The world premiere of the musical written by April de Angelis and Lucy Rivers will take place at the Royal & Derngate from the 17th to the 31st July.
Being presented as part of the Made in Northampton 2021 season this Royal & Derngate, Northampton and China Plate co-production, in partnership with English Touring Theatre, will take to the Royal stage for a limited run this month.
Two lovers, each with hidden secrets, struggle to prosper as gin hawkers. At a time in the 18th century when the average Briton drank 1.5 litres of gin every day, women were being locked up in cells to sober up and disorder was breaking out on every street corner, panic spreads among the upper classes who look to the magistrates, the Church and even their tipsy Queen to restore sobriety.
The musical features book and lyrics by April de Angelis (My Brilliant Friend, National Theatre; The Village, Theatre Royal Stratford East) and music and lyrics are by Lucy Rivers (The Bloody Ballad, Gagglebabble; Father Christmas, Lyric Hammersmith). This production is set to be directed by Michael Oakley (Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe; The Life and Times of Fanny Hill, Bristol Old Vic).
Meanwhile, the ensemble cast is set to include: Debbie Chazen (The Girls, West End), Rosalind Ford (Once, UK Tour), Aruhan Galieva (King John, Royal & Derngate and Shakespeare’s Globe), Paula James (The Snow Queen, Park Theatre), Alex Mugnaioni (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Rose Theatre Kingston and West End), Peter Pearson (Welcome to the UK, The Bunker), Paksie Vernon (The Watsons, Chichester Festival Theatre/Menier Chocolate Factory) and Rachel Winters (A Christmas Carol, Royal Shakespeare Company).
The creative team behind the production includes: designer Hayley Grindle (Iphigenia in Splott, Sherman Cymru and National Theatre),Tamara Saringer (The Wizard of Oz, Leeds Playhouse) as Music Supervisor and Arranger and Paul Isles (Romeo and Juliet at Shakespeare’s Globe) as choreographer. Lighting design is by Jack Knowles (Barber Shop Chronicles, National Theatre) and sound design is by Tony Gayle (Lazarus, Kings Cross Theatre). The production is produced by Royal & Derngate’s Musical Theatre producer Tess Dowdeswell.
Gin Craze! will play at the Royal & Derngate from the 17th to the 31st July.