Casting has been announced for the limited U.K. tour of the punk rock musical Lizzie, based on the infamous case of Lizzie Borden, who in summer 1892 was accused of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe in Massachusetts.
Directed and choreographed by William Whelton, co-founder of Hope Mill Theatre, the production will premiere September 1-30 at that Manchester venue. It will then play regional dates at the Dukes Lancaster (October 5-8), Junction Goole (October 12-14), and Trinity Arts Centre, Gainsborough (October 17-21) before a London run October 26-December 2 at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant. A final engagement is scheduled for December 6-16 at the New Theatre Peterborough.
The cast will feature Lauren Drew (SIX the Musical) as Lizzie, Olivier nominee Maiya Quansah-Breed (Six) as Alice, Shekinah McFarlane (Six) as Emma, Mairi Barclay (Pippin) as Bridget, Ayesha Patel (Broken Wings) as the Bridget cover, and Emma Louise Hoey (Club Mex) as the cover for Lizzie and Alice.
With music by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt, lyrics by Cheslik-DeMeyer and Tim Maner, and a book by Maner, Lizzie delves into Lizzie Borden’s psyche and speculates on her motivations: loss of inheritance, history of sexual abuse, oppression, and madness.
The production will also have orchestrations by Hewitt, performed by an onstage all-female band, plus set and lighting design by Andrew Exeter, musical supervision by Katy Richardson, associate choreography by Yandass Ndlovu, video design by Dan Light, musical direction by Honor Halford-Macleod, costume design by Rachel Tansey, sound design by Adam Fisher, and casting by Pearson Casting.
Lizzie premiered in New York in 2009 at The Living Theatre, with the Danish production of the show running in London in 2017 at the Greenwich Theatre. This new production, produced by Hope Mill Theatre, will be the first U.K.-created version of the show and the first U.K. tour.
Visit HopeMillTheatre.co.uk.