The show has been a sell-out in its previous stints in the city
Empire Theatre, Liverpool(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
An award-winning musical is making its way back to Liverpool. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie will take over the city’s Empire Theatre once again next year as part of a ten-year anniversary tour.
The high-spirited show follows the life of Jamie New, a 16-year-old who doesn’t quite fit in, in his final year at school in Sheffield. The hopeful teen is terrified by the uncertainty the future holds. However, in his mind, he knows one thing for sure; he is destined to be a sensation – even if pessimistic career teacher Miss Hedge thinks otherwise.
Set to an original score of catchy pop tunes, Jamie transforms from a “boy in a dress being laughed at” to a “drag queen who is feared” throughout the just under three-hour show. When the show previously came to the city, the ECHO gave it five stars.
The tour will mark 10 years since the musical first premiered at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre and will feature a newly written song by composer Dan Gillespie Sells and writer Tom MacRae.
Everybody’s talking about Jamie is coming back to Liverpool next year(Image: Matt Crockett)
According to What’s On Stage, the new tour will open at Leeds Grand Theatre on January 15 2027. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has previously won the 2018 WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Musical, as well as two UK Theatre Awards in 2017.
The musical is inspired by the documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, which followed Jamie Campbell and his mum Margaret. While rooted in real events, the stage production fictionalises some characters and storylines.
Originally produced by Sheffield Theatres, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie premiered in 2017 before transferring later that year to the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End, where it ran until September 2021. The show has since toured extensively across the UK and Ireland and has been staged internationally.
A film adaptation, directed by Jonathan Butterell and starring Max Harwood and Sarah Lancashire, was released on Amazon Prime. The stage musical features music by Dan Gillespie Sells, with book and lyrics by Tom MacRae, and was developed from an original idea by Butterell, who also directed the original production.
Everybody’s talking about Jamie is in Liverpool in March 2027(Image: Matt Crockett)
The anniversary tour will be directed by Matt Ryan, with design by Anna Fleischle, choreography by Kate Prince, lighting design by Lucy Carter, sound design by Paul Groothuis, musical supervision by Theo Jamieson and casting by Will Burton.
The 10th anniversary tour will be produced by Nica Burns, who said: “Ten years ago I got on a train to Sheffield to see the final matinee of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and a decade later this heart-lifting true story with wonderful songs has played on every inhabited continent.
“Join us on our tenth anniversary tour with a new song, a sparkling cast and a story that will make you laugh, cry, sing and want to dance. A show for everyone.”
The musical will play at Liverpool Empire Theatre from 30 March to 3 April 2027, with tickets on sale Friday, February 6.