If you are looking for a good fun and wholesome night out with friends, I highly recommend James B Partridge’s Primary School Assembly Bangers Live. A group of us went along to St Helens Theatre Royal last night and had a brilliant laugh and singalong.
Who is James Partridge?
James Partridge is a school teacher who rose to fame and went viral on Instagram during lockdown, performing nostalgic school songs like 90s school hymns and tv theme tunes. James is still a school teacher but incorporates this with doing his Primary School Bangers Show across the UK.
Since then, James has made numerous TV appearances on programmes such as This Morning, Loose Women and ITV News. Last year, he performed at Glastonbury and has announced he will be there again for Glasto 2025.
James has a huge following on his James Partridge TikTok & YouTube channels.
What to expect from the Primary School Bangers Show
The show last 2 hours, with a 20 minute interval halfway through. You are invited to scan the QR code and download the set list of 22 songs that James will sing that night. These range from good old favourites like ‘He’s got the whole world in his hands’, “Lord of the Dance’ and ‘Morning has Broken’. I really never thought I’d find myself on a boiling May evening in the St Helens Theatre Royal belting out ‘Shine Jesus Shine’ but here we have it!
Setlist Highlights
This set list is only the tip of the iceberg to what James Partridge covers though. The audience is taken on a journey through the decades with TV theme tunes (You will be amazed that you still remember the words to Home & Away & Neighbours) to Disney tunes.
James is a real entertainer, he’s supremely talented on the keyboard and even if you don’t know one of the songs, he moves on so quickly, it really doesn’t matter.
We did comment that some of the songs felt unfamiliar (It doesn’t spoil the show, they are all super easy to learn and listen to & he moves onto the next song before you know it). We did wonder if they were more southern songs as James originates from Poole (2 of my friends are from down south and definitely knew more than me. Some of the songs had slightly different words than I remembered too but I suspect these might have been the Church of England versions rather than the Catholic hymnbooks that I’m used to.
James B Partridge Merch
Of course, you can buy James Partridge Merch! James comes out to the foyer after the show to sign bags and t shirts. A tote bag will set you back £12.00 but apparently its worth it (according to my friend who couldn’t resist one).
Tickets for James Partridge Primary School Assembly Bangers
The current tour runs until September 2025 where James will be appearing at theatres and festivals.
Tickets for the rest of the James b Partridge tour are still available to buy from the James Partridge website.
James has also announced that his Big Christmas Assembly tour will be taking place later year – North West venues included are:
- 3rd November 2025 – Lancaster Grand
- 23rd November 2025 – Liverpool, M&S Bank Arena
- 19th December 2025 – Manchester, New Century
Tickets cost around £30 depending on the venue.
If you’re looking for a night of laughter, nostalgia, and some good old-fashioned school disco vibes — book your tickets before they sell out!
Check out our other theatre reviews and information about upcoming shows in the North West.
This sounds absolutely hilarious and I would totally be singing along to the Neighbours theme tune – I was totally hooked back in the day!
Glad you had a good night – definitely something a bit different that you will always remember! 🙂 x