Sunny Afternoon to return for new tour

Sonia Friedman Productions and ATG Productions have announced that Sunny Afternoon will return for a brand new tour later this year.

Based on the early life of The Kinks’ Ray Davies, the Olivier Award-winning musical features songs such as “You Really Got Me”, “Waterloo Sunset”, “All Day and All of the Night” and “Lola”.

The show first opened at the Hampstead Theatre before transferring to the West End in 2014, where it ran for two years ahead of a tour in 2016. A tour was planned for 2020 before being postponed by the pandemic lockdowns.

Davies said: “In these times of political uncertainties, it is a relief to know that Sunny Afternoon is on the horizon to lift our spirits.”

Meanwhile, Sonia Friedman added: “From the moment Ray Davies, Joe Penhall, Ed Hall, and I began developing this musical, I knew it was something extremely special, and it proved to be so as we opened to rave reviews and won many awards.”

She continued: “Ray Davies’ music and lyrics capture the poetry and poignancy of everyday life with honesty and wit, and The Kinks’ music, attitude and vibe shaped a generation. Their astonishing legacy continues to resonate, making Sunny Afternoon as exhilarating and relevant today as ever. Whether you’re discovering it for the first time or experiencing it all over again, I can’t wait for audiences across the UK to see it — I’ve truly missed it.”

Sunny Afternoon has music and lyrics by Davies with a book by Joe Penhall and an original story by Davies. It is directed by Edward Hall and designed by Miriam Buether with choreography by Adam Cooper. Lighting design is by Rick Fisher with sound design by Matt McKenzie. Musical and vocal adaptations are by Davies and Elliott Ware based on original Kinks’ recordings.

The tour will kick off at Manchester Palace Theatre on 10 October, playing until 18 October. It’ll then visit Birmingham, Glasgow, Sunderland, York, Woking, Wimbledon, Swansea, and Brighton.

Into 2026, the musical will play Alexandra Palace in London, before visiting Canterbury, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Leeds, Malvern, Torquay, Oxford, Richmond, Stoke on Trent, Stockton, Leicester, Blackpool, Edinburgh, Inverness, Liverpool, and Cardiff.

Further dates, along with casting, are to be announced.