The Hamilton tour arrived in Sunderland on Tuesday 17 June 2025 for an extended stay until Saturday 26th July. We attended the press night on Friday 20th, — the Empire was alive with that familiar buzz, for this is a blockbuster of a musical that has arrived. There’s something about a show like this landing in the North East, it feels big. Important. Like history walking into the room and pulling up a chair, so lucky are those attendees to be in the rooms where it happens.
How does a global sensation, a lyrical detonation, Land in Sunderland and shake a whole generation? From Broadway to the West End, now the North East stage, Hamilton hits the Empire. This ain’t just a musical, it’s a movement in rhyme, taking us back through time. And now the name Hamilton echoes, where the River Wear flows, So sit back, stay with us, here’s how the story goes.
Hamilton has one of the most decorated award histories in modern theatre. It won 11 Tony Awards from 16 nominations, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. In the UK, its West End production took home 7 Olivier Awards, again including Best New Musical. It also received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama — a rare honour for a musical — and picked up a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.
If you hadn’t heard of, or seen the show on stage already or watched it on Disney+ (which increased its accessibility hugely), Hamilton was made famous by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who created the musical, wrote the music, lyrics, and book, and starred as Alexander Hamilton in the original Broadway production. It premiered Off-Broadway in 2015, moved to Broadway later that year, and quickly became a cultural phenomenon and aforementioned award winners— praised for its diverse casting, lyrical style, and modern take on American history. Miranda’s unique blend of hip hop and theatre storytelling is what launched Hamilton into global recognition.
Told through a mix of hip hop RnB and tight choreography it follows the life of Alexander Hamilton as he rises from outsider to founding father. Alexander Hamilton as he rises through revolution politics and personal conflict. Alongside him are figures like George Washington his mentor Aaron Burr his rival and Eliza his wife who becomes the emotional heart of it all. The show also gives voice to characters like Angelica Schuyler Thomas Jefferson and even King George.
Hamilton has one of the most decorated award histories in modern theatre. It won 11 Tony Awards from 16 nominations, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Original Score. In the UK, its West End production took home 7 Olivier Awards, again including Best New Musical. It also received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama — a rare honour for a musical — and picked up a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theatre Album.
This show was executed to perfection by every single member that appeared on stage whether it be principle cast or ensemble and it would be unfair to have to pick out particular performances for praise as each brings their own dynamic and contribution equally deserving. However here are a few mentions for some as you may just be interested to wet your taste buds.
Our protagonist Alexander Hamilton played by the wonderful Marley Fenton was commanding on stage. Despite the constant flow of the ‘scripting’ he was clear and articulate in his words. Fenton displayed the desire, ambition and fragilities of his character with perfect variance. You rooted for him. Fenton was intense and charismatic throughout.
Akmed Junior Khemalai (George Washington) delivers a quiet commanding presence, with partcular highlights being his delivery of numbers like One Last Time and History Has Its Eyes on You. Louie Maskell gave us some light humour with his portrayal of King George which brought laughter from the audience, his smugness and arrogance in number ‘You’ll be back’ serve to impress Britain’s past dominance of the Americas. A small role in stage time but delivered vocally and physically well, but one remembered by the audience.
Casey Al‑Shaqsy plays Eliza with a quiet strength. She’s not the loudest voice on stage, but there’s something incredibly steady about her. In Helpless, she brings joy and softness without slipping into cliché, youthful but not naive. And then later in Burn, she absolutely steals the room. It’s stripped back, no theatrics, just raw heartbreak. Chasity Crisp is a perfect balance to that. Angelica’s sharp, quick, and entirely in control — especially in Satisfied, where she drives that rewind moment with fierce precision. Vocally she’s powerful, but it’s the timing and attitude that make it hit. You really believe she’s had to swallow her own feelings for the sake of someone else’s happiness. She moves through the scene with purpose, and there’s a real intelligence behind it all.
Billy Nevers plays Aaron Burr with real control, both vocally and in his presence on stage. His Burr doesn’t come off as the villain, he’s just a man who’s watched too much happen without him. That balance between resentment and restraint, is what makes the final scenes so heavy. You don’t walk away hating him. You walk away understanding how he got there.
One of the most impressive things about Hamilton is how the choreography does so much of the storytelling without drawing attention to itself. It’s tight, slick, and full of purpose. Nothing feels like filler. From the first few numbers, you get a sense that everything happening on stage — every step, every spin — is driving something forward. There’s an urgency to it. You’re watching politics, war, grief and ambition unfold in real time, all through movement.
There’s a standout moment in Satisfied where everything quite literally rewinds. The lights, the music, the cast, it all shifts into reverse. And it’s done with such precision that it takes a second to realise you’re watching the previous scene play out backwards. Dancers retrace their steps, conversations reset, Angelica walks us back through the choices she’s already made. It’s one of those rare moments in theatre where the staging itself tells the story before anyone speaks. You just sit there thinking, how are they doing this live?
Later in numbers like Yorktown, the choreography becomes more chaotic but still controlled. You can feel the tension and disorder of war, but it’s still stylised and sharp. The dancers are constantly in motion — flipping between scenes, shifting perspectives, doubling up as soldiers or citizens or shadows from the past. It’s clever without ever shouting about how clever it is.
And in the quieter scenes, the stillness says just as much. The way the cast holds space on stage, the way characters pause or shift their weight or just exist in silence for a beat — it’s all been considered. It’s the kind of show where even when nothing’s happening, everything’s still happening.
Lighting is used almost like punctuation. Snaps of white to cut between moments, rich warm tones that wrap around the more emotional scenes, and those cold, clinical washes in cabinet meetings or duels. It’s sharp and minimal, but every cue seems timed to the breath. There’s no wasted flash. It’s there to guide your focus.
The sound design doesn’t miss a beat either. In a show this fast and dense with lyrics, it would be easy for things to blur, but it doesn’t. You catch every word, every layered harmony, every shift in tone. The balance between the live band and vocals is spot on, not too loud, not overly crisp. Just natural and clean.
And then there’s that revolving stage. It’s such a simple idea, but it’s used with such clever timing that it almost becomes a character in its own right. It builds movement into moments that would otherwise be still, helping scenes transition without pause or making simple conversations feel like they’re travelling forward in time. In songs like Satisfied and Non-Stop, the rotation adds a physical rhythm that matches the speed of what’s being said. And when it slows down, especially in the more intimate moments, you really feel that shift in pace.
This is a smash hit of a musical and of a type you will rarely get to experience, shoot your shot and be in the room where it happens this June and July!
HAMILTON will hit Sunderland Empire’s stage from Tuesday 17 June – Saturday 26 July 2025. Tickets on sale now at ATGTickets.com/ Sunderland *
* A £3.95 transaction fee may apply to online bookings.