The Book Thief musical announces West End concert cast and adds extra performances

The cast and additional performances have been announced for the upcoming concerts of The Book Thief.

As already revealed, WhatsOnStage Award winner Melanie La Barrie will star as Death in the concert stagings of the five-star musical.

The production marks the first London outing for the musical, based on Markus Zusak’s internationally bestselling novel, which has sold over 16 million copies worldwide.

With a libretto by Jodi Picoult (My Sister’s Keeper) and Timothy Allen McDonald (James and the Giant Peach), and music and lyrics by Kate Anderson and Elyssa Samsel (Central Park, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure), the piece follows Liesel Meminger, a young girl living in Nazi Germany, whose world is transformed by her love of books and storytelling.

The show will run at the Prince of Wales Theatre on Sunday 19 October 2025, with the new dates including two performances on 26 October.

Joining Barrie are Isaac Gryn as Max Vandenburg, Jack Lord as Hans Hubermann, Cat Simmons as Rosa Hubermann, Leo Abad as Tommy Muller and others, Matthew Caputo as Walter Kugler and others, Oonagh Cox as Paula Meminger and others, Michal Horowicz as Eva Vandenburg and others, Thomas-Lee Kidd as Mayor Hermann and others, Nell Martin as Ilsa Hermann and others, Corinna Powlesland as Frau Holtzapfel and others, Gleanne Purcell-Brown as Barbara Steiner and others, Edwin Ray as Alex Steiner and others, Timo Tatzber as Isaac Kleinmann and others and Russell Wilcox as Wolfgang Edel and others.

Director and choreographer Tom Jackson Greaves (The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry) will helm the London concert performance, following on from Lotte Wakeham’s original direction for the world premiere at Bolton Octagon in 2022 and subsequent runs in Coventry and Leicester in 2023.

The creative team also includes orchestrations and musical supervision by Matthew Malone, set and costume design by Good Teeth, lighting design by Nic Farman, sound design by Sound Quiet Time, casting by Abby Galvin, and musical direction by Natalie Pound.

The concert performance of The Book Thief is produced by Deus Ex Machina Productions, Writers’ Cage and Andrew Paradis in association with Bethany Cooper Productions.