Greece - well, Thespians - is the word

From the award-winning team behind The Play That Goes Wrong comes Thespians: Greece The Musical (But Not That One), which arrives at Manchester's HOME arts centre this summer (July 7-18).

Written by Jonathan Sayer (The Play That Goes Wrong, Peter Pan Goes Wrong, The Comedy About A Bank Robbery) and Ed Zanders (Mischief Movie Night) this is the company's first musical and a co-production with HOME.

The newly-announced cast features familiar faces from previous Manchester appearances, including Allie Dart and James Spence (Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch, Lowry), Claire-Marie Hall (Les Miserables, Operation Mincemeat) and Curtis Patrick (Young Frankenstein at Hope Mill Theatre).

It’s 534 BC, and Greece’s smallest island is desperate to win a nationwide prayer competition created by a thin-skinned tyrant - in which the loser faces certain death. Things are going terribly wrong until Thespis accidentally invents acting, changing the world forever.

Director Robyn Grant said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to be heading into rehearsals with such a brilliant cast and creative team. It’s a real joy to be directing Mischief’s first musical.

"With a company this strong, it feels like we’re in very safe hands – and ready to take on the small matter of reinventing the origins of theatre.”

More info and tickets here