Five reasons to see Pride the Musical at the Bridge Theatre
Published on 17 September 2026
Last updated on 24 September 2026
- Pride the Musical is adapted from the hit 2014 film
- The production completly sold out it's National Theatre run earlier this year, and earned a host of 5-star reviews
- Pride the Musical will play at Bridge Theatre from 12 November 2026
Following a hugely successful run at the National Theatre, Pride the Musical is heading to the Bridge Theatre from 12 November. So if you missed it the first time around, this is your chance to see one of the most talked-about new British musicals of 2026.
Based on the much-loved 2014 film and inspired by an extraordinary true story, Pride brings together LGBTQ+ activists and striking Welsh miners in an unlikely alliance during the 1984 miners’ strike. With a new score and a brilliant ensemble, there are plenty of reasons to make a trip to the Bridge. Here are just five of them.
1. The National Theatre run completely sold out
The first reason that you need to see Pride is because you can! The musical completely sold out its run at the National Theatre this year, and whenever someone listed their tickets on re-sale sites like Twickets they were snapped up in seconds. The tickets were like gold dust and now you have the chance to grab yours before the last minute scramble begins.
It wasn’t just the audience that loved it, the critics did too. Pride received five-star reviews from The Guardian, Daily Mail, Financial Times, Time Out, The i and The Sunday Express, though ‘Five stars is nowhere near enough for this heartfelt and hard-hitting treat of a show’ admitted The i.
So, if you were one of the people who couldn't get a ticket at the National, or if you hadn’t heard of the show before and are curious to see if the critics were right, the Bridge Theatre is your chance to scratch that itch.
**2. The story is as relevant today as it was 40 years ago **
Pride is about what can happen when people who might never normally meet discover that they have more in common than they realise.
Set during the 1984 miners’ strike, the musical follows Mark Ashton and a group of LGBTQ+ activists who decide to raise money for striking miners in South Wales. What begins as an unusual partnership develops into a genuine friendship between two communities facing very different forms of discrimination and political hostility.
It’s a story rooted in 1980s Britain, but its central message feels anything but historical. At a time when division can often dominate the headlines, Pride makes a passionate case for community, empathy and standing up for people whose struggles might not initially feel like your own.
3. You will feel ALL the feelings
The musical deals with some incredibly difficult subjects, including homophobia, the miners’ strike, family rejection and the AIDS crisis. But alongside those darker moments is an enormous amount of humour, warmth and (in the form of an outrageous cabaret number) sheer theatrical joy.
That contrast is one of the production's greatest strengths. The emotional moments hit hard precisely because the show gives its audience so much fun and laughter along the way. I cried when I watched the performance at the National, but I had plenty of laughs too. Elements of the story are tragic, but it's definitely not a tragedy.
**4. The music **
Turning a beloved film into a musical is no small challenge, but Pride excels.
To fully immerse the audience in the story, and enhance the setting the original new score from Christopher Nightingale, Josh Cohen and DJ Walde draws on 80s pop, rock, disco as well as traditional Welsh hymns.
There are big ensemble moments, intimate character-driven songs and plenty of energy, while the Welsh influence gives the musical some particularly powerful moments. The result is a soundtrack that can move from exuberant to deeply affecting as quickly as the story itself.
5. You don’t need to do any homework before going in (but you’ll want to after)
This isn't an attempt to recreate the film scene-for-scene, nor is it relying on you having seen the movie beforehand. It is accessible to all.
And if you loved Matthew Warchus’s flick, you might wonder whether you really need to see the story again. The answer is yes. Not only is Warchus back in the directors chair, but he’s brought along an Olivier Award-winning creative team with him, and the added interactive elements (not to mention the songs) gives a whole new dimension to the story. You're not just seeing it, you feel a part of it.
The story is based on real people and real events, and in an emotional moment towards the end of the musical we get a brief insight into what they’re doing now. I enjoyed spending almost three hours with these extraordinary people so much that I didn’t want our relationship to end! Instead of half reading my book on the train back home, I was doing a deep dive into all the characters and looking into the events mentioned (when SWR Wi-Fi allowed, anyway).
So, whether you know every line of the original film or have never seen it at all, Pride the Musical offers something different: a big, live celebration of an extraordinary moment in British history, and a reminder that sometimes the most unlikely people can change each other's lives.
