REHEARSAL images for smash-hit musical Hairspray have been released ahead of the UK tour set to visit more than 30 venues across the UK and Ireland and coming to Mayflower Theatre from 22-27 January.

Featuring the iconic music and lyrics by Academy Award, Tony and Emmy winning duo Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, this much-loved musical comedy is choreographed by Olivier Award-winning Drew McOnie with direction from Paul Kerryson.

The production stars Norman Pace as Wilbur Turnblad, Brenda Edwards as Motormouth Maybelle and Layton Williams now as Seaweed. Matt Rixon will be reprising his role as Edna Turnblad and Gina Murray joins the cast as Velma Von Tussle with Jon Tsouras once again playing Corny Collins; Edward Chitticks as Link Larkin; Aimee Moore as Amber Von Tussle; Annalise Liard-Bailey as Penny Pingleton and Monifa James as Little Inez. Rebecca Mendoza will make her professional debut as Tracy Turnblad.

It’s Baltimore 1962, where Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, is on a mission to follow her dreams and dance her way onto national TV. Tracy’s audition makes her a local star and soon she is using her new-found fame to fight for equality, bagging local heartthrob Link Larkin along the way.

Hairspray is a musical based on the 1988 film of the same name which starred Divine and Ricki Lake by cult filmmaker John Waters. With music and lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman and book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan, Hairspray originally opened to rave reviews on Broadway in 2002 and subsequently won eight Tony Awards. The production opened in London at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2007 and won four Laurence Olivier Awards including Best New Musical. Proving to be an international success, Hairspray has also opened in South Africa, Japan, South Korea, China and Dubai. Following the musical’s phenomenal success on stage, a film of the musical was released in 2007 which starred John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer and James Marsden.

Tickets for Hairspray (Monday 22 – Saturday 27 January 2018) are on sale from Mayflower Theatre Box Office tel: 02380 711811 or online at mayflower.org.uk. Ovation Restaurant bookings: 02380 711833