New Cold War musical adaptation to premiere at Almeida Theatre

A musical adaptation of Paweł Pawlikowski’s Academy Award-nominated film Cold War is to premiere at the Almeida Theatre.

The production will play at the London venue from 30 November to 27 January 2024.

The stage version has been penned by Conor McPherson (Girl from the North Country) and features songs from Grammy Award-winner Elvis Costello.

Almeida Artistic Director Rupert Goold (Tammy Faye) directs Anya Chalotra (The Witcher), Elliot Levey (Cabaret) and Luke Thallon (Patriots), with further casting to be announced.

Poland, 1949.

Zula is bold and brilliant, a singer who ignites the stage. Wiktor is withdrawn and damaged, a composer longing to write. Irresistibly drawn to each other, they dream of escape. But in communist-controlled Poland that can be a dangerous thing.

Based on Paweł Pawlikowski’s Academy Award-nominated film, Cold War is an epic love story spanning the decades and breadth of Europe at its most divided.

The production has choreography by Ellen Kane, orchestrations and arrangements by Simon Hale, costume design by Evie Gurney, sound design by Sinéad Diskin, casting direction by Amy Ball, set design by Jon Bausor, musical direction by Jo Cichonska and lighting design by Paule Constable.

Goold said: “When I first saw Paweł Pawlikowski’s film Cold War, I was swept away by its beauty, passion and style. Its theatricality struck me as ripe for a stage adaption. So, I’m incredibly excited to be presenting Conor McPherson’s adaptation, with music by Elvis Costello.”