Next To Normal to make UK premiere at Donmar Warehouse in 2023
Donmar Warehouse has unveiled three new shows for the venue’s 30th anniversary season, including the UK premiere of Next To Normal.
Running 12 August – 7 October 2023, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning musical will be directed by Artistic Director Michael Longhurst.
Critically acclaimed Broadway musical Next to Normal is an intimate exploration of family and loss. At its heart is Diana Goodman, a suburban wife and mother living with bipolar disorder and haunted by her past.
Donmar Artistic Director Michael Longhurst directs the long-awaited UK première of this powerful rock musical about a far from average family.
Further creatives and cast are to be announced.
Also a part of the new season are Lillian Hellman’s masterpiece political thriller Watch on the Rhine (9 December 2022 – 4 February 2023) which gets its first major London revival in over 40 years by director Ellen McDougall.
The cast features Kate Duchêne, Caitlin FitzGerald and Patricia Hodge. The production has design by Basia Bińkowska, lighting by Azusa Ono, sound by Tingying Dong and fight direction by Cristian Cardenas.
This will be followed by the world première of Diana Nneka Atuona’s Trouble in Butetown (10 February – 25 March 2023) for which she received the 50th George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright and the Theatre Royal Haymarket’s Writers Award, directed by Tinuke Craig.
In Autumn 2022 the Donmar celebrates its 30th birthday, and to mark this special milestone, it will provide 3,000 £10 tickets for audiences aged under 30, made possible by generous support from Associate Sponsor Barclays. Beginning with Watch on the Rhine, and running throughout the year, there will be £10 tickets available for every performance.
As the centrepiece of the celebrations, the Donmar will stage a fundraiser performance in November with all three former Artistic Directors – Michael Grandage, Sam Mendes and Josie Rourke as special guests, alongside Longhurst, with performances from notable alumni reprising roles they played at the theatre; as well as a free exhibition of production images across the theatre’s public spaces later in the year. The fundraiser will be directed by Simon Evans.
Michael Longhurst said: “It is a privilege to be co-helming the Donmar as we approach this major milestone. I am grateful for the talent, tenacity and generosity of all those who have built that history. These shows kick off our birthday celebrations in classic Donmar style with an unearthed gem, a thrilling new play and later in the year, a long-awaited Broadway musical.
“Lillian and Diana’s plays offer counterpoint perspectives from across the Atlantic at a pivotal moment in our history, presenting one of the most seminal American female writers of the 20th century alongside an exciting new British female playwriting talent. And I can’t wait for us to blow the roof off the building with an extraordinary rock musical next Summer. Here’s to the next 30!”
For more information and tickets, visit donmarwarehouse.com
