Cult hit musical Frank’s Closet heads to London’s West End for two nights only

Picture: Mark Senior

Fresh from critically acclaimed runs at the Union Theatre and Wilton’s Music Hall – and in response to popular demand – the cult five-star hit musical FRANK’S CLOSET is making its West End debut, for two Sunday nights only (3rd and 17th November 2024 at London’s Arts Theatre).

Frank’s Closet was conceived in 2009, when composer Stuart Wood was commissioned to write a new show for Hoxton Hall, one of the last living Victorian music halls in England. Amidst the louche beauty of the faded music hall, Stuart’s words and music wove a surreal fantasy of 20th-century vaudeville, the ‘golden age’ of showbusiness, and 21st-century pop abandon.

Fast forward to 2024 when, after a hugely successful run at the Union theatre in Southwark – where it garnered five Offie nominations, including Best Musical Production – Frank’s Closet returned to its roots at the incomparable Wilton’s Music Hall. The journey now continues to the West End.

Musical Theatre Review critic Ian Bowkett gave the production at Wilton’s Music Hall five stars and wrote:

Frank’s Closet is a touching and hilarious tour through the camp history of gay icons… but the story is universal. We all wrestle with the pressure to compromise on the things that bring us joy. Where is that line between growing up and losing too much of the person you truly are?… Frank’s Closet is a luxuriously gay cruise through a century of camp, with all the heart, laughs and dresses one could desire.”

Andy Moss (Hollyoaks) reprises his role as the titular character. Luke Farrugia gives a tour-de-force performance that brings to life the Divas who have inspired and guided Frank – including Julie Andrews, Judy Garland and Agnetha Fältskog – to hilarious, uncanny and often touching life. Accompanying Moss and Farrugia are a quartet of captivating Gaiety Girls (and a Sailor).

Frank – often bemused, always dashing – teeters on the edge of matrimony. As eve-of-wedding jitters start to unnerve him, and he prepares to donate his collection of frocks to the V&A, seven Divas visit Frank in turn, to offer words of wisdom (and a song or two). Will they save the day?

As the dilemma unfolds, Stuart Wood’s music – as dazzling as the Divas’ dresses – straddles the Great British, Broadway (and Swedish) songbooks, as he takes us on an irreverent – and ultimately touching – journey from Frank’s beginnings as a closet Abba fan in Cleethorpes to the man about to walk down the aisle.

Frank faces his feelings and fears as he looks back on the journey out of his own personal closet, and reflects with affection on those who held – and steadied – his hand along the way. Frank’s Closet explores the conflict between liberty and conformity with wit and heart, in a way that will chime with anyone who’s pondered a lifetime of commitment.

The cast also includes Patrick Cook, Olivia McBride, Daniel Walford, Tayla Watson-Braithwaite and Paul Toulson. Acclaimed director Sasha Regan is joined by choreographer Jo McShane, musical director Anto Buckley, set designer Catherine Phelps, lighting designer Joseph Ed Thomas, sound designer Edward Lewis, production designer Ruth Valera and head of wardrobe David Furnell.

Frank’s Closet is a glittering, eccentric and high-camp paean to love and musical theatre; a queer reimagining of a Dickensian opium dream – with the Divas the spirits of Love past, present, and future

Tickets for FRANK’S CLOSET, playing on 3rd and 17th November 2024 at 7.30pm, are available via the Arts Theatre website HERE. Running time: 120 minutes (including interval). Age: suitable for 13-plus. The Arts Theatre is located at 6-7 Great Newport Street, London WC2H 7JB. The production is presented by Ladbon MacLeod Barnes.