RETURN to the Riviera with critically-acclaimed musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels next May.

The show is heading back to the North West, following its pre-West End run at Manchester's Opera House earlier this year, starring Robert Lindsay, Rufus Hound and Katherine Kingsley.

The cast for the forthcoming tour, which calls into the Opera House from May 20 to 30, has yet to be announced.

The musical is based on the legendary 1988 film, starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin as two fraudsters who are both equally determined to outwit each other.

Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell said: “I am thrilled that Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, our very first show from Jerry Mitchell Productions, will be returning to Manchester in 2015.

"I have no doubt that when we return there the audiences will take this hilarious show back to their hearts, and will laugh and enjoy this musical as much as they did when we opened there.”

Prepare to be transported to the luxurious lap of the French Riviera where the decadent world of sophisticated conman Lawrence Jameson is set to come crashing down with the arrival of larger-than-life Freddy Benson — a conman of an entirely different order.

Soon realising the town ain’t big enough for the both of them, they find themselves going head to head in the con of their lives, pulling out all of the stops in a bid for the affections of millionaire soap heiress Christine Colgate. Little do they know what they have let themselves in for.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opened in the West End in March this year to rave reviews and packed houses following its Manchester Gets It First premiere at the Opera House in February.

It continues to play at the Savoy Theatre, starring Lindsay and Kingsley, as well as Alex Gaumond, Bonnie Langford and Gary Wilmot.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots — currently Broadway’s biggest Tony Award winning hit, Legally Blonde, Hairspray) in his debut production for Jerry Mitchell Productions.

It has music and lyrics by Drama Desk Award winner David Yazbek (Late Night with David Letterman, The Full Monty) and book by the Golden Globe and Emmy-Award winning Jeffrey Lane (Mad About You).

Embarking on its first tour, the show will open at the New Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham, running from May 5 to May 16, before playing at venues including the Sunderland Empire, the King’s Theatre in Glasgow, the New Theatre in Oxford, as well as the Manchester Opera House.

The musical premiered on Broadway in 2005 and ran for 626 performances, before opening in the UK.

Jerry Mitchell Productions is a partnership between the American theatre director and choreographer and Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) – owner of venues including the Opera House and Palace Theatre, Manchester.

It was set up to develop, create and produce new productions, focussing on a wide range of projects, from new commissions to fresh versions of classic pieces for ATG Theatres in London, New York and around the world.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is on at the Opera House, Manchester, from Wednesday, May 20, to Saturday, May 30. Tickets are on sale now.