Chess, Kinky Boots and Treason to be staged in concert at Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Exclusive: Three musical concerts will take place across the month of August at Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

The full series is to be accompanied by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra, and feature a blend of musical classics, recent hits and up-and-coming new work.

The first revival will be a concert version of Tim Rice, Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus' (of ABBA fame) Chess, running on 1 August 2022.

The piece, which follows a competitive chess rivalry against the backdrop of the Cold War, is set to star Hadley Fraser as Anatoly and Samantha Barks as Florence, with further casting to be announced in due course.

It features direction and choreography by Nick Winston, associate direction and choreography by Alexandra Sarmiento, musical direction by Freddie Tapner, design by Ruth Sutcliffe, lighting by Ben Cracknell, lighting programming by Chris Winn, sound design by Tom Marshall and video projection design by Duncan McLean.

A week later on 8 August will be a concert staging of the multi-award-winning feel-good musical Kinky Boots. The show, which closed in the West End in 2019, follows a young man, Charlie, as he deals with the legacy of his father and how to put his best foot forwards while contemplating the future of his shoe-making factory.

Written by Harvey Fierstein and Cyndi Lauper, the new production is set to star Cedric Neal (Back to the Future) as Lola/Simon, Matt Willis (Waitress) as Charlie and Courtney Bowman (Legally Blonde) as Lauren. Further casting will be announced shortly.

The production is directed by Omar F Okai, with Tapner as musical director, Sutcliffe as designer, Cracknell as lighting designer, Winn overseeing lighting programming and sound by Marshall.

Finally, wrapping up the series on 22 August will be Ricky Allan and Kieran Lynn's new musical Treason, which follows those embroiled in the 5 November Gunpowder Plot.

The show is to be directed by Hannah Chissick (who also serves as dramaturg), with choreography by Taylor Walker, musical supervision by Nick Pinchbeck, orchestration by Matthew Malone, design by Sutcliffe, lighting by Simisola Majekodunmi, sound by Marshall and video design by Gino Green.

Appearing in the concert will be Carrie Hope Fletcher (Martha Percy), Bradley Jaden (Thomas Percy), Simon-Anthony Rhoden (Robert Catesby), Les Dennis (Robert Cecil), Emilie Louise Israel (Eleanor Brooksby), Rebecca Lachance (Anne Vaux), Daniel Boys (King James), Cedric Neal (Earl of Northumberland), Waylon Jacobs (Jack Wright) and Adam Pearce (Thomas Wintour).

Tickets for all three shows are on sale now.