The Choir of Man – Sunderland Empire

Creators: Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay

Director: Nic Doodson

Featuring hits from Queen, Luther Vandross, Sia, Paul Simon, Adele, Guns N’ Roses, Avicii and Katy Perry and more

If you love a good old English pub  – and a singalong – this is the show for you. The Choir of Man succeeds in turning the cavernous Sunderland Empire into a cosy local, full of friends. And boy can those friends sing!

From the moment you walk into the auditorium the stage’s pub set is lit and open to audience members who filled the space drinking pints and chatting. The on-stage bar is also open in the interval – when some dancing broke out – and pints of beer are regularly handed out to random ticket holders in the stalls.

The show features nine friends who drink together, with one of them running the bar. They are each introduced by the narrator, a rapping poet played by Oluwalonimi Owoyemi. He has almost all the spoken lines, but can also sing beautifully.

Each man has been dubbed pub fixer, joker, romantic and hard man, for example, and in the second half Owoyemi introduces each with their real name and backgrounds. In turn, they show off their talents with a crowd-pleasing hit song during the evening, perfectly accompanied and harmonised by the rest of the cast.

You will lose count of the number of instruments the cast plays to accompany the songs – from the ever present guitar of Rob Godfrey as Beast, to piano, banjo, recorder, trumpet (thank you Jack Skelton), beat box, drums, a melodica, and more, plus a host of percussion extras. Jack Skelton tap-danced his solo number – a highlight of the night. 

The energy levels start high and stay there throughout, with only a couple of quieter moments. There is plenty of gyrating and self-aware winking. These are men full of bonhomie and beer – they drink throughout – who regularly find a friend in the stalls to join them on stage. The first on this press night was a grey-haired woman still in her long puffer coat and with her handbag firmly in place, who was then put under the spotlight and serenaded. She loved it, as did the crowd.

There are lots of chances to clap and sing along, and beer is not the only giveaway of the night.

The stalls were full of excited choir members, as it will be in every first performance on the tour, who get £20 seats and the chance to sing a song with the cast at the end. A special moment for Newcastle’s Tuneless Choir, the Low Fell Singers, Sunderland Male Voice Choir and Raise Your Voice Hebburn, and for the rest of the audience.

Hits from Adele, Guns ‘N Roses, Avicii, Luther Vandross, Paul Simon, Sia, Queen and Katy Perry were among those featured and while all were greeted with enthusiasm, they had but a tenuous link, or no link, to the characters singing them, who had no plot to progress.

The Choir of Man started at Edinburgh Festival Fringe and enjoyed a good run in London’s West End. It is a sentimental hymn to pub culture and an entreaty to enjoy it, with a “Drink Responsibly” line thrown in by supposed pub bore Aaron Pottenger, who is actually a wonderful singer and performer. At no point does any character show how they earned their moniker.

However, the smiles and energy are formidable, the harmonies and acapella songs memorable, and the choreography of the tankard-clinking percussion number is a particular joy to behold.

Runs until 16 May 2026