Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express is set to return to London in 2024.
This brand-new production will open in a purpose-built, specially designed “Starlight Auditorium” at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, with shows playing from 8 June 2024.
This new production of Starlight Express promises to fully immerse audiences inside a world of speed, song and storytelling.
A cast of 40 will whizz around and above the audience on roller skates, performing Lloyd Webber songs including AC/DC, Only He, Make Up My Heart, Light at the End of the Tunnel and the iconic Starlight Express.
The show has music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Richard Stilgoe, and this production will be directed by Luke Sheppard (&Juliet, The Little Big Things).
Joining Luke Sheppard in the creative team are the show’s original choreographer Arlene Phillips as creative dramaturg, choreographer Ashley Nottingham (Pacific Overtures), who will design new choreography for the show; and set designer Tim Hatley (Back to the Future), video designer Andrzej Goulding (Life of Pi), costume designer Gabriella Slade (Six), lighting designer Howard Hudson (&Juliet) and sound designer Gareth Owen (MJ the Musical) with new orchestrations and musical supervision by Matthew Brind.
The story centres on a a child’s train set that magically comes to life. With the engines racing to become the fastest in the world, Rusty the steam train has little hope of winning until he is inspired by the legend of the ‘Starlight Express’.
Andrew Lloyd Webber said in a statement: “I am thrilled that Starlight Express will be powering down the tracks again. The world’s first truly immersive musical will this time be an experience like no other. Watch out for the big new plot twist and you will discover why steam power is the future of the railway.”
Luke Sheppard said: “Nothing comes close to the thrill of Starlight Express and it’s a privilege to be directing this brand-new production, which will bring audiences right up close to all the music, the wonder and the action that makes this show so iconic. We hope it will take London by storm all over again, and be both a celebration of this legendary work, as well as passing the train set to a new generation in a big, bold, and reimagined way. We can’t wait to get our skates on!”
Casting will be announced soon.
Starlight Express will be the second show produced by Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, the new partnership between Andrew Lloyd Webber, and West End producer Michael Harrison. Their first show is the new production of Sunset Boulevard, directed by Jamie Lloyd and starring Nicole Scherzinger, which begins performances at the Savoy Theatre in London this week.
The original production of Starlight Express opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London in March 1984, directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The show closed in January 2002, having run for over 7,400 performances.
Starlight Express also continues to play in a purpose-built venue in Bochum, Germany, where the show has been playing since 1988.
More about Starlight Express tickets at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre
