New indie musical about female friendship, empowerment and hope: How Soon Is Now? premieres at Lowry

Award-winning theatre company Box of Tricks has announced the world premiere of How Soon is Now? a brand-new indie musical by acclaimed playwright Siân Owen, opening at Lowry on 01 October 2026 before embarking on a UK tour.

“You open the door into this club. And the noise and the smell and the heat hit you. It smothers you. Jumps all over you. Gets right in.”

It’s New Year’s Eve, 1997. Manchester. The DJ’s in full flow, and as your favourite indie songs blast out into the smoke-filled air of the club, the whole place feels electric.

Three girls are on the dance floor. Polly and Angie are up for a big night. Jean is lost and alone.  Change is in the air – New Labour, New Year, a new millennium. After decades of grey, this should be their time. But as darkness falls and midnight arrives, will they find their light?

Set to a live soundtrack of 90’s classics, against the backdrop of a generation-defining era of music, club culture and possibility, How Soon is Now? is an original new musical about female friendship, empowerment and hope. Celebrating Northern voices and featuring top tunes, it tells a story of mates, music and magic – finding your place and finding yourself. Featuring a live soundtrack of iconic indie anthems from the likes of The Stone Roses, Radiohead and The Smiths, it captures the highs and lows, darkness and light of a big night out on New Year’s Eve.

How Soon is Now? is presented by Box of Tricks, the Manchester-based theatre company dedicated to championing new work, bringing original voices to theatres nationwide and staging stories that resonate, inspire and entertain. Productions include Narvik (UK Theatre Award for Best New Play), SparkPlug (Sky Arts broadcast) and The Last Quiz Night on Earth (Guardian Best of Culture 2020). The production is the company’s most ambitious project to date as it celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Adam Quayle, Artistic Director, Box of Tricks said “Ten years in the making, How Soon is Now? is an electric story of female friendship and empowerment, driven by a live soundtrack of iconic indie classics. A reminder that even in the darkest moments, there is a light that never goes out. At a time when midscale touring faces increasing challenges, it means more than ever to share our biggest, boldest production to date with audiences across the country.”

Matt Eames, Director of Theatre & Performance at Lowry added: “Box of Tricks holds a unique place in the Northern ecology and their work with writers has become increasingly important in such a challenging context for producing new work.”

How Soon is Now? is written by one of the UK’s most exciting voices in contemporary theatre, the award-winning playwright Siân Owen. She is currently under commission with Michael Sheen’s Welsh National Theatre and wrote additional material for Under Milk Wood at the National Theatre.

Her play Restoration won the Oxford Playhouse New Writing Competition, and she has been a member of the Royal Court Studio Group, Sherman Cymru Advanced Writers Group and BBC Writersroom’s Welsh Voices programme. Her theatre credits include Under Milk Wood (National Theatre), This Land (Pentabus/Salisbury Playhouse), How to be Brave (Dirty Protest), The Turn (Arcola Theatre/Box of Tricks), Classic (Theatre503) and Scarcity (Sherman Cymru/Theatr Clwyd). It is designed by Hannah Sibai with Musical Direction from Vidar Norheim, Lighting from KJ and Movement from Chris Brown.

Writer, Sian said: “I want audiences to feel like they’ve walked into the middle of a nightclub where a story is unfolding around them full of laughter, heartbreak, music and magic. But above all I hope people leave feeling lighter than when they arrived. It’s really a love song to music, friendship, courage and remembering that together we can all find glimmers of hope.”

Following its premiere at Lowry, the musical will also visit Bradford, Bristol, Chester, Exeter, Ipswich, Lancaster, Scarborough, Sheffield, Stockton and Wakefield.

Filled with heart, humour and hope, How Soon is Now? captures the magic of those nights that change us forever. An uplifting new musical about finding your tribe, it reminds us that even in our most difficult moments, these connections can bring light and hope to even the darkest of times.

How Soon is Now? plays at The Lowry, Salford 01 – 03 October. Tickets are available here.