PREVIEW: Moulin Rouge! The Musical set to dazzle Sunderland

Written by Gabrielle Wilkinson on 4th March 2026

The West End and Broadway hit, Moulin Rouge! The Musical is set to hypnotise audiences at the Sunderland Empire from June 5 to June 27, 2026.

Based on the renowned 2001 Baz Luhrmann film starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge dusted off its sequins to become a stage musical in 2016, directed by Alex Timbers, a Grammy award winning director and writer.

The Tony Award winning musical follows Christian, a young writer attempting to pursue a career in Paris; he joins the Bohemian Movement and begins a tumultuous love affair with the sparkling diamond of the Moulin Rouge, Satine…

Cameron Blakely as Harold Zidler and the original world tour company of Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Photo credit – Johan Persson

Discussing the handing over of the sequins to Alex, Baz Luhrmann said: “This new theatrical production absolutely honours the movie but finds a new life that is exciting and vital for the audience in this time.”

“The choice that Alex, John and the rest of the team made to ground the story more, to perhaps find more psychological depth, was really kind of daring.”

What is the Moulin Rouge?

From a tender and stripped back version of Firework by Katy Perry to a haunting rendition of Your Song by Elton John, it is not hard to see why the show won Best Orchestrations at the Tony Awards and is the longest running West End musical.

“What was so uplifting was that in the end, audiences connected with the show in such an electrifying way, I’ve never had that experience before.”

The musical is 2 hours and 45 minutes including the interval, with tickets starting at £20.