The Choir of Man at Theatre Royal, Nottingham: “It’s hard not to fall in love” — theatre review
The show features a range of hits, all in a welcoming pub setting
If you’re looking for a fun night out and love a good sing-along, The Choir of Man is well worth seeing.
I reviewed this show on its UK tour at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal (from £25pp, trch.co.uk) on its press night. It is currently travelling around the country until December 2026, with further dates to be announced (thechoirofman.com).
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The Choir of Man at Theatre Royal, Nottingham review
★★★★★
By Charlotte Brudenell
Photos by Mark Senior
‘Welcome to The Jungle’... The Choir of Man welcomes the audience into a classic British pub, where stories are shared, and memories are made… and you can even have a pint on stage.
I went and reviewed this show on its UK tour during its visit to Nottingham. I was very unsure of what to expect, as I had only seen tasters of the show at West End Live in previous years, but knew that it didn’t follow the traditional musical structure.
This show completely defies any expectation of what a musical ‘should’ be. It doesn’t follow the traditional plot-line of a musical. Instead, it feels as though you’ve been transported to your local pub, and you’re just sharing a few pints with friends and hearing about the pub-goers’ lives and stories. It also defies traditional musical expectations by allowing you to sing along, making the audience feel even more immersed in the experience.
The Choir of Man takes place in The Jungle, made to look like your typical British pub. The nine extremely talented cast members take the audience on a two-hour visit to this pub, learning about each character’s life and personality along the way. It makes you feel as though you’re really there, from watching pints get poured to witnessing card games, to getting to see the bonds between the characters strengthen.
The show debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, with the show’s writers having the intention of exploring modern masculinity and men’s mental health, whilst also creating a fun night out and celebrating British pub culture. Since then, the show has had an extremely successful West End run at the Arts Theatre, an international tour and now a tour around the UK and Ireland.
The highlight of the show must be the working onstage bar. As soon as you walk into the auditorium, audience members are gathered onstage to grab a pint, and you may even get some interactions with the cast members. This bar is reopened during the interval for those who didn’t have a chance to visit The Jungle before the show started.
One touch that I really liked was the diversity and inclusivity of the cast. It was a celebration of everyone, telling stories of the cast’s homes and where they grew up, which added a personal feel to the show, allowing you to connect with the characters even more.
Another amazing part of the show is right at the end, where five of Nottingham’s community choirs stood to sing Sia’s Chandelier with the cast of the show. It really created a sense of community and was beautiful to witness, with over 250 voices being heard. The choirs taking part were The Collaboration Choir, Pipes, Beeston Voices, Totally Vocally, and Liberty Singers. The touring company is doing this at every venue, with a selection of choirs from each city they are visiting.
The show was originally performed at the Arts Theatre in London, a small and intimate venue with a seating capacity of around 350. In Nottingham’s Theatre Royal, there is a capacity of 1,186. Though the choirs really are a lovely addition, I think the show is perhaps more suited to smaller venues. It makes the audience feel a lot more immersed, especially considering the interactive nature of the musical. If you were not sitting in the first few rows of the stalls, then the experience may have been a bit different.
That being said, there are no faults with the show at all. It’s definitely a great couple of hours of fun, with getting to hear some great tunes, such as The Pina Colada Song, Adele’s Hello and The Proclaimers’ 500 Miles. There was not a moment during the show where I didn’t have a huge grin plastered across my face. It’s such a funny, emotional, entertaining show, which also spreads a really good message about toxic masculinity and the importance of speaking about our mental health.
The Choir of Man is a great modern musical and really deserves more recognition. It’s a must-see if you want a fun night out to celebrate classic British pub culture with some of the catchiest tunes to sing along to. Even if you’re not a huge fan of musicals, it’s hard not to fall in love with this show.
The Choir of Man is playing at the Theatre Royal until June 13 (trch.co.uk) and is currently travelling around the country until December (thechoirofman.com).
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