Brighton Rock Replaces Blood Brothers???
Date: 18 June 2003
At the launch yesterday of his new biography
Wrestling with Elephants (See
The Goss, 10 Jun 2003), lyricist
Don Black revealed more details of the upcoming stage adaptation of
Brighton Rock. Based on Graham Greene's 1938 novel about gang warfare at the English seaside, the musical will have a book by
Giles Havergal (who's previously adapted Greene's
Travels with My Aunt), with lyrics by Black and music by John Barry. Speaking yesterday at the Gielgud Theatre, Black described the show as "hell, damnation and Catholic guilt". The stage production will be directed by
Michael Attenborough, the Almeida Theatre artistic director and the son of
Richard Attenborough, who played outlaw-protagonist Pinkie in the classic 1947 film.
Brighton Rock will be produced by
Bill Kenwright and is due to open in the West End in 2004. It may find a home at the Phoenix Theatre, replacing Willy Russell's
Blood Brothers, another Kenwright production which, celebrating its 15th birthday this August, may have nearly run its course in the West End.
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