''Greatest Days'' is a

jukebox musical A jukebox musical is a stage musical or musical film in which a majority of the songs are well-known, pre-existing popular music songs, rather than original music composed for the musical. Some jukebox musicals use a wide variety of songs, while ...

with music and lyrics by

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

and a book by

Tim Firth Tim Firth (born 13 October 1964) is an English dramatist, screenwriter and songwriter. Life and career Firth was born in Frodsham, England. He spent much of his time at school writing songs and it was only a few weeks before going to King's ...

. It received its world premiere under its original title ''The Band'' at the

Manchester Opera House The Opera House in Quay Street, Manchester, England, is a 1,920-seater commercial touring Theatre (structure), theatre that plays host to touring Musical theatre, musicals, ballet, concerts and a Christmas pantomime. It is a Grade II listed buil ...

, in September 2017, before embarking on a UK and Ireland tour and opened at the

Theatre Royal Haymarket The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre in Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote ...

London's West End The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster. It is west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which ma ...

in December 2018. The band was cast through the 2017 BBC reality television show '' Let It Shine''. The musical tells the story of five women who were best friends as teenagers and all big fans of The Band. 25 years later after losing contact the four of them reunite to fulfill their dream of seeing the band perform. ''Greatest Days'' is the second jukebox musical based on the songs of Take That, after the 2008 musical '' Never Forget''.

Productions

UK and Ireland tour and West End (2017 - 2019)

The musical premiered as ''The Band'' at the

on 26 September 2017 (previewing from 8 September) before touring the rest of the UK and Ireland until March 2019. The musical made its West End premiere at the

for a limited run from 1 December 2018 to 12 January 2019, including a charity gala opening night on 4 December 2018.

Germany (2019)

The musical made its German premiere at the

Theater des Westens The Theater des Westens (Theatre of the West) is one of the most famous theatres for musicals and operettas in Berlin, Germany, located at 10–12 in Charlottenburg. It was founded in 1895 for plays. The present house was opened in 1896 and ded ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

for a limited run from 11 April 2019 to September 2019, followed by a run in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

from 11 October 2019 to 3 November 2019.

P&O Cruises Arvia (2023 - 2026)

In August 2022 it was announced that a special adaptation of ''Greatest Days'' would be performed exclusively onboard new P&O Cruises Ship Arvia. The show had its premiere on Monday 9th of January 2023. It was directed by James Robert Moore, with choreography by Ian West, musical direction by Roxanna Shirley, arrangements by Steve Parry, set design by Steve Howell, costume by Carry On Costumes, sound design by Leigh Davies, video and lighting design by Ben Bull and associate direction by Grace Currie.

P&O Cruises Iona (2023 - 2026)

On Thursday the 8th of June 2023, Greatest Days premiered on Arvia’s sister ship Iona. The show has the same creative team as Arvia.

UK and Ireland tour (2023 - 2024)

In September 2022, it was announced that the musical would tour the UK and Ireland in 2023, renamed as ''Greatest Days.'' The tour premiered at the

Churchill Theatre The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, southeast London, was built by the London Borough of Bromley according to designs by the borough architect's department. The Churchill is an example of a repertory theatre built in the style of European opera ...

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

from 5 May 2023 and will tour until 2024, coinciding with the release of the movie adaptation and the 30th anniversary of Take That's first ever no. 1 UK single ''Pray''.

Switzerland (2023 - 2024)

In December 2023, Greatest Days premiered at Le Theatre, Emmen, Switzerland. The production runs from 14 December 2023 until 21 January 2024.

Original casts and characters

Film adaptation

A film adaptation titled ''Greatest Days'' featuring

Jayde Adams Jayde Pricilla Gail Adams (born 26 November 1984) is a British comedian, actress, writer and opera singer from Bristol. She is the winner of the 2014 Funny Women Award. Early life Born in Bedminster, Bristol, Adams attended her aunt's freestyl ...

Aisling Bea Aisling Clíodhnadh O'Sullivan (born 16 March 1984), known professionally as Aisling Bea ( ), is an Irish comedian, actress and screenwriter. She created, wrote and starred in the comedy series '' This Way Up'' on Channel 4. As a stand-up comedi ...

Alice Lowe Alice Eva Lowe (born 3 April 1977)England & Wales births 1837 – 2006 is an English actress, writer, director, and comedian. She has appeared as Dr. Haynes in '' Black Mirror: Bandersnatch'' and Madeleine Wool/Liz Asher in ''Garth Marenghi's ...

and Amaka Okafor was written by Firth and directed by

Coky Giedroyc Mary Rose Helen "Coky" Giedroyc (; born 6 February 1963) is an English director known for her work on '' Women Talking Dirty'', '' The Virgin Queen'', '' The Nativity'', and ''Penny Dreadful''. Early life Giedroyc was born in Kowloon on 6 Febru ...

with choreography by Drew McOnie. It was released in summer 2023.

References

External links

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Instagram Channel for German programme
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greatest Days 2017 musicals Jukebox musicals Take That West End musicals