Dates Set For UK Tour of OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR

The 2024 tour dates have been announced for Blackeyed Theatre’s critically acclaimed revival of Oh What a Lovely War.  Marking the 60th anniversary of Joan Littlewood’s epic anti-war musical, the award-nominated production has been extended to May 2024, following a highly successful run at Southwark Playhouse.  A cornerstone of modern musical theatre and one of the very greatest stage satires, Oh What a Lovely War delights and shocks in equal measure, bringing home the realities of war to audiences across the UK.  Now, more than ever, it holds a mirror up to the world and speaks to us all.

Conceived and developed by Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop in 1963, Oh What a Lovely War remains a classic of modern theatre, a fusion of timeless songs – including Pack Up Your Troubles and It’s a Long Way to Tipperary – razor-sharp satire and high jinks, offering a joyously scathing account of the First World War.  Wildly satirical, visually stunning, and deeply moving, the show is a hilarious, heart-breaking snapshot of life for those caught in the crossfire of conflict, a unanimous voice from the trenches and a timely warning from the theatre of war itself.  

Oh What a Lovely War stars Tom Benjamin (Fire Songs, Frozen Light; Rewind, Ephemeral Ensemble), 2023 Rose Bruford graduate Tom Crabtree, Harry Curley (Once, Barn Theatre; Summer in the City, The Gatehouse; Caligari, Underbelly), Alice E Mayer (Frankenstein, Blackeyed Theatre; The Chronicles of Wild Hollow, Audible; Y Mabinogi, Welsh tour), Chioma Uma (Brief Encounter, New Wolsey and UK tour; Kiss Me Kate, Watermill Theatre; Cinderella The Rockin’ Panto!, New Wolsey Theatre) and Euan Wilson (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Vienna English Theatre; The Great Gatsby, Immersive London; Stick Man, UK tour).  The cast is notable for having all trained at Rose Bruford. 

The production is directed by Nicky Allpress (The Shape of Things, Park Theatre; The Walworth Farce, Southwark Playhouse Elephant; My Brilliant Friend, National Theatre), with musical direction by ELLIE VERKERK (Burnt City, Punchdrunk; The Color Purple, UK tour; SIX, West End and UK tour) and movement direction by Adam Haigh (The Mikado, Theatre Royal Bath and UK tour; Ruddigore, Wilton’s Music Hall; Kiss Me Kate, Leicester Curve).

Blackeyed Theatre Artistic Director Adrian McDougall comments, I’m so proud of the entire team who have put together this incredible show.  The experience this group of artists creates for our audiences night after night is nothing sort of astonishing, and the response to the production bears that out.  It’s also worth mentioning that our entire 2024 cast graduated from the same college; Rose Bruford, which is a real testament to the quality of its training!  2024 marks our 20th birthday, and I’m very proud not only that we continue to create shows of the quality of Oh What a Lovely War but that we do so sustainably with little or no funding against an increasingly challenging theatrical landscape.  I like to think Joan Littlewood would approve. 

Tour Dates

23rd – 27th January Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford

Millbrook, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3UX

29th – 31st January MAST Mayflower Studios, Southampton

142-144 Above Bar Street, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 7DU

1st – 2nd February Lighthouse, Poole

Poole’s Centre for the Arts, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UG

5th – 7th February Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury

Frankwell Quay, Frankwell, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY3 8FT

14th – 17th February Dundee Rep

Tay Square, Dundee, DD1 1PB

20th – 21st February Garrick Theatre, Lichfield

Castle Dyke, Lichfield, Staffordshire, WS13 6HR

22nd – 24th February Harrogate Theatre

6 Oxford Street, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG1 1QF

27th February Royal & Derngate, Northampton

19-21 Guildhall Road, Northampton, Northamptonshire, NN1 1DP

1st – 2nd March Grand Theatre, Blackpool

33 Church Street, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY1 1HT

6th – 9th March Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

Westborough, Scarborough, North Yorkshire, YO11 1JW

12th – 16th March Festival Theatre, Malvern

Malvern Theatres, Grange Road, Great Malvern, Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 3HB

19th – 23rd March Hull Truck Theatre

50 Ferensway, Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, HU2 8LB

26th – 27th March Leeds Playhouse

Playhouse Square, Quarry Hill, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 7UP

28th and 30th March Darlington Hippodrome

Parkgate, Darlington, County Durham, DL1 1RR

2nd – 6th April Theatre Royal, Windsor

32, Thames Street, Windsor, Berkshire, SL4 1PS

16th – 20th April Derby Theatre

15, Theatre Walk, Derby, Derbyshire, DE1 2NF

23rd – 27th April Theatr Clwyd, Mold 

Raikes Lane, Mold, Flintshire, CH7 1YA

30th April – 1st May Theatre Royal, Wakefield 

Drury Lane, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 2TE

2nd – 4th May Arena Theatre, Wolverhampton

Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV1 1SE

7th – 8th May Towngate Theatre, Basildon

St Martins Square, Basildon, Essex, SS14 1DL

12th May Connaught Theatre, Worthing 

Union Place, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1LG

14th – 15th May The Spotlight, Hoddesdon

High Street, Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, EN11 8BE

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