LOST BOY World Premiere to Play Two London Theatres

A stirring, controversial and unexpected opening to a year commemorating the centenary of the Great War, the world premiere of a new British musical from Phil Willmott - following the huge success of his musical Once Upon a Time at the Adelphi, in Liverpool, London and the USA - Lost Boy, opens at the Finborough Theatre where it will play for two weeks, premiering on New Year's Eve Tuesday, 31 December before moving to Charing Cross Theatre for a further five week run, opening on Monday, 13 January.

Lost Boy stars Olivier Award nominee Andrew C. Wadsworth as Captain Hook.

A dark sequel to Peter Pan reuniting J. M. Barrie's characters as young adults on the eve of the First World War.

How has their extraordinary childhood equipped them for reality? And how much does the child we were inform the adult we become?

Peter Pan was the Harry Potter of the golden age of Edwardian children's literature. Tickets to Barrie's play and copies of the book sold in huge quantities with hardly a nursery in the Empire left untouched by the phenomenon. But when those children grew to adulthood, the world they encountered was a far cry from the utopia of Never Never Land.

How did exposure to J. M. Barrie's masterpiece equip an army of frightened young men to deal with the horrors of trench warfare...and the complexities of grown up relationships?

The Culture Clash between the enchantment of childhood fantasy and real life provides a rich vein for humour and drama as this original story explores the hopes and dreams of one particular young officer on the eve of battle with a copy of Peter Pan in his pocket. As sleep begins to blur his dreams and reality, fact and fiction become entangled and he finds himself central to one final "awfully big adventure" with the grown-up Wendy, John, Michael and Tinker Bell.

Willmott's original songs - blending a contemporary music theatre style with music hall influences - have been arranged into a score with additional music by Mark Collins, Assistant Musical Director on the West End production of Billy Elliot The Musical (Victoria Palace Theatre) whose recent work in new musical theatre writing includes Dougal Irvine's The Other School (St James' Theatre for National Youth Music Theatre), Wah! Wah! Girls (Kneehigh and Sadler's Wells at Leicester Curve, Peacock Theatre, London and UK Tour) and Rifco's Britain's Got Bhangra (Theatre Royal, Stratford East and UK Tour).

Directed by Phil Willmott. Musical Direction by Isaac McCullough. Choreography by Racky Plews. Musical Supervision by Mark Collins. Designed by Phil Lindley. Lighting by Miguel Vicente.

Cast: Steven Butler. Lauren Cocoracchio. Grace Gardner. Hannah Grace. Richard James-King. Natalie Lipin. Luka Markus. Max Panks. David Scotland. Joseph Taylor. Andrew C Wadsworth. Joanna Woodward.

Composer, Writer and Director Phil Willmott is one of the most commissioned musical theatre writers in the UK with original musicals currently in development at Shakespeare's Globe, Bristol Old Vic, Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and the New Wolsey Ipswich. His past musicals include Secret Love (National Tour) Once Upon a Time at The Adelphi (Liverpool, London and U.S.) and the widely and regularly revived Dick Barton Trilogy, Around The World In Eighty Days and Jason And The Argonauts. He is a multi-award winning director, artistic director, playwright, composer, librettist, teacher, dramaturg, arts journalist and occasional actor. He is founding Artistic Director of award winning theatre company The Steam Industry incorporating the Finborough Theatre (under the Artistic Directorship of Neil McPherson) and the London's annual Free Theatre Festival at the open-air "Scoop" amphitheatre on the South Bank. He has international directing career incorporates everything from classical drama, musicals and family shows to cabaret and cutting edge new writing. He is a recipient of a TMA Award for outstanding direction of a musical, a Peter Brook Award for his outdoor classical productions and family shows, WhatsOnStage award nominations for best regional and Off West End productions, a Broadway World nomination for Best Musical in the UK, a Brooks Atkinson/Royal Court award in New York for Playwriting and four Spirit of Broadway awards.

Choreographer Racky Plews was recently nominated by Broadway World for Best Choreography in bare - the rock musical (Union Theatre). She is currently in rehearsals for Seussical The Musical (Arts Theatre).

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