Judy Garland Musical THROUGH THE MILL Comes To Southwark Playhouse in July

Following an acclaimed premiere at London Theatre Workshop last December, Ray Rackham's Judy Garland musical drama THROUGH THE MILL will transfer to London's Southwark Playhouse in July. It features musical supervision and arrangement by Simon Holt, musical direction by Jordan Li Smith, choreography by Chris Whittaker, set design by Johnson Williams and sound design by Ed Shaw.

Set primarily during the filming of The Judy Garland Show in 1963, Through the Mill chronicles the behind-the-scenes difficulties. It's intercut with the young Judy Garland's rise to fame through MGM in the 1930s and her triumphant sold-out concert engagement at the Palace Theatre in the early 1950s, tracing the fascinating path of a showbiz legend.

The show features a hit list of Judy Garland favourites, including The Trolley Song, The Man That Got Away and Over the Rainbow. The 16-strong company of actor-musicians is led by three actresses reprising their roles as Judy: Helen Sheals (Downton Abbey), Belinda Wollaston and Lucy Penrose.

Through the Mill is written and directed by Ray Rackham, artistic director of London Theatre Workshop, BroadwayWorld Award-nominated librettist/lyricist of the acclaimed Apartment 40C (St James Studio, 2015) and director of Ordinary Days (2014). Other credits include the UK premiere of Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino's A Catered Affair, the 40th-anniversary productions of Stephen Sondheim's Follies and Company (Pleasance), the 2012 Pleasance revival of Assassins, and acclaimed Broadway soprano Barbara Cook's return to London in Happily Ever After (Fortune). Rackham also devised the Sondheim revue Just Another Love Story, which has toured the UK.

Through the Mill runs July 6-30 at Southwark Playhouse. For more information and to book tickets, call 020 7407 0234 or visit www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk

Photo credit: Darren Bell