A musical based on Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveller’s Wife, with music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Joss Stone, will open in London’s West End this autumn.
The bestselling novel, about an artist whose husband’s genetic disorder sends him hopping between past and future, was adapted as a film in 2009 and became a 2022 TV series that was axed after one season. The new stage production, first performed in Chester last year, is “like nothing you’ve ever seen” said Stewart, praising its illusions created by Chris Fisher whose past shows include Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
When he was approached about the project, Stewart said his first thought was: “Wow, time travel – it’s complicated enough doing a musical!” Dealing with the logistics of the story was eased by his meeting with playwright Lauren Gunderson who wrote the script. “She kind of acted all the parts in front of me. That’s what sold me.”