The European première of Head Over Heels at Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester January 26 to March 4 is set to the music of 1980s all-female rock band The Go-Gos.
Luke Bayer leads the cast as Musidorus, alongside Alison Driver (Ensemble) Iz Hesketh (Pythio), Jenny O’Leary (Pamela), Daniel Page (Dametas), Maiya Quansah Breed (Philoclea), Samuel Routley (Ensemble), Khadija Sallet (Mopsa), Julie Stark (Gynecia), Marina Tavolieri (Ensemble), Timo Tatzber (Ensemble), and Fed Zanni (Basilius). The production opens on 1 February 2023, with previews from 26 January, running until 4 March.
This queer jukebox musical was adapted from The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia written by Sir Philip Sidney in the 16th century. It had its world première in 2015 at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, after which it was adapted by James Magruder and his version opened in San Francisco 2018. It is also notable for starring Peppermint (Pose, RuPaul’s Drag Race), who was the first trans woman to originate a principal role on Broadway.