Run of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical about a child's train set that comes to life, at the Liverpool Empire Theatre.
Starlight Express comes to the Liverpool Empire from 26 May to 12 June 2027. It's the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical with lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, and it's built around a child's train set that magically comes to life. The engines and coaches race to become the fastest in the world, led by Rusty, a beaten-up old steam train inspired by the legend of the Starlight Express.
It's had a long run since it first opened on Broadway in 1987, where it played 761 performances at the Gershwin Theatre and won a Tony for John Napier's costumes. From there it moved to the West End, where it became the tenth longest-running show after more than 7,000 performances. It's also been running continuously in Bochum, Germany, since 1988, drawing over 20 million visitors. In total, more than 30 million people have seen it worldwide.
This production is coming off a recent London run that picked up an Olivier Award in 2025. A 2026 review called it a 'nostalgic visual spectacular', and the Daily Telegraph described it as 'jaw-dropping'.
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It'll be at the Liverpool Empire for a few weeks, from 26 May to 12 June 2027.
