Richard Fleeshman will star as William Shakespeare in the hotly anticipated UK premiere of hit Broadway musical Something Rotten!.
The comedy opens at Manchester Opera House from 16 June to 19 July 2026 ahead of a planned West End transfer.
Richard Fleeshman is best known for his standout performances in musicals Company, Ghost the Musical and Legally Blonde, as well as screen roles in Netflix’s The Sandman, BBC’s Riot Women and Coronation Street.
He joined previously announced star Jason Manford (Sweeney Todd, The Producers, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) in the award-winning comedy musical.
Manford returns to the role of Nick Bottom, following his acclaimed performance in the sold-out concert production of the show last year at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Fleeshman also appeared in that production as Shakespeare.
The show, a riotous mash-up of Elizabethan drama and showbiz satire, follows brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom as they attempt to out-write Renaissance rockstar Will Shakespeare by inventing an entirely new theatrical form: the musical.
Speaking about joining the production, Richard Fleeshman said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the cast of Something Rotten! This show is very special and absolutely riotous. I can’t wait to bring this larger-than-life rock star version of the Bard to the stage and I’m especially proud that the UK premiere will be in my home town of Manchester.
Having the opportunity to perform alongside my good friend Jason Manford makes the experience even more joyous. This is an outrageously funny and uplifting show and I’m sure audiences will love every hilarious minute of it.”
This new UK production follows the acclaimed 2023 WhatsOnStage Award-winning concert version and is directed and choreographed by Tim Jackson (Merrily We Roll Along, Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York). It is produced by Kevin McCollum (Alchemation) and Joshua Andrews (JAS Theatricals), and licensed by Music Theatre International.
Further casting and creatives for the production are to be announced.
Something Rotten! is written by John O’Farrell (Mrs Doubtfire The Musical) and Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run, James and the Giant Peach) with music and lyrics by Karey and Wayne Kirkpatrick (Change the World, Every Heartbeat).
Set in the 1590s, Something Rotten! centres on two playwright brothers struggling to compete with Shakespeare’s superstardom. When a soothsayer predicts a revolutionary future in which actors sing, dance and act at the same time, the Bottom brothers set out to create the world’s first musical — with chaotic, glittering consequence
Something Rotten! is running at Manchester Opera House from 16 June to 19 July 2026.
More about tickets to Something Rotten!
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