The Lightning Thief : The Percy Jackson Musical
Many people will have read the books or seen the films, but for those that haven’t (me included) this is a really nice piece of musical theatre to sit back and enjoy! I can confirm you need not worry, the story is really easy to follow and is packed with great musical numbers along the way.
Percy Jackson is 16 years old when he discovers he is a half-blood son of Greek God Poseidon. Along with this discovery comes new powers, that he really needs to learn to control, a whole array of mythical creatures trying to kill him and a quest that the worlds future existence relies on. No pressure then!
What we see first is Ryan Dawson Laight’s engaging set and costume design. It has a skilful use of levels; the cast are able to climb across the set (of which there are no clunky set changes) taking the audience on their journey and the costumes combine the everyday and mythical worlds uniquely well. Matt Powell’s video design is a terrific addition to everything else that is going on and helps to transport us under the sea and into the underworld.
Adding to this Tim Deiling’s lighting design not only compliments the set, but also the music and direction. The flow of the story is seamless with Lizzi Gee’s direction and choreography and there are numerous musical numbers, orchestrated by Wiley Deweese and Rob Rokicki, performed incredibly by the whole cast.
Speaking of cast, this is one of the most talented that has been seen for a long while. Every performance is faultless and there are countless younger cast members that are sure to go on to remarkable things in the theatre world for a long time to come.
The lead role is played by Vasco Emauz, his incredible vocals, natural acting ability and portrays great relationships with all characters with an incredible ease. Cahir O’Neill plays Grover, Percy’s best friend, and has some great comedy moments, a truly loveable characterisation of the role. Kayna Montecillo as Annabeth has a lovely confidence in her performance and simply stunning vocals too.
Paolo Micallef as Luke (and others) is an incredible find, having auditioned for the role through an open call. It is astounding to read that this is his first major UK tour, and we would certainly hope to see more of him on the touring circuit in the future. Ellie-Grace Cousins as Clarisse (and others) has a great feistiness to her character portrayal as well as a softer take on additional characters within the piece, showing a great versatility. Simone Robinson as Sally Jackson (and others) has some lovely tender moments with Emauz as Percy but also has a great musical number as guardian to Hades, (no spoilers!).
Niall Sheehy as Mr Brunner (and others) is well cast as the calming influence of the story, whilst then showing his great adaptability in his other character roles, great to watch. Danny Beard as Mr D is a very camp, caricature portrayal of a Trump like character and fits into the piece brilliantly.
It’s a very eclectic mix of characters, but they all blend superbly, and the musical numbers are impressive. It is unsurprising that this is already gaining a cultlike following amongst teens and young adults!
Thoroughly enjoyed every minute and would highly recommend for all ages!
This show was reviewed at the Birmingham Hippodrome on the 24th February 2026 where it runs until the 28th February 2026. Tickets available here: The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical – Birmingham Hippodrome
Full tour dates here: UK Tour - The Lightning Thief - The Percy Jackson Musical
Review written by Rachel Louise Martin
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Photo credit: Johan Persson/Mark Senior
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