Music Theatre International announces the release of MAMMA MIA! to schools and university groups in the UK and Ireland
London, 3 September 2026 — Effective immediately, Music Theatre International will release the performance rights for MAMMA MIA! to schools and university groups throughout the UK and Ireland, marking the first such opportunity since the musical’s record-breaking West End premiere over 27 years ago.
This landmark release marks a major milestone for one of the world’s most successful musicals, opening the door for thousands of young performers to bring Catherine Johnson’s original and irresistible story of love, family and friendship to their own stages.
The sunny, funny tale of a mother, a daughter and three possible dads on a Greek island idyll, all unfolding to the magic of ABBA’s timeless pop masterpieces, has been seen by over 70 million people worldwide in over 50 productions in 16 different languages, and turned into two record-breaking movies – MAMMA MIA! The Movie and MAMMA MIA! Here We Go Again. Both films starred Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper, with Lily James, Andy Garcia and Cher joining them in the second film.
Now, for the very first time, schools and university groups in the UK and Ireland will have the opportunity to produce this celebrated musical themselves, giving students the chance to perform one of the most recognisable and uplifting shows ever written.
Since opening in London’s West End in 1999, MAMMA MIA! has become a cultural institution, inspiring generations of theatre-makers and audiences alike. The release of school performance rights reflects the show’s enduring popularity and its ability to bring communities together through music, storytelling and live performance.
Judy Craymer, Creator and Producer of MAMMA MIA!, said“I’m thrilled that MAMMA MIA! is now available to be staged by schools and universities across the UK and Ireland. Theatre brings young people together, builds confidence and unlocks creativity, with every production offering opportunity to discover talent both on stage and behind the scenes. I hope this inspires more young people to dream big, embrace the joy of live performance and see a future for themselves in the creative industries. I can’t wait to see the imagination, energy, and passion they bring to MAMMA MIA!”
“For many years we’ve received almost daily requests from schools hoping to stage MAMMA MIA!” said Ryan Macaulay, MTI London’s Director of Operations, Education and Development. “We’re thrilled that the time has finally come to make that possible. The school musical plays such an important role in inspiring the next generation of performers, musicians and theatre lovers, and we can’t wait to see how students across the UK and Ireland make this extraordinary show their own.”
Further information can be found here: www.mtishows.co.uk/mamma-mia
About Music Theatre International
Music Theatre International (MTI) was founded in 1952 by legendary Broadway songwriter Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker. MTI’s London office, overseeing a European market from Iceland to Israel, typically licenses over 7,500 productions a year, from schools and amateur societies to professionals, reaching audiences of more than 8.5 million annually. Across its catalogue of more than 600 titles, MTI represents an array of musicals including Broadway classics (Guys and Dolls, West Side Story, My Fair Lady); contemporary hits (Titanique, Mean Girls, The Great Gatsby); the ground-breaking works of Stephen Sondheim (Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd); global titles (Mamma Mia!, Matilda the Musical); Cameron Mackintosh-produced hits (Les Misérables, Miss Saigon); Disney (Beauty and the Beast, Frozen); and the Mackintosh and Disney-produced Mary Poppins.
MTI is especially dedicated to the education sector and has created the Broadway Junior series; 30 and 60-minute musicals designed for performance by primary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals tailored to the needs of secondary school pupils. MTI’s London office produces an annual Junior Theatre Festival for more than 2500 young people each year at the ICC in Birmingham.
MTI’s Plays division, incorporating the longstanding Josef Weinberger collection, includes UK and/or European representation of such works as Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage, Arthur Miller’s Death of Salesman and The Crucible, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, comedy classics Arsenic and Old Lace and Harvey, with new acquisitions including the West End and global phenomenon 2:22 A Ghost Story, Fawlty Towers and Academy Award-winning The King’s Speech.