Burlesque The Musical Review

---

I attended opening night of Burlesque at the Regent Theatre and, if I’m completely truthful, after being unwell I really wasn’t feeling like going out. I very nearly wanted to stay at home in my pyjamas and call it a night. I am SO glad I didn’t. This was exactly the pick me up I didn’t know I needed.

I’m a huge fan of Burlesque the movie, so I went into this with a mixture of excitement and slight dread. When you love a film that much, there’s always that little worry that a stage version just isn’t going to live up to it. And let’s face it, when the original gives you Cher and Christina Aguilera, the bar for the vocals isn’t exactly sitting low. 

Well… I had absolutely nothing to worry about.

Every single singer was phenomenal. The vocals throughout were incredible, and the whole show just had this massive feel-good, mood-boosting energy about it. The sort of show where you suddenly realise you’ve been sitting there grinning.

I loved it from the second I walked into the auditorium. Being greeted by the actors already on stage immediately pulled you into the world of Burlesque. I was captivated before the show had technically even started.

What I loved most was how respectful it was to the film. It didn’t try to simply recreate it scene for scene, but it absolutely knew what fans had come hoping to see. There are some gorgeous little love letters to the movie throughout, while the story has also been extended and given its own life on stage. As someone who loves the original, it felt familiar without feeling like I was just watching a copy of something I already knew.

I genuinely didn’t want the interval to arrive. I would have happily sat there and let them carry on! Although, watching the amount of singing, dancing and sheer energy being thrown around on stage, I can completely understand why they probably needed one. 

And when the interval was over, I couldn’t wait to get back into the auditorium and see what happened next.

I actually attended alone, much to the disappointment of my husband who had been SO excited to come with me. Unfortunately, the original opening night was pushed back because of technical issues and he couldn’t make the rescheduled night. After hearing that, I did wonder whether there might be a few opening-night hiccups.

Absolutely not.

You would never have known. There was certainly no evidence of those technical problems in the performance I watched. It felt slick, polished and completely ready to go.

By the end I wanted to burst into singing and dancing in the theatre and that feeling continued all the way back to the car. It gave me such a genuine mood boost after feeling rubbish and I walked out feeling completely different to when I walked in.

There are shows you enjoy, shows you recommend and then there are shows you immediately think:

“When can I see that again?”

Burlesque is firmly in that last category for me. It has shot straight towards the top of my “shows I want to watch again and again” list.

Sexy, funny, uplifting, nostalgic, ridiculously talented and just pure feel good theatre.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A very solid 5 stars from me, over and over again.

And yes… my husband is now even more gutted that he missed it.

Burlesque is playing at the Regent Theatre NOW, up until and including Saturday Sat 29 Aug 2026. Tickets are on sale and you can get them by calling the Regent Theatre Box Office on 0844 871 7649. You can also visit www.atgtickets.com/stoke for tickets and info.