Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story On Stage has announced its full cast for a UK and Ireland tour beginning in summer 2026, with Joel Benjamin leading as Johnny Castle and Charlie Varlet making her theatre tour debut as Frances "Baby" Houseman WhatsOnStage.

Ellie Fergusson plays Penny Johnson, the role that gives the show its most demanding dance sequences. The supporting company covers the Houseman family and the Kellerman's resort staff: Lynden Edwards as Dr Jake Houseman, Taryn Sudding as Marjorie Houseman, Duncan Smith as Max Kellerman, India Chadwick as Lisa Houseman, and Asher Forth as Billy Kostecki. Robert Grose plays Tito Suarez, Cormac Diamond is Neil Kellerman, Matthew Lloyd Davies takes Mr Schumacher, and Mimi Rodrigues-Alves plays Elizabeth.

The ensemble numbers 14, including Ayron Campbell, Danielle Cato, Anna Cliff, Ellie Cutler, Alexander Emery, Sam Harvey, Danielle Huntley, Hollie-Ann Lowe, Max Mulrenan, Rowen Newsome, Mason Plews, Harvey Ray, Sienna Walker, and Jody Zimmerman. Several ensemble members cover named roles: Cato doubles as Vivian, Emery as Robbie, and Harvey as Moe. A five-piece Kellerman's Band — Laura Andresen Guimaraes, Gabriel Askew, Tim Edwards, Kevin Oliver Jones, and Tim Wade — plays the resort's live music on stage.

Eleanor Bergstein, who wrote the original 1987 film screenplay, also wrote the stage adaptation. The production is produced by Sydow in association with Lionsgate, Magic Hour Productions — the company Bergstein co-founded with Michael Goldman — and Ivan MacTaggart, co-producer of Freedom Riders. Federico Bellone directs and designs the set, with choreography by Austin Wilks.

The tour opens at Milton Keynes Theatre on 25 August 2026, running through the week. It then moves to Liverpool Empire (1–5 September), Blackpool Winter Gardens (8–19 September), Sunderland Empire (22–26 September), and Manchester Palace Theatre (29 September–3 October). Autumn dates continue to New Theatre Oxford, King's Theatre Glasgow, Wales Millennium Centre, Edinburgh Playhouse, Hull New Theatre, and Regent Theatre Stoke-on-Trent through November.

The route extends into 2027 with stops at Sheffield Lyceum, Norwich Theatre Royal, The Alexandra Birmingham, Bradford Alhambra, His Majesty's Theatre Aberdeen, and Newcastle Theatre Royal in January and February. Ireland gets the longest single residency of the tour: Opera House Cork hosts from 23 February through 20 March, followed by Millennium Forum Derry (23–27 March) and Grand Opera House Belfast (30 March–10 April). The tour closes at Bournemouth Pavilion on 15 May 2027.

Separately from the tour, the production will begin performances on 16 October 2026 at the Capital Theatre, a new venue at Westfield London whose opening was delayed by design issues The Stage.

For audiences who know the film, the stage version carries the same story — Baby's summer at Kellerman's resort, the dance that changes everything — with a live band and a company of 28. The tour reaches 28 venues across the UK and Ireland over ten months, from Milton Keynes to Bournemouth.