Theatre Royal Plymouth will stage a new production of Nick Stimson and Jimmy Jewell’s NHS The Musical in September.
Directed by Stephen Fletcher, the musical inspired by first-hand accounts from NHS staff will return to play The Lyric at Theatre Royal Plymouth from 17-25 September 2021.
Announcing the production on the 73rd birthday of the NHS, Adrian Vinken, CEO of Theatre Royal Plymouth and executive producer of NHS The Musical, said: “We commissioned the original show to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the health service. Although essentially a love song to the NHS, audiences really loved its hard-hitting satire.
“A couple of years ago, with the NHS under siege on many levels, we decided the time was right to update the show to reflect current circumstances but then Covid hit and the NHS was placed front and centre in the life of the whole nation. The show is a timely celebration of what the NHS means to all of us.”
With a combined company of seven cast and seven band members live on stage, the new production of NHS The Musical has been made possible by a grant from the Weston Culture Fund.
Commenting on the production, Philippa Charles, director of the Garfield Weston Foundation, said: “The Weston Culture Fund honours the UK’s creative and cultural organisations which, while battling huge challenges of their own, endeavour to make life better for the rest of us.
“We’re therefore especially pleased to support this new production of NHS The Musical at the Theatre Royal Plymouth, as it pays tribute to the heroes seeing us all through the pandemic.”
NHS The Musical was first seen at The Drum Theatre, Theatre Royal Plymouth in 2006 and was the product of four years of research and interviews conducted by Theatre Royal Plymouth associate directors Stimson and Jewell.
Angela Thomas
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