Newbury’s The Watermill Theatre is thrilled to announce the full cast of their upcoming musical; a brand-new production of The Lord of the Rings, a musical tale based on the classic trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, with book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus and music by A.R. Rahman (Bombay Dreams; Slumdog Millionaire), Värttinä, and Tony Award-winner Christopher Nightingale (Matilda the Musical).

This is the first production of the musical in the UK since the original 2007 West End show, which ran for just over a year, earning five Olivier nominations. It was one of the most expensive West End musicals ever produced, with a cast of fifty, in the enormous 2,200-seater Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Here, at the 200-seater Watermill Theatre, the cast has been reduced to twenty. With the production set across both the Watermill auditorium and gardens, audiences will be immersed in the magical landscape of Middle-earth, joining an ensemble cast and large-scale puppets on an epic journey celebrating the power of friendship and common goodness to conquer unimaginable evil.

The Lord of the Rings will be directed by Paul Hart with design by Simon Kenny, Musical Supervision and Orchestrations by Mark Aspinall, Choreography by Anjali Mehra, Lighting Design by Rory Beaton, Sound Design by Adam Fisher, Projection Design by George Reeve, Associate Directed by Sibylla Archdale Kalid, Puppet Design by Charlie Tymms, and Puppetry Direction by Ashleigh Cheadle. The stage management team are Cat Pewsey (CSM), Katie Newton (DSM), Natalie Toney and Fern Bamber (ASMs) with Leila Stephenson (ASM Placement).

Playing at the Watermill Theatre 25 July – 15 October 2023.