Review of The Choir of Man at Milton Keynes Theatre

The musical The Choir of Man has had a remarkable journey since its first appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017. Via Adelaide, Covid, North America, the show finally became a fixture at The Arts Theatre in London, running between 2021 and 2025, on either side of a theatre renovation. The show finally closed to embark on an extensive UK & Ireland tour, which now reaches Milton Keynes Theatre.

The Choir of Man offers an inventive theatre experience. Long before the show begins, audience members are welcomed upon stage, or more accurately, to The Jungle, the pub setting for the “story” of The Choir of Man. While within The Jungle, pre-show and interval, you are welcome to grab a pint at the functioning bar and have a chat with the cast, our characters for the evening.

However, you may have noticed the quotes around the word story, and that is where, in many ways, this is a very different experience. The Choir of Man does not really feature a storyline; it is just a gathering of men down the pub, with brief dips into their lives, with no true culmination.

Some might worry that this is a bad thing, but there is a notable joyfulness to this trip to the theatre pub. The cast of characters is highly caricatured, with names such as “Bore,” “Handyman,” and “Hard Man” being quite simplistic. Nevertheless, over the two hours, they become familiar to the audience, especially since many will have the opportunity to have a brief chat with one of them during the show.

The show consists mostly of songs and poetry, yes, poetry, a curious mix which does work, with the poetry moments, written by Ben Norris, performed by the main speaker of the show, the aptly named Poet, played by Lewis Dragisic. His performance, like theirs, is friendly and personable. The cast portrays the bloke down the pub with an endearing, infectious style that suits, without question, the limited storytelling, which amounts to chats down the pub.

Musically, it is strong, albeit one again at times suffering from the music drowning out many of the lyrics; however, here at least, they will be familiar to most as the show takes popular staples from those of Adele, Guns ‘N Roses, Avicii, and Paul Simon, among others. Standout musical moments include a strong performance of The Impossible Dream by Aaron Pottenger, Escape (The Piña Colada Song) by Joshua Lloyd as Barman, and an emotional moment from Poet, Dragisic, with Dance with My Father.

Technically, aside from the sound issues, The Choir of Man is strong, with very effective set and costume design by Oli Townsend and Verity Sadler, and pinpoint lighting by Richard Dinnen, including perfect timing during Niall Woodson's delightful tap routine.

It is fascinating to see that there are many negative or average reviews for The Choir of Man, but, upon deeper digging, you can see a somewhat apparent lack of understanding of the show and, dare I say, a pompous attitude toward it. While I cannot disagree with them having an opinion, as that is clearly what I am here for as well, and I certainly don’t pretend to be right either. However, what I see is a joyful production, which is appealing to those beyond shows, perhaps more stuffy critics would like, and a show where someone willfully says, on leaving, “that was bloody brilliant.” I am happy to agree. Accessible and thrillingly entertaining, The Choir of Man is a theatre experience more for the masses than many shows, and should be experienced at some point during its current extensive tour.

The Choir of Man is a truly memorable theatre experience.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Performance reviewed: Tuesday 26th May 2026 at the Milton Keynes Theatre, Milton Keynes.

The Choir of Man runs at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday, 30th May 2026, before continuing its tour.

For further details about Milton Keynes, see their website at https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/milton-keynes-theatre/

For further details of the tour, see the website at https://thechoirofman.com/

Photographs: Mark Senior