Hairspray

Hairspray returns to the Birmingham Hippodrome on Monday 26 October, playing on the Main Stage. It's a musical comedy that first made its name on Broadway, where it picked up eight Tony awards, and later in the West End with four Oliviers, before touring internationally. For this run, Neil Hurst is back in the role of Edna Turnblad.

The story is set in Baltimore in 1962 and centres on Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger dream: to dance her way onto national television and into the heart of teen idol Link Larkin. Her audition makes her a local star, and she soon turns that fame into a campaign for integration. Alongside her, a new set of friends — the spirited Seaweed and his sister Little Inez, the resolute Motormouth Maybelle — push to change the world, their cause carried by show-stopping numbers like 'Welcome to the 60s', 'You Can't Stop the Beat', 'Good Morning Baltimore' and 'The Nicest Kids in Town'.

It's described as joyous, uplifting and hilarious, and it still packs a punch with its message of tolerance and the fight against racial discrimination. If you've seen it before, the songs are the bits that usually stick with you long after the curtain falls. If it's your first time, it's a good place to start with musical comedy — big hair, big numbers, and a story that doesn't let go of its core idea. It's playing on the Main Stage at the Hippodrome, so it's a proper night out in the city centre.