All-new Martin Guerre to play The Old Vic this October

A radically reworked new version of Boublil and Schönberg’s Olivier Award-winning musical Martin Guerre comes to The Old Vic this October, directed by Matthew Warchus.

One of the most intriguing musical events of the autumn is coming to The Old Vic, as an all-new version of the Olivier Award-winning Martin Guerre arrives for a strictly limited season this October. From Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, the legendary writing team behind Les Misérables and Miss Saigon, this radically reworked production plays for five weeks only, from 1 to 31 October 2026.

Developed and directed by the Old Vic’s Artistic Director Matthew Warchus (A Christmas Carol, Pride, Matilda the Musical), the semi-staged production features new music, new lyrics and new folk-inflected orchestrations, performed in the round — offering audiences a first look at a much-loved musical reborn with, in the creators’ words, “a whole new identity.”

View live availability for Martin Guerre here

A musical reborn

Martin Guerre first premiered at London’s Prince Edward Theatre in 1996, winning two Olivier Awards including Best New Musical. Though it never quite matched the phenomenal success of its predecessors, it has long held a devoted following, and its creators never stopped believing in its potential, reworking it repeatedly over the years.

This new incarnation is the most significant reimagining yet. Boublil and Schönberg returned to the piece during the pandemic lockdowns, after the rights reverted to them, and found fresh creative freedom in revisiting it. Joined by new collaborators including lyricist Annabel Mutale Reed and writer Paul Hodge, the pair have extensively rewritten the show, making this genuinely an all-new version rather than a straight revival.

For Warchus, the production carries real significance as one of the final shows of his celebrated tenure as Artistic Director. Describing it as his “penultimate show,” he said he was “very excited to be sharing an all-new version of Boublil and Schönberg’s extraordinary musical, the creation of which has been many years in the making,” adding that it has been “radically reworked, featuring new lyrics, new folk-inflected orchestrations and an immersive in-the-round staging.“

Why it’s one to watch

There’s plenty here to excite musical theatre fans. It’s a rare chance to see brand-new work from two of the most important figures in the history of the modern musical, presented in an intimate, in-the-round staging that promises a very different experience from the grand proscenium productions for which Boublil and Schönberg are best known. The in-the-round configuration continues the format used to acclaim across Warchus’s final season, following One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Glengarry Glen Ross earlier in the year, placing the audience close to the heart of the drama.

As a semi-staged preview production of a reworked show from the Les Misérables team: with the creators actively developing the piece for its future life, it also offers audiences the tantalising prospect of being among the first to see a musical that may well go on to a much bigger stage.

The story of Martin Guerre

Set in a religiously divided village in 16th-century France, Martin Guerre tells the extraordinary true story of one of history’s most famous cases of stolen identity. Years after the young Martin Guerre abandons his wife Bertrande and their village, a man arrives claiming to be the returning Martin. Kinder and more loving than the husband Bertrande remembers, he seems the answer to her prayers… until the villagers begin to suspect that he is not who he claims to be, and their fragile happiness gives way to accusation, betrayal and violence.

A sweeping tale of love, faith, identity and deception, the real-life story has inspired numerous retellings over the centuries, including the acclaimed 1982 French film The Return of Martin Guerre starring Gérard Depardieu.

The creative team

Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schoenberg

Martin Guerre has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, with a book by Schönberg and Alain Boublil, and new lyrics by Alain Boublil, Annabel Mutale Reed and Paul Hodge. It is developed and directed by Matthew Warchus, with set and costume design by Rob Howell and choreography by Lizzi Gee. Full casting is to be announced.

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