Richard Fleeshman to join cast of Something Rotten!

Acclaimed star of stage and screen Richard Fleeshman (Company, Ghost the Musical, Legally Blonde The Musical) is to join the cast of award-winning comedy musical Something Rotten!, which will have its highly anticipated UK premiere at the Manchester Opera House from 16 June to 19 July 2026, ahead of a West End run.

Fleeshman joins the previously announced comedy, TV and musical theatre icon Jason Manford (Sweeney Todd, The Producers, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) in the side-splitting mash-up of song, dance and Elizabethan absurdity that tells the story behind the creation of the world’s very first musical.

Fleeshman, whose screen credits include Netflix’s The Sandman, Syfy’s The Ark and BBC’s Riot Women, as well as many years playing Craig Harris in Coronation Street on ITV, will take the role of William Shakespeare.

Richard Fleeshman said:

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining the cast of Something Rotten! This show is very special and absolutely riotous. I can’t wait to bring this larger-than-life rock star version of the Bard to the stage and I’m especially proud that the UK premiere will be in my home town of Manchester. 

Having the opportunity to perform alongside my good friend Jason Manford makes the experience even more joyous. This is an outrageously funny and uplifting show and I’m sure audiences will love every hilarious minute of it.”

The ‘90s are back! The 1590s, that is. Brothers Nick and Nigel Bottom are desperate to write a hit play but remain stuck in the shadow of that pompous Renaissance rockstar Will Shakespeare. When a quirky soothsayer foretells an outlandish future for theatre – full of acting, singing and dancing all at the same time – Nick and Nigel set out to write this strange new creation called A MUSICAL! But amidst the scandalous excitement of Opening Night, the Bottom Brothers discover that reaching the top means being true to thine own self… and all that jazz.

Created by the award-winning team behind Mrs. Doubtfire: The Musical: Grammy award-winning songwriter Wayne Kirkpatrick (Change the World, Every Heartbeat), screenwriter Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run, Over the Hedge,  James and the Giant Peach) and best-selling author and comedy scriptwriter John O’Farrell (Spitting Image, Have I Got News for You, Just For One Day), Something Rotten! was the toast of Broadway where it received 10 Tony Award nominations.

This new production, which follows the acclaimed 2023 WhatsOnStage Award-winning concert version, is directed and choreographed by Tim Jackson (Merrily We Roll Along, Two Strangers Carry a Cake Across New York) and presented by Broadway and West End producers, Kevin McCollum of Alchemation and Joshua Andrews of JAS Theatricals.This production is licensed by Music Theatre International.

Manchester Abid has supported the Opera House’s Manchester Gets it First programme to help bring Something Rotten! to Manchester.

Something Rotten! plays at Manchester Opera House 16 June to 19 July 2026. Tickets are available here.