To Sir, With Love announces 2027 UK tour opening in Leeds

Producer Kris Lythgoe, with Sam Quested and Darren Bell for QUBE Theatricals, has announced that To Sir, With Love, a new musical, will begin a UK tour at Leeds Grand Theatre on 15 April 2027. An official open night gala follows on 21 April, in support of the Ben Kinsella Trust. The production then plays exclusive limited engagements at Hull New Theatre, the Palace Theatre in Manchester, and New Wimbledon Theatre in London.

The tour marks the 60th anniversary of the 1967 film. The company is led by Olivier Award winning actor Matt Henry MBE, who plays Mr Braithwaite. Henry's West End work includes The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion Theatre and Kinky Boots at the Adelphi Theatre.

Joining him is Olivier nominated actress Amy Di Bartolomeo as Ms Blanchard, a role the official production names as Miss Gillian Blanchard. She too appears in The Devil Wears Prada, and in SIX at the Vaudeville Theatre. Former EastEnders star Lucy Benjamin plays Ms Dale-Evans, with credits including Stepping Out on UK tour and Emma at the Rose Theatre Kingston. Television and stage actor Ben Richards, whose work includes The Bill and Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre, plays Mr Florian. There is more on that London production in our guide to Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Actress Georgia May Foote, who was the runner up on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015 and a Coronation Street star, plays Pamela Dare. Her stage work includes The Rocky Horror Show on UK tour and Napoli, Brooklyn at the Park Theatre and on UK tour.

To Sir, With Love 2027 UK tour dates and venues

The official listings show four exclusive limited engagements, beginning in Leeds in mid April 2027 and finishing at New Wimbledon Theatre in late May. The Leeds run is the longest of the four, and it is there that the company will hold the official open night gala. The dates, as published, are as follows.

• Leeds Grand Theatre: 15 April to 1 May 2027, with the official open night gala on 21 April
• Hull New Theatre: 5 to 8 May 2027
• Palace Theatre, Manchester: 11 to 15 May 2027
• New Wimbledon Theatre: 18 to 22 May 2027

The producers describe the route as a curated UK tour. Further venues have not been announced. The official listings, and the Leeds Grand Theatre listing, confirm that the Leeds season opens on 15 April and runs to 1 May 2027. Tickets are now on sale, according to the official release.

To Sir, With Love cast: Matt Henry leads the company

Matt Henry takes the title role of Mr Braithwaite, the teacher at the centre of the story. He is an Olivier Award winning actor, and the release lists his West End credits as The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion Theatre and Kinky Boots at the Adelphi Theatre. In To Sir, With Love he is the 'Sir' of the title, the figure director Sheldon Epps says audiences will celebrate at every performance.

Amy Di Bartolomeo, an Olivier nominated actress, joins him as Ms Blanchard. The official production website gives the character her full name, Miss Gillian Blanchard. Di Bartolomeo's listed credits are The Devil Wears Prada at the Dominion Theatre and SIX at the Vaudeville Theatre. Lucy Benjamin, widely known for EastEnders, plays Ms Dale-Evans, with Stepping Out on UK tour and Emma at the Rose Theatre Kingston among the stage credits named in the release.

Ben Richards plays Mr Florian. His listed work takes in The Bill on ITV and Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Piccadilly Theatre. Georgia May Foote plays Pamela Dare, one of the young people whose lives are changed in the classroom. The release notes her work on Coronation Street and as the runner up on Strictly Come Dancing in 2015, as well as The Rocky Horror Show on UK tour and Napoli, Brooklyn at the Park Theatre and on UK tour.

Further casting is still to be announced. The five actors named above are the adult company confirmed so far for this first staging of the new musical.

To Sir, With Love: the story of the new musical

To Sir, With Love is a new musical adaptation of E. R. Braithwaite's memoir. The official production website dates the book to 1959 and describes it as drawing on Braithwaite's own experiences as a teacher in London's East End, telling the story of a man determined to reach a class of young people who had already been written off by much of the world around them.

The 1967 film, with Sidney Poitier in the title role, made that story famous. The 2027 tour is billed as marking 60 years since that film appeared. The official website calls the film an enduring classic, remembered for its performances, its themes of respect and belonging, and the title song. The stage version now brings the same story back as a fully staged musical, 60 years on.

The release sets out the plot in these terms. It is a coming of age story of young students on the brink of adulthood, and of the teacher who refuses to let the world write them off. Rick Braithwaite, educated at Cambridge, an engineer and a former RAF fighter pilot, meets prejudice at every turn, but he engages his students not as troublesome youths, rather as emerging adults who must soon stand or fall on their own merits. With grit and grace, he prepares them for more than just exams; he prepares them for life.

The Leeds Grand Theatre listing tells a closely related version of that narrative. In London's post war East End, a talented young Black man whose ambitions have been frustrated by prejudice takes on a defiant class of teenagers searching for their place in the world. Determined to see potential where others see a lost cause, Mr Braithwaite sets out to earn their trust. As his pupils embark on their own coming of age journeys, he discovers that they have lessons of their own to teach him.

The official website also records how the musical reached this point. Workshops in New York and Los Angeles helped develop the show, leading to two sold out London concerts in 2025 and paving the way for the full stage production. Those concerts, the release says, were at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in November 2025, and they featured Lulu and Wayne Brady. Both performances sold out. To Sir, With Love now returns to the UK stage as a fully staged production.

To Sir, With Love creative team and the title song

The new musical, the release says, bursts with music, humour and heart. It features the title song made famous by Lulu, written by Don Black and Mark London, alongside original music and lyrics by John Farrar, whose credits include Xanadu and Grease, and Kara DioGuardi, known for American Idol. The book is by Kris Lythgoe. The official production website also lists Eve Nelson as providing musical arrangements.

Direction is by Sheldon Epps, a Broadway director and a two time Tony nominee. Choreography is by Kieran Donovan, orchestrations by Joseph Joubert, and set and costume design by Andy Walmsley. Video design is by Aaron Rhyne, sound design by Paul Smith, and dramaturgy by Shereen Jasmin Phillips. Production management is by Phil McCandlish, and casting is by Debbie O'Brien. The official website describes Phillips's credit as original dramaturgy, and it also names Jodie Harris as associate producer.

Epps said: "This moving and wonderful story is personally meaningful to me for so many reasons. It is a joy and an honour to bring it to the stage, through the expressive power of musical theatre. Along with my wonderful collaborators we have found ways to let the story "Sing" in an organic way, heightening the emotion that has always been there. Rarely do we have the chance to bring to life a story so rooted in its time, yet still so vitally relevant today. I know audiences will celebrate our 'Sir' with every performance."

Lythgoe said: "We are so excited to bring this iconic story to a new generation, and in doing so, celebrate teachers. We all remember a teacher who made a difference in our lives, and we want this musical to encourage people to show them how much they are appreciated."

To Sir, With Love is produced by Kris Lythgoe, with Willette and Manny Klausner, Jennifer Yaek, and Chris and Viv Day joining as producers. General management is by QUBE Theatricals. The musical has been developed through the Ogunquit Playhouse New Works Program. Further casting and creatives are still to be announced.

To Sir, With Love at Leeds Grand Theatre

Leeds Grand Theatre is the starting point, and the longest stop, on this first tour. The company plays there from 15 April to 1 May 2027, and the official open night gala on 21 April is in support of the Ben Kinsella Trust. From Leeds the production moves to Hull New Theatre from 5 to 8 May, then to the Palace Theatre, Manchester from 11 to 15 May, and finally to New Wimbledon Theatre from 18 to 22 May.

That short, carefully chosen route is how the first fully staged production of To Sir, With Love will meet UK audiences, 60 years after the film and almost 70 years after Braithwaite's memoir was published. It sits among the other musicals already heading out around the country, which we survey in our guide to touring musicals in the UK.

The release says tickets are now on sale. Further casting, further creatives, and any extra tour dates will be announced later.

Image: © To Sir, With Love