A Little Night Music outdoor concert announced led by Janie Dee and Joanna Riding
© Dan Wooller for WhatsOnStage
A special outdoor concert version of A Little Night Music will be staged next month.
Directed by Alastair Knights with musical direction by Alex Parker, the event will be taking place in Holland Park, which is usually the site of the annual Opera Holland Park.
Actors, performers, creatives and staff will abide by social distancing rules throughout, with the audience socially distanced within the outdoor space. There are only 200 seats available, which will go on sale at midday on 3 August.
Leading the cast of the concert will be Janie Dee and Joanna Riding (reuniting after starring together in the National's Follies), alongside Sharif Afifi, Hiba Elchikhe, Danielle Fiamanya, Fra Fee, Hilary Harwood, Emma Kingston, Emma Harrold, Nadim Naaman, Laura Pitt-Pulford, Ella Tronson and Kayi Ushe.
The piece, which has music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by Hugh Wheeler and original orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, is inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night and involves the romantic lives of several couples. It features the iconic number "Send in the Clowns".
The concert will include an eight-piece chamber ensemble of musicians with an orchestration by Jason Carr, which was heard in the 2009 Broadway revival of the musical. It will run for two hours with no interval, and is produced by Quick Fantastic and Dee in association with Opera Holland Park.
