This hilariously brutal musical makes Harley Young laugh until she cries

What: The Book of Mormon

Where: Palace Theatre Manchester

Running time: 2h 20m (inc. interval)

Tickets: Available from £35 - book here.

Palace Theatre Manchester says: The Book of Mormon, the hilarious West End show, is embarking on a UK tour in 2024. Laugh out loud funny with insanely catchy music you will be humming for months on end.

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The Book of Mormon Image: Paul Coltas

What we say: 

It’s a show I’ve heard such high praise about and been dying to see for years, but, the past few times it’s arrived in Manchester, I’ve been elsewhere and missed out by a whisker. 

So, when I was strolling down Oxford Street and spotted a banner out of the corner of my eye, like a shining beacon from above, stating that ‘The mormons are back!’ I audibly gasped with glee. 

Described as ‘The best musical of this century’ by the New York Times, this ridiculously rude and raucous production from the creators of the equally offensively funny hit animated series South Park takes a hilariously absurd look at the relatively new religion of Mormonism. 

A friend of my partner’s told us before we went; “If you can’t hack the opening song, you can’t hack any of it. It’s wild, but fucking brilliant.” 

This only further fueled my desire to see it. 

Five minutes into the show and I knew exactly what he meant. 

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The Book of Mormon Image: Paul Coltas

The musical follows the misadventures of Elder Price (Adam Bailey) and Elder Cunningham (Sam Glen), a mismatched pair of missionaries, who are sent to Uganda to spread the word of god and recruit new members into the Mormon church. 

Paired with the typical outrageously dark and satirical humour that only Trey Parker and Matt Stone are able to perfect, this nine-time Tony Award and four-time Olivier Award-winning Best Musical provides plenty of ‘I can’t believe they just said that’ and ‘are we allowed to laugh?’ moments.

I often come away from the theatre moved to tears, but not like I did from this. I haven’t laughed like that in a long time - I’m talking side-splitting, jaw-aching, hilarious blow after hilarious blow. 

If you’re looking for a good giggle, and god knows we all need one of those, book your tickets right now. 

Go on, do it. 

But don't take your nan, she’ll be disgusted. 

And definitely check with your Mormon mates that they know the jist before you suggest it to them either. Yikes. 

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The Book of Mormon Image: Paul Coltas

Follow Harley Young on X @Harley__Young


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