Michelle Gomez Leads Major Sondheim Revival Coming to Manchester This Christmas

Michelle Gomez is heading to Manchester this Christmas to lead a major new production of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music at the Royal Exchange Theatre.

A Little Night Music is set in turn of the century Sweden and follows a group of characters whose romantic lives become increasingly tangled over a weekend in the countryside. At the centre of the story is Desiree, an actress who reconnects with former lover Fredrik and discovers that the feelings between them have not completely disappeared.

Fredrik is married to the much younger Anne, while Desiree is involved with the married Count Carl Magnus Malcolm. As their families and relationships collide, jealousy, old feelings and romantic misunderstandings begin to surface, creating one of Stephen Sondheim’s best known musical comedies.

The musical features music and lyrics by Sondheim with a book by Hugh Wheeler and was inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s film Smiles of a Summer Night. It also includes Send in the Clowns, one of the most recognisable songs in Sondheim’s catalogue.

Michelle Gomez gives the Manchester revival an immediate television connection. She is widely known for playing Missy in Doctor Who, Sue White in Green Wing and Mary Wardwell and Madam Satan in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, while her stage career has included work with major British theatre companies.

Michael D. Xavier takes the role of Fredrik Egerman and brings extensive musical theatre experience to the production. The newly announced company also includes Gillian Bevan as Madame Armfeldt, Marley Fenton as Henrik Egerman, Liv Andrusier as Anne Egerman, Oliver Thornton as Count Carl Magnus Malcolm and Courtney Bowman as Petra.

Laura Harrison will play Countess Charlotte Malcolm, with Kaya Farrugia as Fredrika Armfeldt and Esme Laudat as Mrs Anderssen. Carolina Alegria, Michael Robert Lowe, Sam Kipling and Monique Young are also among the company, giving the production a sizeable ensemble ahead of its winter run.

The new staging is directed by Royal Exchange Artistic Director Selina Cartmell. The venue has described A Little Night Music as a life affirming fairy tale for adults, with the production becoming one of the major centrepieces of its anniversary programme.

The setting should also make this revival particularly distinctive. The Royal Exchange’s famous theatre sits inside the former trading hall in St Ann’s Square and uses an immersive in the round layout, meaning audiences surround the performance rather than watching from a traditional stage at one end of the auditorium.

That gives A Little Night Music a very different environment from a conventional West End production. A musical built around intimate relationships, awkward encounters and shifting romantic loyalties should lend itself particularly well to a space where performers are surrounded by the audience.

Performances begin on 5 December 2026 and continue until 30 January 2027. Tickets are already on sale, with the Royal Exchange advertising standard tickets from £15, although prices vary according to the performance and seating area.

Accessible performances are also planned during January. The Royal Exchange currently lists audio described, captioned and sensory adapted performances for the production, giving audiences several options across the final weeks of the run.

The combination of Gomez, Xavier, one of Sondheim’s most celebrated musicals and the Royal Exchange’s distinctive setting makes this one of Manchester’s biggest theatre productions of the coming winter. It also offers audiences looking beyond London a major musical revival with a recognisable cast and a substantial Christmas and New Year run.

Where to see it: A Little Night Music runs at the Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square, Manchester, from 5 December 2026 until 30 January 2027. Tickets are available directly through the Royal Exchange Theatre website.

Book A Little Night Music tickets at the Royal Exchange Theatre