![Wild Rose musical to premiere in Edinburgh directed by John Tiffany, Dawn Sievewright to star [Updated]](https://www.westendtheatre.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Wild-Rose-starring-Dawn-Sievewright.jpg "Wild Rose musical to premiere in Edinburgh directed by John Tiffany, Dawn Sievewright to star [Updated]")
The world première of new musical Wild Rose by Nicole Taylor (One Day, Three Girls, The C Word) and directed by John Tiffany (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Black Watch) will take place in Edinburgh next year.
The show is based on the 2018 film directed by Tom Harper, which won the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Feature Film, Best Writer for Nicole Taylor and Best Actress for Jessie Buckley (Cabaret). The movie also starred Julie Walters and Sophie Okonedo.
Wild Rose will premiere at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh, from 6 March to 5 April 2025.
The show is set to star Dawn Sievewright (Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, Legally Blonde) in the lead role of Rose-Lynn Harlan, with further casting to be announced.
The creative team will also include Choreography by Steven Hoggett, Set Design by Chloe Lamford, Costume Design by Katrina Lindsay, Lighting Design by Jessica Hung Han Yun, Sound Design by Tony Gayle, Music Supervision, Orchestration and Arrangements by Sarah Travis and Davey Anderson, and Casting by Charlotte Sutton CDG.
The story is centred on Rose-Lynn. Fresh out of jail for past mistakes, and bursting with incredible raw talent, charisma and cheek, the free-spirited Rose-Lynn dreams of escaping Glasgow to make it as a country music singer in Nashville.
Wild Rose promises to be an uplifting and heartwarming new musical about motherhood, dreams and finding your three chords and the truth.
This world premiere production will feature songs from country music legends including Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Wynonna Judd, Chris Stapleton, Caitlyn Smith, The Chicks, and Patty Griffin, alongside the film’s award-winning original song Glasgow (No Place Like Home).
Writer Nicole Taylor, who adapted David Nicholls’ novel One Day into the blockbuster series for Netflix, said in a statement in May: “I don’t think there will ever be a character who means as much to me as Rose-Lynn Harlan. Bringing her to the stage, and starting that journey in Scotland, is the fulfilment of a dream I’ve had from the very beginning. From the moment this girl roared into my head, I always imagined that one day I’d get to tell her story in the theatre. Growing up in a West of Scotland where people didn’t talk much or at all about their feelings, I became obsessed with country music and its ability to express the entire range of human emotion. The titans of the genre were women – Wynonna, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Reba, Patty Loveless, Trisha Yearwood etc. – and they seemed to give voice to things that could scarcely even be spoken. But back then, being into country back was a lonely road! So it’s thrilling and quite unexpected that it’s now the hottest genre around. For me though, it still is what it always was: music that cracks you open and as Rose-Lynn says, gets whatever’s in there out. I’m so thrilled to be opening Wild Rose in Scotland under the direction of the great John Tiffany – it really does feel like bringing it home.”
John Tiffany said: “It feels absolutely right for Wild Rose’s journey to start in Scotland – and that it’s on the Lyceum Stage that the brilliant, hilarious, complex character that is Rose-Lynn Harlan is brought to life. I’m incredibly fortunate to be partnering with Nicole Taylor in adapting her film. She is an extraordinary writer and her innate love and knowledge of Country Music infects us all in the best way. It’s also a homecoming for me, having studied in Scotland, trained at the Traverse and later been part of creating the National Theatre of Scotland. It’s a welcome return, with an incredible team.”
Tiffany added about casting Dawn in the show: “In Dawn we have found the perfect alchemy for Rose-Lynn – an extraordinary actress, with an extraordinary voice and she captures perfectly the life-force of Rose-Lynn. I’m looking forward to getting into rehearsals with Nicole and Dawn and reimagining this brilliant story for the stage and bringing this fierce woman to life.”
Dawn Sievewright said: “It’s hard to put into words how I feel about this story, how I feel about Rose-Lynn Harlan. I don’t think there’s ever been a character to come my way that has so perfectly spoken to the world I grew up in. She defies her surroundings and speaks to the wee muddled up lassie in me. To the ‘too aggressive’, to the ‘calm doon!’ and to the massive beating heart of Scotland that sometimes…can only be expressed through music. She scares me – in the best possible way. Nicole Taylor has written the guts of Glasgow and woven it so expertly with a soundtrack of such gallus music that the Lyceum audiences are going to be leaping from their seats. I am beyond buzzing to get back into a rehearsal room with the legend that is John Tiffany and his incredible creative team. We’re bringing Rose-Lynn home… I can barely keep my heart in my chest.”
UPDATES: First published on 29 May 2024 with news of the production; Updated 4 October 2024 with casting news
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