 years old from London), who will play Tomika; Hadlee Snow (10 years old from Brighton), Darmani Eboji (12 years old from Essex), Devon Francis (11 years old from London), Riotafari Gardner (10 years old from London) who will play James; Lily Rose Martin (11 years old from Kent), Elodie Salmon (11 years old from London) and Paris Banyong (9 years old from London) who will play Marcy; Caelan Wallington (11 years old from Watford), Alex Shotton (12 years old from Buckinghamshire) and Nesim Adnan (10 years old from Kent) who will play Mason; Kyla Robinson (11 years old from Surrey), Eden Anthony (12 years old from London) and Elisha Kerai (11 years old from London) who will play Shonelle; Ophelia Parsons (12 years old from London), Jemima Newman (9 years old from Bedfordshire), Ava Masters (11 years old from Kent) and Inez Danielak (12 years old from Essex) who play Sophie.

Based on the hilarious hit movie, this new musical follows Dewey Finn, a failed, wannabe rock star who decides to earn a few extra bucks by posing as a substitute teacher at a prestigious Prep School. There he turns a class of straight A students into a guitar shredding, bass slapping, mind blowing rock band; sensationally performed live by the production's young actors every night with roof raising energy! While teaching these pint sized prodigies what it means to truly rock, Dewey falls for the School's beautiful, but uptight headmistress, helping her rediscover the wild child within.

School of Rock - The Musical features new music written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Glenn Slater (The Little Mermaid, Sister Act) and a book by Julian Fellowes. Originally directed by Laurence Connor (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, London Palladium 2019) with choreography by JoAnn M Hunter, set and costume designs by Anna Louizos, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Mick Potter and music supervision by John Rigby.

If you do not already know, this Musical debuted at Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre, in New York (USA), in 2015, and ran for more than 3 years, picking up 4 Tony nominations along the way. It transferred to London in late 2016 and ran for over 3 year at the New London Theatre, winning an Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music.

For the production's 1st UK and Ireland tour, Christopher Key takes the reigns as Associate Director, Maria Graciano as Associate choreographer and Musical Supervision is by Matt Smith. Adam Fisher and Stuart Porter complete the team as Associate Sound and Lighting Designers.

The UK and Ireland Tour of School of Rock - The Musical will be in our area at the:- Palace Theatre, Manchester, over 4 January to 15 January 2022, Box Office:- 08448713019; and in then again at the Liverpool Empire, on 5 July to 9 July 2022, Box Office:- 08448717615.

The Fabulous Southport Flower Show is back for 2022 with 1st special guest announced as TV Garden Expert Adam Frost

WE are really looking forward to welcoming you to our 4 day summer festival of all thing's flora and fauna plus everything you need to immerse yourselves into a relaxing summer atmosphere. The past 18 months have been very tough indeed, but it has given us an extra determination to make next year's show the best ever!

The stunning show gardens and spectacular floral displays in our Grand Floral Marquee will be centre stage. With special guests sharing their expert gardening tips and advice.

For those who have a recent or longstanding passion for gardening, why not enter your lovingly nurtured home grown produce in our Amateur Growers' Marquee competition. You will be amazed at how many exhibits are on display. There are also classes for baking, preserves and honey.

Sit back, sing along or get up and join in with our fabulous line up of live music. Entertainment doesn't stop there; we have a stunning programme of spectacular performances for the whole family in our arena and around the show ground. There will also be lots of fun activities and very special guests to entertain the children and don't forget; children under 16 go free with a paying adult.

Enjoy some of the nation's most loved Chefs sharing their tips while they cook; live in our Cookery Theatre! Once you've got your inspiration, head to the bustling food marquee where you can sample and buy produce from over 50 independent gourmet producers.

Take the opportunity to wander round over 300 amazing trade stalls. You're sure to want to treat yourself. Just to give you a little taste of the fabulous guests we have lined up; we are delighted that garden expert Adam Frost will be at the show, on Thursday, 18 August 2021. He brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the gardening world, and we look forward to him sharing this with our visitors through his talks and Q&A session.

Adam has a passion for horticulture and design and uses his own life experiences for inspiration. Some of his earliest childhood memories are of being outside, helping his grandparents on their allotment.

Creative by nature, Adam loves to connect each garden design to its natural landscape and surrounding architecture as well as to the people who are going to enjoy it.

Adam enjoys travelling the world designing gardens and speaking on a wide variety of horticultural topics. He has written a book entitled:- 'Real Gardens' about the memories and ideas behind his Chelsea Gold Medal winning designs. Adam is a Co-Founder of the Homebase Garden Academy and a presenter on BBC television, including Gardeners' World.

The event runs from:- Thursday 18 August 2022 to Sunday 21 August 2022. More information can be located at:- SouthportFlowershow.Co.UK.