1 month ago
A philharmonic shape type of Thelma & Louise, nan 1991 feminist outlaw classical written by Callie Khouri and directed by Ridley Scott, will person its world premiere astatine London’s Young Vic Theatre successful nan fall.
The original movie starred Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis arsenic 2 friends who return disconnected successful a greenish Ford Thunderbird. What starts retired arsenic a play sportfishing travel turns into a gun-toting female buddy movie aft 1 of nan women is sexually assaulted.
Over nan years it has been hailed arsenic a seminal portion of cinematic creation astir female liberation.
Khouri, who won an Oscar for her original screenplay, will constitute nan show’s book pinch euphony and lyrics by Neko Case, nan Grammy-nominated vocalist, lyricist and composer who has performed and published galore songs astir “women’s rage.”
Broadway’s Trip Cullman will nonstop nan co-production led by nan Young Vic, Sonia Friedman Productions, Blue Spruce Productions, Ley Line Entertainment, Khouri and Mandy Greenfield successful relation pinch MGM On Stage.
“It’s nan astir celebrated road-movie and female relationship movie of each time,” Nadia Fall, nan Young Vic’s creator head and CEO, told Deadline an successful exclusive interview.
“There’s thing frightened astir it,” Fall declared.
In fact, Fall’s movie characteristic debut, past year’s striking road-trip drama Brides, was inspired enormously by Thelma & Louise.
“How do you move it into a musical? I deliberation it’s really awesome that Callie is penning nan book. That movie’s 35 years aged but it still feels radical, this feminist story. And erstwhile you deliberation of America and erstwhile you deliberation of women’s authorities and really they’re going backwards, I conscionable think, ‘God, really is this communicative truthful damn applicable and still truthful brave?’.”
Fall added that there’s a full procreation “who wouldn’t person seen it.”
She fto retired a sad sigh arsenic we discussed really its reemergence is truthful timely. Women still suffer excruciating constabulary and ineligible challenges erstwhile they spell to nan authorities to study a rape. They’re nan victims, “but you wouldn’t cognize it from nan measurement they’re treated,” she lamented.
“Sadly, it should beryllium an aged communicative of yesteryear that things person changed, but they haven’t,” she said.
Last summer, shaper Friedman assembled nan squad of creatives, formed and musicians to shape a bid of workshops connected nan Young Vic’s main stage.
Amy Lennox (Cabaret, Kinky Boots, Lazarus, Opening Night) and Rachel Tucker (Wicked, Come From Away, Sunset Boulevard, The Great Gatsby), some celebrated philharmonic theater artists, were knockout successful workshops arsenic nan 2 desperados. They person been officially formed to play nan leads successful nan show that runs from September 3 done October 24. “They are drop-dead gorgeous successful it,” said Fall.
In a connection released via nan Young Vic, Khouri said that nan recently re-imagined communicative is “still a wild and affectional ride, made moreover amended by nan tremendous talents of Neko Case, Trip Cullman and our astonishing imaginative team.”
When asked what’s successful shop for nan philharmonic aft nan Young Vic, Fall said they’re simply concentrating connected getting nan accumulation into theater, reasoning that “it’s superstitious to talk astir what comes next.”
However, nan show has been successful improvement for respective years, pinch engagement astatine 1 constituent from Amanda Seyfried and Evan Rachel Wood successful a shop successful New York.
Getting to nan Young Vic is nan culmination of overmuch sweat and tears, though hopefully nary humor was involved.
The show’s early life will very overmuch dangle connected what emerges from its 8 week tally connected nan southbound broadside of nan River Thames crossed Waterloo Bridge.
The Young Vic’s caller play besides incudes Eurotrash, a darkly comic communicative pinch cutting joke starring Kathryn Hunter (Poor Things, Andor, Black Doves) and Ben Whishaw (Peter Hujar’s Day, Black Doves, Paddington). The play is based connected Christian Kracht’s 2024 bestseller. It has been adapted for nan shape by Colin Jeevan, who co-wrote tv movie The Tank and the Das Boot series.
Walter Meierjohann will nonstop nan accumulation to tally astatine nan Young Vic from November 13 done January 9 2027. “It’s astir our skeletons successful a closet arsenic people, but besides arsenic nations,” was really Fall described nan play.
Other shows see nan UK premiere of La Distance by Portuguese playwright and existent head of nan Festival d’Avignon, featuring original formed Alison Dechamps and Adama Diop. It will beryllium performed successful French pinch English surtitles from January 22 done February 13 2027.
After which Debbie Tucker Green (Ear for Eye) will nonstop her caller play Dissent, moving from March 5 done April 24.
Fall will nonstop a caller accumulation of August Wilson’s Gem of nan Ocean, nan first of Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle of 10 plays that explored nan African American acquisition group successful each decade of nan 20th century. When Fall ran nan Stratford East Theatre successful East London, she directed King Hedley II, nan penultimate play successful Wilson’s Pittsburgh canon that starred Lenny Henry and Aaron Pierre, who, by nan way, is terrific, on pinch Olivia Williams, Giles Terea and Arthur Boan, successful Clint Dyer’s brilliantly scorching accumulation of One Flew Over nan Cuckoo’s Nest that opened astatine nan Old Vic connected Wednesday night. It stands connected its ain arsenic its ain thing, conscionable arsenic nan movie type does.
The squad down Thelma & Louise includes choreography by Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber, scenography by Christine Jones and Brett J. Banakis, costume creation by Ryan Dawson Laight, lighting creation by Natasha Chivers, sound creation by Gareth Owen, philharmonic supervision by Kimberly Grigsby, orchestration and arrangements by John Clancy and philharmonic guidance by Ed Bussey, pinch further euphony by Carl Newman, Paul Rigby and Zoe Sarnak. The imaginative producers are Mandy Greenfield and Sonia Friedman Productions, and nan imaginative advisor is Imogen Brodie. Stuart Burt is nan casting director, Peter Noden is nan casting associate, Kev McCurdy is nan conflict director, Yarit Dor is nan intimacy director, and Danièle Lydon is the voice and dialect coach.
