{"id":682345,"date":"2026-01-08T14:03:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T14:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/682345\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T14:03:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T14:03:13","slug":"tv-star-confirmed-for-royal-exchange-theatre-50th-anniversary-show-with-tickets-from-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/682345\/","title":{"rendered":"TV star confirmed for Royal Exchange Theatre 50th anniversary show with tickets from \u00a312"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Girl Taken star is heading back to Manchester for her new roleJill Halfpenny will star in the Royal Exchange Theatre production of Private Lives(Image: Royal Exchange Theatre)<\/p>\n

Award-winning stage and screen star Jill Halfpenny has been announced to star in the Royal Exchange Theatre’s 50th anniversary year of shows.<\/p>\n

Former Waterloo Road, EastEnders and Girl Taken star Jill will return to the Royal Exchange Theatre to star as Amanda Prynne in No\u00ebl Coward\u2019s Private Lives from March. It will be her second time performing at the Manchester venue, following her critically acclaimed performance Shelagh Delanye’s A Taste of Honey in 2024.<\/p>\n

The new roles comes after a busy period of TV filming for Jill, who is about to be seen in ITV’s After the Flood which returns for its second series this January. Private Lives, Coward\u2019s 14th production at the Royal Exchange<\/a>, runs from 27 March to 2 May 2026 as part of the theatre\u2019s 50th anniversary programme.<\/p>\n

Called \u2018A Homecoming\u2019, the anniversay year <\/a>will see artistic alumni return \u2018home\u2019 to share stories that resonate and celebrate the unique connection between artists and audiences.<\/p>\n

Jill Halfpenny is returning to the Royal Exchange Theatre(Image: Royal Exchange Theatre)<\/p>\n

The new production of Coward\u2019s vitriol-laced classic is directed by award-winning director Blanche McIntyre, who also makes a return to the Royal Exchange following her production of The Birthday Party in 2013.<\/p>\n

In No\u00ebl Coward\u2019s savage comedy, there\u2019s nothing a cocktail can\u2019t cure as lovers battle to get the upper hand. Wit has never been so razor sharp and passion has never looked so brutal. Sparks fly on a honeymoon from hell and sexual chemistry is always only a heartbeat away from an explosion.<\/p>\n

Halfpenny\u2019s extensive stage credits include Paulette Bonafont\u00e9 in Legally Blonde, for which she won an Olivier award, as well as Chicago and Abigail’s Party in the West End. Recent TV roles have included in The Feud (Channel 5), Daddy Issues S2 (BBC<\/a>), The Long Shadown (ITV) and Everything I know about Love (BBC 1).<\/p>\n

She was also famously a winner of the glitterball trophy on Strictly Come Dancing<\/a> on the second ever series of the show in 2004. Most recently she has been seen starring in the new Paramount+ psychological thriller GIRL TAKEN, released in January 2026.<\/p>\n

Jill said: “The Royal Exchange has always had a special place in my heart, so I am delighted to be returning to the theatre to celebrate its 50th anniversary season. Private Lives perfectly showcases No\u00ebl Coward’s genius, and I can\u2019t wait to step into Amanda\u2019s feisty shoes to bring this classic comedy caper to life.”<\/p>\n

The creative team includes Designer, Dick Bird; Lighting Designer, Johanna Town; Sound Designer, Gregory Clarke; Fight Director, Philip d\u2019Orleans and Casting Director, Annelie Powell CDG, who will bring this Coward classic to life on the Royal Exchange\u2019s iconic stage.<\/p>\n

Further casting will be announced in due course.<\/p>\n

Private Lives will run from 27 March \u2013 2 May 2026 and tickets are available now from \u00a312.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Girl Taken star is heading back to Manchester for her new roleJill Halfpenny will star in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682346,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,31228,26663,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-682345","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-manchester-theatre","13":"tag-royal-exchange-theatre","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115859856071121014","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682345","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682345\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}