Mean Girls left the Savoy Theatre for the road, and the UK and Ireland tour now has a London stop: the New Wimbledon Theatre, from 24 November, with Jennifer Ellison in the adult roles. Here is everything you need to know before you book.
London has been without the Plastics since Mean Girls closed in the West End. That gap is about to shrink. The musical, which Tina Fey adapted from her own 2004 film, is on a UK and Ireland tour, and it comes to the New Wimbledon Theatre this November for a short run.
Who is starring in Mean Girls?
Emily Lane plays Cady Heron, the new girl who gets far closer to the school’s ruling clique than she meant to. Vivian Panka is Regina George, with Kiara Dario as Gretchen Wieners and Sophie Pourret as Karen Smith. Georgie Buckland and Max Gill are Janis Sarkisian and Damian Hubbard, the outsiders who set the plan in motion. Ben Oatley plays Aaron Samuels, Karim Zeroual is Kevin Ganatra and Joshua Elmore is Mr Duvall.
In Wimbledon the triple role of Ms Heron, Ms Norbury and Mrs George goes to Jennifer Ellison, who shares the part across the tour with Faye Tozer; Tozer plays other cities, so Ellison is the one London will see. We reported her casting in August.
The ensemble is Charlie Barnard, Rebekah Bryant, Michael Dean-Wilson, Savannah Ffrench, Fergie Fraser, Thomas Gotobed, Trisha Kumar, Sadie Levett, Arjun Mudahar, Jessie Odeleye, Stefanos Petri, Tori Louise Ryan, Lillia Squires and Chay Wills, with Jenny Huxley-Golden, Charlotte Pourret, Jack Rose and Jayd’n Tyrone as swings.
Spotlight on Jennifer Ellison
Plenty of the audience will know Jennifer Ellison from television first: she played Emily Shadwick in Brookside, and appeared as Meg Giry in the 2004 film of The Phantom of the Opera. Her stage record is the stronger argument for this casting. She played Roxie Hart in Chicago in the West End, at the Adelphi and later the Cambridge Theatre, as well as on tour and at the show’s tenth-anniversary gala, and joined Singin’ in the Rain at the Palace Theatre. Her touring credits include Calendar Girls, Legally Blonde and Greatest Days, plus the arena tour of Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. The Heron, Norbury and George track asks for exactly that range: a worried mother, a sardonic maths teacher and a mum desperate to be the cool one, often minutes apart. See her in Mean Girls in Wimbledon.
What is Mean Girls about?
Cady Heron has spent her childhood being taught at home by her zoologist parents, so she knows a great deal about animal behaviour and nothing about high school. On her first days at North Shore High she is adopted by two outsiders, Janis and Damian, and then, to everyone’s surprise, by the Plastics: Regina, Gretchen and Karen, the school’s most feared trio. Janis sees an opportunity and Cady agrees to go undercover. The trouble starts when the act stops being an act.
Anyone who knows the film will recognise the lines. The stage version adds a full score and gives the supporting characters, Janis and Damian above all, considerably more to do.
Who is behind the production?
The book is by Tina Fey, with music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin. Casey Nicholaw directs and choreographs, as he did on Broadway. Scenic design is by Scott Pask, costume design by Katrina Lindsay, lighting by Kenneth Posner, sound by Brian Ronan and hair by Josh Marquette. Mary-Mitchell Campbell is music supervisor and arranger, John Clancy orchestrates and Glen Kelly provides the dance and incidental music arrangements. Casting is by Natalie Gallacher CDG for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting.
The tour is produced by Lorne Michaels, Crossroads Live and Sonia Friedman Productions. The musical opened on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre in 2018 before its West End run at the Savoy Theatre.
When and where can I see it?
The tour is at the New Wimbledon Theatre from Tuesday 24 to Saturday 28 November 2026. Our Mean Girls page currently lists performances from Tuesday 24 to Thursday 26 November, and booking through us has not opened yet, so check the page for when it does. The show runs for about 2 hours 30 minutes including one interval. It is recommended for ages 10 and over; under-16s must be accompanied by, and sit next to, an adult, and children under three are not admitted. The tour continues around the UK and Ireland until January 2027.
What else should I book if I like it?
- SIX, for another queen-bee musical that knows exactly how funny it is, in about half the running time.
- The Devil Wears Prada, if Regina George left you wanting a grown-up version of the same power struggle.
- High School Musical at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, for more American school corridors; our review roundup has what the critics said.
- Wicked, the other big musical about an outsider, a popular girl and the school that throws them together.
Mean Girls is at the New Wimbledon Theatre from Tuesday 24 November 2026.
