DISNEY and Cameron Mackintosh have announced that the multi award-winning musical Mary Poppins is coming to Newcastle Theatre Royal from Thursday, September 8 to Saturday, October 29, 2016, as part of a tour of the UK and Ireland.

Following his recent successes with Barnum and Oliver! at the Tyneside venue, Cameron Mackintosh is returning with one of the UK's all-time favourite shows. “It’s hard to believe that it is already 11 years since Mary Poppins first landed on the London stage. My goodness, time flies even faster than our beloved Nanny. I’m delighted to bring this wonderful musical to Newcastle after spreading its magic around the world. Since we originally staged the production we have found even more magical ways to stage this timeless tale and I’m sure you will find our new Mary practically perfect in every way,” he said.

The stage version of Mary Poppins has been adapted from the wonderful stories by PL Travers and the beloved Walt Disney film with a book by Oscar-winning screenwriter and Downton Abbey creator, Julian Fellowes. The timeless Richard M Sherman and Robert B Sherman score includes the songs Jolly Holiday, Step in Time, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and Feed the Birds with new songs and additional music and lyrics by the Olivier award-winning British team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe.

The creative team is led by stage and film director Richard Eyre. Co-direction and choreography is by Matthew Bourne, with co-choreography by Stephen Mear. Set and costume design is by Bob Crowley with lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Paul Groothuis and orchestrations by William David Brohn. The National Tour of Mary Poppins is directed by Anthony Lyn and choreographed by Geoffrey Garratt with musical supervision by Stephen Brooker.

The stage production of Mary Poppins originally opened in 2004 and ran in the West End for three years and more than 1,250 performances. The Broadway production ran for more than six years, and tours of Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK, has been seen by more than 11 million people and is currently breaking box office records in Vienna.

* Public and online booking opens on Saturday, May 30. Become a Friend of the Theatre Royal and you can book from Tuesday, May 26. To become a Friend, visit: theatreroyal.co.uk or call 08448-112121. Tickets are from £22.50 (save 50p per ticket by booking online) and can be purchased on the same box office details as above