The Bodyguard bursts onto the Manchester Opera stage in 2026

MCRJourno

The Bodyguard. Credit: Paul Coltas

The award-winning musical The Bodyguard is set to arrive on-stage at Manchester Opera House next January.

Running from Monday 19th - Saturday 31st January 2026, producers Michael Harrison and David Ian have extended the already popular touring dates.

Based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar nominated film starring Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner, The Bodyguard directed by Thea Sharrock has previously been nominated for four Olivier Awards.

A sell-out 18 month tour followed its awards before the show returned to the West End ahead of two further sell out tours.

To date the production has played to over 3.9 million people in 15 countries including Netherlands, South Korea, Canada, Australia, and 45 US cities.

The premise of the show is - former Secret Service agent turned bodyguard, Frank Farmer, is hired to protect superstar Rachel Marron from an unknown stalker and while each expects to be in charge, what they don’t expect is to fall in love.

A romantic thriller, it features a host of musical classics such as Queen of the Night, So Emotional, One Moment in Time, Saving All My Love, Run to You, I Have Nothing, I Wanna Dance with Somebody and one of the biggest hit songs of all time - I Will Always Love You.

Casting for the production has yet to be announced.