Iconic rock musical Hedwig and The Angry Inch is rumoured to be coming to London’s West End.
With music and lyrics by Stephen Trask and a book by John Cameron Mitchell, the Tony Award-winning show tells the story of Hedwig Robinson – a genderqueer East German rock singer following her soulmate’s tour around the country.
The history of Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Hedwig and the Angry Inch emerged from New York City’s drag-punk club scene, through which Mitchel developed the material through performances rather than traditional theatrical workshops.
It premiered off-broadway in 1998, where it ran for an unprecedented 857 performances through 2000, and won an Obie Award and Outer Critics Circle Award, The show first came to the West End in 2000, and has been produced hundreds of times in theatres around the world.
Its Broadway revival opened in April 2014 at the Belasco Theatre with Neil Patrick Harris (Cabaret, How I Met Your Mother)in the title role, who won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The revival also spawned a national U.S. tour between 2016 and 2017 that introduced the show to new audiences with Darren Criss (Glee) and Lena Hall (CATS) in leading roles.
A critically acclaimed UK revival came in 2022. It starred starred drag star Divina de Campo and opened at Leeds Playhouse before transferring to HOME Manchester, generating three WhatsOnStage Award nominations.
Throughout its 26-year history, Hedwig and the Angry Inch has remained a groundbreaking work celebrated for its raw exploration of identity, reinvention and queer resilience, continuing to inspire new productions across theatres from regional venues to major international stages.
What is Hedwig and the Angry Inch about?
A genre-bending, fourth-wall-smashing musical sensation, Hedwig and the Angry Inch tells the story of the “internationally ignored” rock singer, Hedwig, and her search for stardom and love.
The plot follows Hansel Schmidt, who is from East Berlin, and is obsessed with Western rock music and the mythological idea of finding her soulmate. When she meets American soldier Luther Robinson, she transforms herself by undergoing surgery to join him in America, only to be abandoned on their first wedding anniversary. This also happens on the same day as the Berlin Wall falling.
She then reinvents herself by creating the persona of Hedwig – a glamorous, defiant, furious singer – and puts together a rock band called The Angry Inch before being abandoned again.
Trask’s score channels David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop, with Mitchell’s book delivering a sharp, subversive story about identity and belonging that remains as angry and electric as the day it premiered.
Book Hedwig and the Angry Inch ticketsÂ
While there is no confirmed date for the show opening in the West End or confirmation of when tickets will go on sale, the show’s past success means demand for tickets is expected to be high. Get updates on Hedwig and the Angry Inch coming to the West End by signing up to the West End Theatre newsletter.
Hedwig and The Angry Inch is an exciting rock concert powered by the charisma and sly humour of the glamorously bewigged, high-heeled East German-now-American Hedwig.
The story follows Hedwig performing a concert while recounting her life story, including childhood abuse, a botched sex change operation, a disastrous marriage to an American soldier, and a doomed romantic and songwriting partnership with a Christian teen who becomes a rock star. And now, despite her loyal new husband Yitzhak, her obsession with the teen.
Stars and Creatives
Who is in the cast of Hedwig and The Angry Inch?
To be announced.
Who are the creative team of Hedwig and The Angry Inch?
Hedwig and The Angry Inch has a book by John Cameron Mitchell, with music and lyrics by Stephen Trask.
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