Theatre News

Drama Desk-winning musical The Lion to run at Southwark Playhouse

Max Alexander-Taylor stars – have a first listen below

| London |

24 February 2022

One-man folk musical The Lion is set to open at Southwark Playhouse in May, it has been announced.

The Drama Desk Award-winning piece by Benjamin Scheuer, which has been seen at Manhattan Theatre Club, Geffen Playhouse in LA, and on a US tour, will have a month-long run at the south London venue, performed by Max Alexander-Taylor and directed by Alex Stenhouse and Sean Daniels.

Telling a true story about survival and a brush with mortality, the 70-minute piece will run from 25 May. You can watch a number from the show here:

The production has set and costume design by Simon Kenny, lighting design by Emma Chapman and sound design by Andrew Johnson. Producer Danielle Tarento said today: "I have loved Benjamin's writing and this show for nearly a decade so to get to work on it in a brand new production is such a privilege. And, after the two years we've collectively lived through, to share this story of courage in the face of adversity and hope triumphing over sorrow feels all the more timely and poignant."

Arizona Theatre Company is co-producing the show, with the production set to hop over the Atlantic after its London run. Artistic director Daniels, who directed the original production, said: "I am delighted to be back in the world of The Lion, a project Benjamin and I started eight years ago as he first told me his own personal and inspiring story.

"ATC and I are honoured to be working with Danielle Tarento on this award-winning musical. For me, this piece reminds me that great and redemptive things can come from awful things, and that the bonds between parents and children are with us a lifetime."