Theatre News

Into the Woods to be revived at the Old Vic, with Monty Python's Terry Gilliam co-directing

The revival arrives in 2022

Stephen Sondheim and Terry Gilliam
Stephen Sondheim and Terry Gilliam
© Dan Wooller

Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into The Woods will be revived at the Old Vic next spring.

The Tony Award-winning musical features classic songs including "Children Will Listen" and "No One Is Alone", and mashes together a variety of fairytales with characters including Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Baker and the Baker's Wife, Little Red Riding Hood and the Giants.

It was first seen on Broadway in 1987, winning a number of Tony Awards (though had a tough awards year going up against a certain masked musical, which runs to this day). It later appeared in the West End for 197 performances at the Phoenix Theatre from 1990, with an award-winning revival in 2010 at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. A Disney feature film starring Meryl Streep, James Corden and Johnny Depp also exists.

The show will play from 16 April to 9 July 2022, with press night to be revealed. Casting is to be confirmed, with the show co-directed by Monty Python's Terry Gilliam and Leah Hausman.

Into the Woods is co-produced by the Old Vic alongside Scenario Two productions, who recently revived The Light in the Piazza at the Southbank Centre before transferring it across the Atlantic.

The Old Vic's executive director Kate Varah told WhatsOnStage: "Into the Woods was something we'd been talking about for many, many years, with Matthew Warchus (artistic director) being a massive Sondheim devotee. He wanted to make sure we had a Sondheim show at the Old Vic at some point during his tenure. So it's been an exciting long-running project."

The show is part of the venue's 2021/2022 plans – which we've detailed in full here.

Sign up for our daily newsletter for more season announcements