MANDELA musical will premiere at the Young Vic

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 4/14/22 at 7:56am

The Young Vic has announced its 2022 season plans – including the world premiere of Mandela.

The show, first revealed Stateside in 2019, is set to be directed by Schele Williams (also overseeing the new revival of Aida), with a book by actor and writer Laiona Michelle, and music by South African songwriters Greg Dean Borowsky and Shaun Borowsky with additional music and lyrics by Bongi Duma.

https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/news/mandela-musical-announced-in-new-young-vic-season-_56323.html

 

[BritCrit]

Posted: 4/14/22 at 8:49am

Interesting. The big challenge will be trying to condense Mandela's eventful 90 year life into a single 2.5 hour show (You could get individual plays about dozens of smaller parts - his childhood, his coming into his own as a civil rights campaigner, the 1964 trial, Robben Island, the 1990 release, the transition to the Rainbow nation, the presidency) but the musical format will certainly work for the celebratory tone...

[BritCrit]

Posted: 4/14/22 at 3:44pm

Updating this to confirm that I've read the press release and the musical will focus on the period between Mandela forming the ANC and being imprisoned on Robben Island in 1964. This seems like a pretty solid foundation for the story, and I am intrigued by the focus on "the human behind the revolutionary movement" (The Young Vic's winter/spring 2022-23 season will feature several smaller plays with a similar theme). This project has apparently been in development for seven years, and in that time, left-wing revolutionary movements (e.g. Black Lives Matter, Extinction Rebellion) have become increasingly mainstream, definitely adding to the political resonance of Mandela's story...

Updated On: 4/14/22 at 03:44 PM