{"id":792337,"date":"2026-02-27T10:35:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T10:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/792337\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T10:35:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T10:35:22","slug":"mean-girls-at-opera-house-is-unapologetically-feel-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/792337\/","title":{"rendered":"Mean Girls at Opera House is &#8216;unapologetically feel-good&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; Advertisement &#8211;<a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/ilovemanchester.com\/subscribe\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"ILM Banner 728\u00d790 (Newsletter)\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ILM-Banner-728x90-Newsletter.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"no-lazyload\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" style=\" max-width: 100%; height: auto;opacity: 1 !important;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>On Wednesdays we wear pink! And right now, Opera House Manchester is awash<br \/>with it as the UK tour of Mean Girls takes over the stage. This glossy, high-energy<br \/>production delivers a fun and fast-paced night out that had the <a href=\"https:\/\/ilovemanchester.com\/brit-awards-manchester-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">Manchester<\/a> audience<br \/>laughing from start to finish.<\/p>\n<p>Friendship at the heart of the show<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"597\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Mean-Girls-cast-1024x597.jpg\" alt=\"A group of young people jump around on stage with a blue back drop. Women stand around a man who is positioned above them stood on a chair with his arms in the air. They swoon after him. \" class=\"wp-image-214820\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Following home-schooled newcomer Cady Heron as she navigates the unwritten<br \/>rules of high school popularity, Mean Girls balances sharp comedy with big musical<br \/>theatre moments. It is a show that never takes itself too seriously, leaning into the<br \/>outrageous humour while still landing a message about friendship, identity, and the<br \/>pressures of fitting in.<\/p>\n<p>Emily Lane brings a genuine warmth to Cady, making her an easy character to root<br \/>for as she gets swept up in the chaos of teenage social <a href=\"https:\/\/ilovemanchester.com\/we-asked-73-voters-if-they-still-back-andy-burnham\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">politics.<\/a> Her journey from<br \/>awkward outsider to reluctant queen bee feels believable and engaging, giving the<br \/>story a strong emotional centre.<\/p>\n<p>Vivian Panka is perfectly cast as Regina George, capturing the queen bee\u2019s icy confidence and razor-sharp attitude while clearly relishing every moment on stage. Sophie Pourret\u2019s Karen is delightfully eccentric, earning some of the evening\u2019s biggest laughs, while Kiara Dario gives Gretchen just the right level of frantic energy and nervous intensity.<\/p>\n<p>Standout performances from Georgie Buckland and Max Gill<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Mean-Girls-trio-scaled-e1772187216901-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"A man holds his hands together on his chest as he looks on in awe, as a lady in a blue shirt and checkered yellow tie looks on at him. Another lady stands to his right with pale brown hair, wearing a burnt orange t-shirt, jeans and a beige gilet. She also looks at the male.\" class=\"wp-image-214823\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Standout performances come from Georgie Buckland as Janis and Max Gill as<br \/>Damian, whose chemistry and comic timing lift every scene they are in. Buckland<br \/>delivers Janis with attitude and powerhouse vocals, particularly shining in the show\u2019s<br \/>bigger musical moments, while Gill proves a constant audience favourite, landing<br \/>some of the biggest laughs of the night with natural charm and strong stage<br \/>presence.<\/p>\n<p>Karim Zeroual is a likeable Kevin Ganatra, bringing plenty of personality to the role,<br \/>and Joshua Elmore impresses across several <a href=\"https:\/\/ilovemanchester.com\/mothersday\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">adult<\/a> roles with confident character<br \/>work. Faye Tozer, best known as a member of Steps, is a real highlight playing<br \/>multiple roles including Ms Norbury, Mrs Heron and Mrs George, switching<br \/>seamlessly between characters and bringing warmth and humour to each<br \/>appearance.<\/p>\n<p>Quick transitions keep the pace high<\/p>\n<p>The production itself is bright, modern, and constantly moving. Slick digital<br \/>backdrops and quick transitions keep the pace high, creating a lively and visually<br \/>engaging show that rarely pauses for breath. The colourful <a href=\"https:\/\/ilovemanchester.com\/review-single-white-female-opera-house-manchester\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">staging<\/a> helps capture the<br \/>heightened world of high school drama, while the energetic choreography makes<br \/>strong use of the full Opera House stage.<\/p>\n<p>Sharp choreography and infectious energy<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Mean-Girls-image-scaled-e1772187524452-1024x682.jpg\" alt=\"Three women look sternly at the camera. One woman with blonde hair stands ahead, while the others stand behind her. One on her right, one on her left in pink dresses.\" class=\"wp-image-214822\"\/><\/p>\n<p>The ensemble numbers are a particular highlight, packed with sharp choreography<br \/>and infectious energy that keeps the audience engaged throughout. There\u2019s a real<br \/>sense of fun running through the company, which translates into a warm and<br \/>enthusiastic response from the crowd.<\/p>\n<p>What makes this touring production work so well is how easy it is to enjoy. You do<br \/>not need to know the story beforehand to have a wonderful time, although fans will<br \/>appreciate the familiar moments and quotable lines that still land brilliantly with a live<br \/>audience.<\/p>\n<p>Mean Girls at Opera House<\/p>\n<p>Funny, polished, and unapologetically feel-good, Mean Girls is exactly the kind of big touring musical Manchester audiences love. The show runs at Opera House Manchester until Saturday 7 March 2026, making it well worth catching before the Plastics leave town.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Advertisement &#8211;<a data-no-instant=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/bit.ly\/4r14ciM\" rel=\"noopener nofollow sponsored\" class=\"a2t-link\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Snooker leaderboard\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Snooker-leaderboard.gif\" alt=\"\" class=\"no-lazyload\" width=\"728\" height=\"90\" style=\" max-width: 100%; height: auto;opacity: 1 !important;\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"&#8211; Advertisement &#8211; On Wednesdays we wear pink! And right now, Opera House Manchester is awashwith it as&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":792338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,36845,3943,46896,2764,16,15],"class_list":["post-792337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manchester","tag-britain","tag-england","tag-great-britain","tag-manchester","tag-mean-girls","tag-movies","tag-opera-house","tag-theatre","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116142154103700330","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792337","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=792337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/792337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/792338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=792337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=792337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=792337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}