The Band: Everything you need to know about the new Take That musical from Gary Barlow

Here's everything you need to know about The Band, from when tickets go on sale to where the tour will be coming to.

What is The Band all about?

Up until now we'd been presuming that the winners of Let It Shine would be the lead stars of The Band, but we were wrong. We should've guessed that the fact acting skills hadn't been a requirement on the show was indicative of the plot!

The musical will actually tell the story of five 16-year-old girls for whom the music of Take That will provide the soundtrack to their lives.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press straight after the final of Let It Shine, a cryptic Gary Barlow simply said "all will be revealed" when asked about further details of the plot.

What we do know is that the casting is already in place and the girls will be unknown actresses.

"We literally start next week," said Barlow. "We're going straight into rehearsals. For a musical, believe it or not, to be on stage for the end of August is a very, very short time period. We've pretty much cast everyone except for one person, so this is a quick turnaround in terms of musicals."

Which Take That songs will feature in The Band?

At the moment, we're not too sure. But what we do know is that a total of 14 Take That tracks will be used throughout The Band.

Will Gary Barlow star in The Band?

Sadly not. When asked if he would be joining the boys on stage in the show, he said he wouldn't be, adding: "they don't need me".

Who is writing and directing The Band?

Weirdly – and we didn't see this coming – The Band is going to be co-directed by Jack Ryder. Yes, the Jack Ryder from who played Jamie Mitchell in EastEnders. He said that the musical would be "an absolute belter".

Meanwhile, the musical has been written by Tim Firth, who wrote Gary Barlow's most recent West End musical The Girls, which has opened to rave reviews. He also penned the original theatre production of The Calendar Girls.

Plus, legendary musical theatre producers David Pugh and Dafydc Rogers are also involved. They worked with Firth on both The Girls and The Calendar Girls and also produced 2013's The Full Monty and 2007's Equus.

Who is starring in The Band?

The winners of Let It Shine – boyband Five to Five. Their members are AJ Bentley, Curtis T Johns, Nick Carsberg, Sario Solomon, Yazdan Qafouri.

When do tickets for The Band go on sale?

Tickets will be released from 12 noon on Monday April 3rd, 2017.

Where do I get tickets for The Band?

They will be available from thebandmusical.com.

Where is The Band travelling to?

Below are all of the dates and locations for where The Band is going to be playing:

Manchester Opera House: September 8 - September 30, 2017

Sheffield Lyceum Theatre: October 3 - October 14, 2017

Bradford Alhambra Theatre: October 17 - October 28, 2017

Southampton Mayflower Theatre: October 31 - November 11, 2017

Llandudno Venue Cymru: November 14 - November 25, 2017

Stoke Regent Theatre: November 28 - December 9, 2017

Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre: January 9 - January 20, 2018

Liverpool Empire Theatre: January 23 - February 3, 2018

Norwich Theatre Royal: February 6 - February 17, 2018

Canterbury Marlowe Theatre: February 20 - March 3, 2018

Hull New Theatre: March 6 - March 17, 2018

Leeds Grand Theatre: March 20 - March 31, 2018

Newcastle Theatre Royal: April 3 - April 14, 2018

Bristol Hippodrome: April 17 - April 28, 2018

Birmingham Hippodrome: May 1 - May 12, 2018

Plymouth Theatre Royal: May 15 - May 26, 2018

Northampton Royal & Derngate: May 29 - June 9, 2018

Nottingham Theatre Royal: June 12 - June 23, 2018

Glasgow King's Theatre: June 26 - July 7, 2018

Edinburgh Playhouse: July 10 - July 14, 2018

The show will be making the move to an unspecified West End theatre after nearly a year of touring the country.