Bugsy Malone reopens Lyric Hammersmith in 2015

Bugsy Malone is returning to the London stage next year with a major revival at the Lyric Hammersmith.

The production, which will be helmed by the venue's artistic director Sean Holmes, will reopen the Lyric in April 2015 following its multi-million pound redevelopment.

It will mark the first professional production of the musical – which is a staple of amateur companies and schools -in over a decade.

The film version's director Alan Parker said: "I've always loved that Bugsy Malone is performed so often as a play in schools but, to be honest, I never ever liked the previous professional on-stage versions. In fact, in recent years, I have actively discouraged professional productions. However, meeting a few times with Sean… and listening to his excellent ideas, I decided to give a stage production my blessing."

Holmes added: "Bugsy Malone feels like the perfect show with which to open the new Lyric. A work of left-field genius with young people at its heart, it feels like the quintessential Lyric show: celebratory, inclusive and surprising."

Bugsy Malone is set in prohibition era Chicago where rival gangsters Fat Sam and Dandy Dan wage war with custard pies and 'splurge' guns. The 1976 film version starred Scott Baio in the title role and a young Jodie Foster as Tallulah.

Bugsy Malone, which will feature choreography by Drew McOnie (In the Heights, Soho Cinders) and design by Jon Bausor (The James Plays), opens on 28 April 2015 following previews from 11 April.