Actress and veteran television presenter Denise van Outen has confirmed a key date for her stage production, An Evening with Denise Van Outen, at the Hazlitt Theatre in Maidstone. Kent audiences are scheduled to attend the retrospective show on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.
The production provides a candid, two-hour inspection of her wide-ranging career. Live musical performances are meticulously blended with personal accounts spanning over thirty years in entertainment. Van Outen will traverse her entire professional history, addressing her immediate television success and the challenging, prestigious stage parts she later tackled.
Significantly, the set list frames the evening. She utilizes songs that have provided the soundtrack to her professional and private life to punctuate the narrative. This means the show features numbers drawn from her musical theatre repertoire alongside deeply personal tracks linked to pivotal life moments.
The Show’s Structure: Personal and Precise
The central idea for An Evening with Denise Van Outen stems directly from the star’s decision to communicate her story without intermediary filters. Rather than penning a conventional memoir, she opted for the theatre. This particular medium enables her to fully dictate the flow and content, offering an unvarnished account of the industry on her own terms.
Her style of delivering anecdotes is widely regarded as unflinchingly humorous and candid. These defining traits have consistently sustained her popularity across various media. Importantly, during the performance, she is expected to discuss the less visible pressures of public life, alongside the crucial professional decisions that shaped her path.
The Maidstone appearance marks an important date in a substantial UK tour. This extensive schedule demonstrates the persistent national appetite for the production. Crucially, the show was deliberately crafted to perform robustly across different venue types, proving equally captivating in large regional theatres as in more contained settings such as the Hazlitt.
Accolades: From Breakfast TV to Broadway
Remarkable versatility and resilience have been displayed by Denise van Outen across her long career.
She first rocketed into the national consciousness during the mid-1990s. This followed her role as co-host on Channel 4’s frequently anarchic morning programme, The Big Breakfast.
Her partnership with Johnny Vaughan became instantly iconic. Their dynamic chemistry and sharp improvisational wit resulted in a massive, sustained surge in viewing figures. This defining period firmly established her as one of Britain’s most visible media personalities.
Subsequently, she pivoted into musical theatre. Although this transition was rigorous, it successfully confirmed her skills as both a serious actress and a formidable singer.
Her most significant theatrical accolade arrived when she won the lead role of Roxie Hart in the hit musical Chicago. She first embodied the character in the West End in 1998. Critics widely acknowledged her powerful stage presence and strong vocal delivery.
This part proved foundational to her career. Critically, she subsequently reprised the role on Broadway in New York in 2002. Achieving success on both of these major world stages is an uncommon feat for a British television figure. The show promises to explore the commitment and tenacity required to maintain such an exacting professional schedule.
Theatrical Roots and Musical Commitment
Unquestionably, music is a foundational component of this production. Van Outen has consistently maintained an active role in singing and musical projects throughout her professional life.
Her vocal competence was recently tested when she participated in the reality competition The Masked Singer in 2020. Performing under the identity ‘Fox,’ she impressed judges before finishing fifth in the series.
She also demonstrated a talent for original theatrical development. In 2014, she co-wrote and starred in her own critically noted one-woman play, Some Girl I Used to Know. That production skilfully employed songs from the 1980s and 1990s to structure a resonant, personal narrative. This earlier work established the precise stylistic blueprint for the current show’s fusion of music and storytelling.
The Hazlitt performance offers local theatre enthusiasts a valuable chance to witness all her accumulated talents combined. The venue’s close atmosphere is distinctly suitable for the personal narrative she intends to deliver.
Tour Stops and Booking Details
The Maidstone engagement is simply one of many stops on the star’s calendar. The ongoing UK tour encompasses a wide range of locations across the country, underscoring the production’s significant commercial appeal.
Confirmed tour locations also include the Buxton Opera House, the Wyvern Theatre in Swindon, and the Gordon Craig Theatre in Stevenage. This lengthy run confirms the consistent market demand for the production.
The Hazlitt Theatre is positioned centrally within Maidstone. Its physical layout and setting are appropriate for the intimate theatrical style of An Evening with Denise Van Outen.
Tickets for the 17 March 2026 performance are available through the official Hazlitt Theatre box office, as well as approved ticket vendors. Given the profile of the show, tickets are anticipated to be quickly sold out. Therefore, interested parties should consult the theatre’s website immediately for current prices and availability. The performance is scheduled to commence at 7:30pm.
This night is designated as a key highlight on Kent’s 2026 cultural programme. The show ultimately provides a thorough, detailed account of the work, humour, and resilience that have powered Denise van Outen’s professional career.
