Sonia Friedman Productions and ATG Productions are delighted to announce that the multi Olivier Award-winning hit musical SUNNY AFTERNOON will return for a 2025/2026 UK tour opening at the Manchester Palace Theatre on 10 October 2025, where it will play until 18 October 2025.
Producer Sonia Friedman said today, “From the moment Ray Davies, Joe Penhall, Ed Hall, and I began developing this musical, I knew it was something extremely special, and it proved to be so as we opened to rave reviews and won many awards. Now, I’m thrilled that we’re bringing back our joyous, celebratory, Olivier Award-winning Best New Musical for a new UK tour. Ray Davies’ music and lyrics capture the poetry and poignancy of everyday life with honesty and wit, and The Kinks’ music, attitude and vibe shaped a generation. Their astonishing legacy continues to resonate, making SUNNY AFTERNOON as exhilarating and relevant today as ever. Whether you’re discovering it for the first time or experiencing it all over again, I can’t wait for audiences across the UK to see it — I’ve truly missed it.”
SUNNY AFTERNOON celebrates the raw energy, passion and timeless sound of one of Britain’s most iconic bands, THE KINKS. Charting the euphoric highs and agonising lows, it tells their story through an incredible back catalogue of chart-toppers, including “You Really Got Me,” “Lola,” and “All Day and All of the Night.”
SUNNY AFTERNOON was the recipient of four Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical and Outstanding Achievement in Music for Ray Davies
Set against the backdrop of Britain on the cusp of the rebellious ’60s, SUNNY AFTERNOON is an exhilarating and moving celebration of the music, life, and the band that changed it all.
Following a sell-out run at Hampstead Theatre, SUNNY AFTERNOON opened to critical acclaim at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London’s West End where it ran for two years ahead of its sensational sell-out tour of the UK and Ireland throughout 2016/17.
SUNNY AFTERNOON has music and lyrics by Ray Davies with a book by Joe Penhall and original story by Ray Davies. It is directed by Edward Hall and designed by Miriam Buether with choreography by Adam Cooper. Lighting design is by Rick Fisher with sound design by Matt McKenzie. Musical and vocal adaptations are by Ray Davies and Elliott Ware based on original Kinks’ recordings.
Book Sunny Afternoon at Palace Theatre
