Review | Fiddler On The Roof | Manchester Palace Theatre | 21 October 2025

Image Credit: Marc Brenner

When Fiddler on the Roof first premiered on Broadway back in 1964, it swept up nine Tony Awards and paved the way for the much-loved subsequent film to reach the masses. Six decades later, after its Olivier-winning run at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and summer season at the Barbican, this latest revival is now touring the country.

Set at the start of the 20th century in the fictional Russian village of Anatevka, the show follows Tevye (Matthew Woodyatt), a poor Jewish milkman, and his family. He becomes torn when his daughters challenge religious and cultural traditions, wanting to marry for love.

Matthew Woodyatt leads the company with charm and wit as Tevye. He repeatedly breaks the fourth wall in a way that never feels unnecessary. Instead, it pulls you into his world and keeps you fully invested. A surprise star of this production was the incredible ensemble. As the villagers of Anatevka, they really bring things to life, with moments like 'To Life' and 'The Bottle Dance' being standout moments of the show.

Visually, this new production is stunning with its earthy tones, whilst being beautifully understated. Tom Scutt’s Olivier Award-winning set design works perfectly with lighting by Aideen Malone in changing the mood as the show progresses. Sometimes whilst watching a show, it is easy to miss the power of lighting, but here you aren't given opportunity to ignore it. The performance quite literally opens with a fiddler on a roof. In this instance, it is incredibly talented violinist Roman Lytwyniw, performing on a field of grass which lifts to reveal the village beneath. He continues to anchor the entire show and is an absolute delight to watch and listen to.

The score is a true musical theatre classic, with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. You know a show has truly infiltrated culture when the music pops up everywhere from Gwen Stefani to Sex and the City 2! In the show itself, no song feels like it is there for the sake of it, and it is integrated into the story perfectly. Alongside a mix of Jerome Robbins’ original choreography and Julia Cheng’s fresh routines, it really is storytelling through music and dance at its best.

At times it feels a little darker than you might expect, yet at the same time director Jordan Fein doesn’t try to reinvent the show. He strikes the perfect balance between moments of humour and the more serious themes of prejudice and antisemitism. This powerful revival resonates just as much today as when it debuted 61 years ago. Every bit deserving of its acclaim, Fiddler on the Roof is on at Manchester Palace Theatre until Saturday 1 November 2025.

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Note: My ticket was gifted in exchange for a review. This review is based on my honest opinion alone and is without influence.