After the hunt for a boy band to take centre stage, Tim Firth’s new musical, 'The Band', will visit Birmingham Hippodrome from May 1st 2018 as part of a major new UK Tour.

Details of the new UK tour were announced on Monday, on stage at the Manchester Apollo - the venue where Take That first performed in 1992. The production will open at Manchester Opera House on 8 September. Take That members, Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald said:

“We are incredibly proud and excited that our first production as theatre producers is The Band – a musical that we think will touch the hearts of not just our fans, but everyone.”

The production is a new musical about what it’s like to grow up with a boyband - for five 16 year-old friends in 1992, ‘the band’ is everything. Twenty five years on, we are reunited with the group of friends who are now 40-something women, as they try once more to fulfil their dream of meeting their heroes.

The band themselves will be played by AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Yazdan Qafouri Isfahani, Curtis T Johns and Sario Watanabe-Soloman, who, as Five to Five, won BBC show 'Let It Shine'. Playing the parts of Rachel and Young Rachel will be Rachel Lumberg and Faye Christall respectively.  Further casting is to be announced.

Tickets are on sale to the general public now and the show will visit Birmingham between May 1st and 12th 2018. For tickets, call 0844 338 5000 or visit birminghamhippodrome.com.