Until Saturday 10th January 2026, Max Mirza is originating the UK role of Adam in the UK premiere of Freaky Friday at HOME Manchester, with Jena Pandya as Ellie and Rebecca Lock as Katherine, and he is directed by Andy Fickman. In the West End transfer of Clueless at Trafalgar Theatre, Max played Elton and cover Josh, with Amy Heckerling writing the script (who also wrote the 1995 film) and KT Tunstall writing the music, and Clueless marked Max’s West End debut. Previous theatre projects for Max include being in the cast of RENT last year at Landmark Theatres, having his first professional stage role in Roman Holiday at Theatre Royal Bath in 2023 (the adaptation of the 1953 film starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn), and he has performed in the pantomimes Dick Whittington and Cinderella. Max told us about being in the original UK cast of Freaky Friday at HOME Manchester, performing in the West End transfer of Clueless for his West End debut and his time in RENT and Roman Holiday.

In the UK premiere of Freaky Friday, you are playing Adam at HOME Manchester (which is booking until Saturday 10th January 2026), can you tell us about the musical and your character?

In all of its iterations, Freaky Friday is a lesson on empathy and a representation of the idiom “Before you judge someone, walk a mile in their shoes” (quite literally). It bridges the gap between generations and comments on often perceived flaws between them. In every version, it follows a mother and daughter (Katherine and Ellie in the musical respectively), though a lot of other plot points differ between each iteration.

The top of the musical sees Katherine and Ellie swap bodies via a magic hourglass. Both are equally frustrated for obvious reasons, but to top it off, tonight is Katherine’s wedding rehearsal dinner and, separately, the most important night of Ellie’s life – The Hunt. Every year at her school, the eleventh grade takes part in a citywide scavenger hunt, collecting an assortment of crazy items – this is where I come in.

The items are decided upon by an appointed Listmaster, who this year is Adam. As well as being in charge of The Hunt, Adam is fascinated by the obvious change in Ellie’s behaviour (whom he usually thinks is “sweet”), and though she is ordinarily meek in front of Adam because she has a major crush on him, Katherine takes over her body with confidence, unfazed at first by his presence.

Adam is that guy at school that floats between friendship groups. He’s generally universally liked and, within the show, pretty inoffensive. As the Listmaster, he feels tremendous responsibility to organise what he and his classmates have been waiting for since the start of their formal education, though he has a natural laid-back attitude.

How did you feel finding out you’d booked the role of Adam and what was it like reading the script for the first time?

I was having lunch with my mum when I got the call from my agent. It was awesome to be able to share that with her, as we’d spent the whole meal discussing the possibility of it anyway. She was down in London to watch my closing night on Clueless, so receiving the news the day before we finished was bittersweet, to say the least.

I was super excited to get stuck into this show, especially knowing the creative team – in particular, I’d been dying to work with our incredible director, Andy Fickman.

Having read the script, I was even more excited. Bridget Carpenter’s work here is incredibly tight, quick-witted and nuanced. Though it is generally a laugh a minute, there is a prominent undercurrent of emotion throughout – definitely one of the most exciting scripts I’ve read in a while, especially within this sub-genre of musical.

What has it been like originating the role of Adam in the UK and being directed by Andy Fickman?

I feel incredibly honoured to have been entrusted with originating this role and to have a small part in what I hope is a long future for the show.

Funnily enough, Women and Sandwiches (one of my songs in the second act) was my go-to song at drama school – I sang it for singing assessments and various song workshop classes. I find it both incredibly honouring and incredibly hilarious that I’m singing this awesome tune to a paying audience every night.

This is my first time playing the leading man in a full-scale musical (without covering), so naturally I felt a great deal of pressure coming in. Any doubts I had were instantly squashed by Andy, who created such a fun work environment and a space where I felt as though I could throw new ideas into the ring without judgement.

My process is generally quite in-depth, and I like to try a variation of intentions with lines; Andy allowed me to sift through all my ideas and trusted me enough to land on the right one. With his seemingly never-ending amount of anecdotes, his sharp and self-deprecating sense of humour, and his genuine love for theatre, Andy is a master of his craft, and I’d work with him again in a heartbeat.

What are you enjoying most about performing alongside your fellow cast members – which include Jena Pandya as Ellie and Rebecca Lock as Katherine, and have you worked with any of them previously?

Jena and Becky (Rebecca), who play Ellie and Katherine respectively, are two of the most extraordinary performers I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Not only are they now my good friends and just awesome people to be around, they leave me in constant awe of their abilities and intelligence within their craft.

As much as we all have responsibilities within Freaky Friday, they carry the weight of the show on their backs, and if their dynamic wasn’t convincing, the show wouldn’t stand a chance of working – so credit to them. They also keep me supplied on Jakemans, so thanks, guys.

Overall, the cast are a great laugh, and we have a really great dynamic amongst the group – the laughs are non-stop backstage. I had also just worked with Dylan Gordon-Jones previously on Clueless, so it was great to have a familiar face and awesome to see him flourish, as he has a handful of stand-out moments in this show.

Had you seen any of the previous adaptations of Freaky Friday before auditioning and how is it telling the story of the musical adaptation?

Prior to auditioning, I had only seen the 1976 film adaptation (which my mum and I watched when I was a kid). Whilst waiting to hear back from my final audition, however, I was rooting through old boxes at home and I found – for the first time – my mum’s original copy of the book, which she stole from her school library in 1980 (it still has the stamp on the inside!).

I’m not the most superstitious of people, but I took that as some kind of sign.

Post-getting the job, I read the book and watched the 2003 film, and loved both.

Why would you recommend booking tickets to see Freaky Friday at HOME Manchester and who do you think the show will appeal to?

In a world where we are receiving 90s/00s rom-com-to-musical-adaptations thick and fast, Freaky Friday offers, in my opinion, more heart and wit than most of the others within the sub-genre. In the same way that most of the others of its ilk won’t, this show likely won’t change your life.

It will, however, challenge you to see things through a different lens and hopefully give you a new perspective on things in your life that you may take for granted. Besides that, the score is full of absolute bangers (which, annoyingly, have taken over my Spotify Wrapped this year), and the script is genuinely hilarious.

I feel that there is something in this story for anyone – naturally, we appeal to multiple generations, as they are represented well within the piece. I have also seen many mothers with their teenage daughters in the audience (which I can imagine is the ideal viewing experience).

How was your time playing Elton in the West End transfer of Clueless at the Trafalgar Theatre and covering the role of Josh?

Clueless was the time of my life – that was the job that has changed everything for me. I made friends for life, originated my first role and made my West End debut – it was everything I could’ve asked for.

I had somehow managed to not see the film until I auditioned, but as soon as I did, I was hooked (I must’ve watched it around 15 times by now). Amy Heckerling really made lightning in a bottle with that movie, and I can never thank her enough for trusting me with a role in her show.

Something I was so excited for was getting to work with the ever-awesome KT Tunstall. I grew up blasting her songs around the house with Mum; I seriously think Eye to the Telescope is one of the greatest albums of the 2000s. KT is such a rockstar, but also so down-to-earth, and she was so excited by any ideas that we had musically.

What made this 10x cooler was that she had, not long before rehearsals, written a new song for Elton, and I would be the first person to ever sing it. Getting to help craft The Best was the most fun I’ve had on anything thus far. It’s such a hilariously stupid song, but so much fun to perform, and I loved getting to work the crowd every night.

As well as playing Elton, I was the first cover for Josh (the leading man, played by Paul Rudd in the film) and managed to go on just under 10 times. That was so much fun to do, as it was vastly different from my other role, and I got play opposite one of my favourite people on the planet, Emma Flynn.

Keelan McAuley (another close friend of mine), who usually played the role, was incredibly gracious, but left huge shoes to fill.

One of my best mates from drama school, Isaac J Lewis, was also in the show with me, playing Christian with such panache and charm. That was one of the highlights of Clueless, as anyone will tell you – he makes every day so much more fun.

What was it like having the musical as your West End debut, and was there anything that drew you to the show?

I never imagined that this would be possible, let alone doing it at 22 years old. I come from a small town in the North-East of England called Hartlepool. I grew up working-class and didn’t properly begin performing until I was 15, so a career in the arts was not something I had ever considered a possibility.

Having a family that supported my dreams and receiving guidance from the right people, I’ve managed to graft my way through drama school and into the industry. Though I have worked since graduating, each stint has only been for a short period of time (having to make endless amounts of coffees in and around West London), so Clueless came along and really flipped my life on its head.

Can you tell us about performing in RENT at Landmark Theatres last year as part of the Ensemble?

RENT is maybe my favourite show of all-time, so this was an absolute dream. It was a great team to be a part of. As with most of these shows, I made a handful of great friends and had a blast singing what is one of the great modern musical scores, in my opinion.

I will say, I would love to do the show again one day, as Roger is possibly my dream role in musical theatre.

For your first professional stage role, you were in the cast of Roman Holiday at Theatre Royal Bath in 2023, how was it bringing Roman Holiday (which was an adaptation of the 1953 film starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn) to the stage?

This was so surreal to be a part of. Amidst a cast of West End alum, I was plonked in the ensemble – a kid who left drama school early to go and join the cast and had no experience bar his drama school shows and some am-dram way back when.

Luckily, I was with two of my friends from drama school, and we all had a blast working on this. It was a seriously awesome team, and I was in an ensemble with industry veterans who really showed me the ropes and taught me things that no one at drama school ever will be able to.

This was the perfect first job.

Also, Theatre Royal Bath is absolutely stunning, and that city is the best place to spend a summer if you get the chance!

Having performed in pantomimes previously (Dick Whittington at Hackney Empire and Cinderella at Theatre Royal Winchester), how do you find the experience working on pantomimes?

Growing up, my family and I would go to watch the pantos at Sunderland Empire every Boxing Day. I was never a massive fan but had to go for tradition.

As I was graduating, I was getting auditions through for pantomimes and, for whatever reason, I found there was a huge stigma in the industry around doing them. I was extremely reluctant at first, but I did the audition anyway and booked my first panto (Winchester).

Anyone who tells you that panto is less of a job or that it is easy has clearly never done it. This is harder than anything else I’ve done: the schedules are often gruelling, and it requires constant energy, timing and clarity. The second that you let the ball drop, you lose the audience and the show falls flat.

Besides this, it was so much fun! Having done it twice, I gained a tremendous amount of respect for pantomime regulars, as it is by no means an easy feat.

I also found so much more confidence within myself doing these two jobs (first time playing the prince, second as the comic), as I really had to put myself on the line in a way I had never had to before.

I don’t think I would’ve been able to perform The Best (my song in Clueless) and work the crowd like that had I not done these two gigs.

Was there anything that encouraged you to attend ArtsEd and how was it training on their Musical Theatre course?

Quite often, people will say that they walked into a drama school and “just knew”, and that is exactly what happened for me. In my audition for ArtsEd, I became dead set that this was the place for me and I was fortunate enough to receive a place.

As is the case with most of the northern kids that go there, I was granted full funding to allow me to attend.

The training at ArtsEd is amazing, and its prestige has opened doors for me that I never knew existed.

My first year, however, was in 2020 and almost entirely on Zoom. This was not what I had imagined and, as I’m sure we all understand, was extremely difficult psychologically. If anything though, it made me appreciate my second and third years so much more – as we were in-person full-time.

Where does your love of acting come from and how did you originally get into it?

When I was nine, I watched Oliver! (the 1968 film) and wanted so desperately to just be The Artful Dodger. My grandma then heard on the radio that there was an amateur production of The King and I auditioning in Middlesbrough, so she took me over to give it a go. I ended up being one of the floods of children in the show, and I loved it, though I didn’t even have a line.

I then did a production of The Sound of Music with the Hartlepool Stage Society, where I played Kurt.

Once I reached secondary school, I was bullied for a while and stopped acting because I thought it was “uncool” (I also gave up playing the trumpet for the drums – though I wish I still played). It wasn’t until I was 15 and the same stage society was looking for teenage boys, that my mum begged me to go.

I was very academic and loved maths, though my mum knew that this was the only thing that had ever truly fulfilled me, so she forced me to go (bar this, I don’t think my mum has ever forced me to do anything). So I went, and the rest is history.

As anyone does, I enjoy the glitz, glamour and the fancy events that come with this industry – but I’m here to tell stories. My real inspiration is Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man – I was obsessed with those films as a kid, and they really shaped my ideals and how I wanted the world to perceive me.

My goal in life is, in some capacity, to do what he did for me and a whole generation of young kids, and inspire them to be better.

Do you have any favourite theatre shows to watch, and which would you like to see that you haven’t done so as yet?

I absolutely adore Jesus Christ Superstar; that show thrills me in a way like no other. As I mentioned, I’m obsessed with RENT, and I think West Side Story is the greatest show ever written.

Two shows I’m dying to see make their UK premieres are A Bronx Tale and The Bridges of Madison County.

What do you enjoy doing away from performing?

Besides performing, I love to play guitar and listen endlessly to music. My taste is kind of trapped in the ‘90s, with bands like Radiohead, Oasis and (early) Coldplay dominating my Spotify.

I’m a huge film buff and love to go to the cinema any chance I get. I also just love hanging out with my mates and having the gang over for a wine and cheese night!

Follow Max on:

Instagram