Joshua Schmidt and Jason Loewith's 2008 Off-Broadway show Adding Machine: A Musical, based on Elmer Rice's play of the same name, is to receive its U.K. premiere at London's Finborough Theatre, beginning performances September 28, prior to an official opening September 30, for a run through October 22.
Directed by Josh Seymour and presented by Alex Turner Productions and SDWC, the show revolves around Mr. Zero, who after 25 long years spent adding figures in the same soul-crushing job suddenly finds himself replaced by a machine. For the first time in his life, Zero takes his destiny into his own hands. The consequences set him on a path through this world and beyond, offering him one last chance for love, life and redemption.
In a press statement composer Schmidt and his co-librettist Loweith commented, "Astonishingly, the themes of Elmer Rice’s 1922 play seem never more relevant than the time we find ourselves living in now, especially with the recent events in the U.K. In adapting his provocative play, we set out to unearth the siren songs of the disenfranchised. This is not music of ’simple’ folk; rather it is a rich tapestry of love, dark humor, complexity, heartfelt earnestness, insecurity and anger. Whether it's technological innovation or globalisation that leaves generations of people in the dust, we find it amazing how little those siren songs have changed in almost a century, how frequently they turn into the shrill cries of the racist and the nativist, and how their emotional reach spans so many borders. Diving into this material has made us both much more empathetic to the plight of those kicked to the curb, and more aware of the warning signs in their anger. And it has ultimately reinforced our belief that in the end, we are all individually responsible for our ability to overcome adversity in this ever-changing, constantly evolving world. It seems now is a fascinating moment for the musical to make its premiere in London.” Casting is still to be announced.
The fall season at the Finborough will also include a 60th anniversary season from the National Youth Theatre (running August 9-27) including new plays by Olivier Award-nominated playwrights James Fritz and Bola Agbaje and the first-ever stage production of Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist; as well as two world premieres about the refugee and immigrant experience from award-winning North American dramatists. The theatre will also present a unique rediscovery—the first U.K. production in nearly 90 years of Noël Coward's Home Chat, not seen since its premiere in 1927, beginning performances August 30 prior to an official opening September 1 for a run through September 24.
To book tickets, contact the box office on 0844 847 1652 or visit finboroughtheatre.co.uk.
