Musical theatre fans, listen up! In February, this year’s National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals was filmed, which can only mean one thing. It will be coming to our screen very soon. With no less than 13 of our favourite musicals taking to the stage, we are in for a treat when this airs.
What Is The National Lottery’s Big Night Of Musicals?
The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals first aired in 2022 and, after massive successes, it has returned. It sees several West End musical theatre shows come together for one night of entertainment, hosted by comedian and musical theatre star Jason Manford.
The show aims to serve as a thank you to all National Lottery players who continue to help thousands of arts projects all over the country. The players also supported over 2,000 theatres across the UK during Covid times which kept many underfunded projects alive.
Due to this, 12,000 free tickets were available to watch the live recording of the show, on a first come, first served basis.
The National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals will aired in Spring on BBC One for 90 minutes, alongside a dedicated show on BBC Radio 2.
Which Musicals Will Feature?
We are being spoilt for choice this year, with 13 West End shows on offer for us to enjoy. These shows include:
The Bodyguard
Les Misérables
Newsies
We Will Rock You
Six The Musical
Shrek The Musical
Mamma Mia
Wicked
Ain’t Too Proud
THE KING & I
Matilda
Hamilton
Aspects of Love
Review Of The Recording
I was lucky enough to bag two tickets to the show at the AO arena this February and it was honestly one of the best nights I’ve had in some time.
The event kicked off with the whole crowd joining in with a rendition of Any Dream Will Do from Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. With hands in the air, and everyone swaying from side to side, we were all well and truly ready for a great night of musical theatre.
Of course, everyone who performed was truly unbelievable, but one notable performance came from Les Miserable’s own Nathania Ong who sung ‘On My Own’ as heartbroken Eponine.
Her performance was so captivating that she was given a standing ovation by all 12,000 people in the arena for several minutes. Ong took it all in and the applause was only dimmed when she had to leave the stage.
There were also several mini interviews conducted in between performances by musical theatre alumni. From Samantha Barks (Frozen) to Layton Williams (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) and even The Bodyguard’s own Alexandra Burke, we were blessed with some big names.
Related: The Best Modern Musicals To Watch In The West End
