Oliver Ormson will take on the central role in the musical version of Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity when it receives its UK premiere at the newly opened London venue, The Turbine Theatre next month.
Recently seen in the Kilworth House Theatre’s production of Cats and on tour in The Addams Family, Ormson will take the lead alongside: Carl Au (Cilla UK tour, Jersey Boys, Prince Edward Theatre); Robbie Durham (Nashville Live UK tour, Million Dollar Quartet, UK and international tours); Rosie Fletcher (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Barbican, Hadestown, National Theatre); Joshua Dever (New Jersey Nights, Australian and UK tour, The Twelve Tenors, China tour); Shanay Holmes (The Bridges of Madison County, Menier Chocolate Factory, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Kilworth House); Eleanor Kane (Billionaire Boy, Nuffield Southampton, Fun Home, Young Vic); Jessica Lee (Les Misérables, Queen’s Theatre); Bobbie Little (Kiss Me Kate, Sheffield Theatres, Little Shop of Horrors, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre); Lauran Rae (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Apollo Theatre, Bugsy Malone, Lyric Hammersmith) and Robert Tripolino (Jesus Christ Superstar, The Barbican and Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Rags, Hope Mill Theatre).
Following on from the successful launch production of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song (due to end its run on 13 October), High Fidelity will be the second production in award-winning director and producer Paul Taylor-Mills’ inaugural season as artistic director of the new theatre on the banks of the River Thames.
Running from 21 October until 7 December 2019, the new production which will bring Hornby’s much-loved story of the life and loves of a record shop owner back to its original London setting, will be directed and choreographed by Tom Jackson Greaves.
High Fidelity features designs by David Shields, sound by Dan Samson, lighting by Andrew Exeter, and casting by Will Burton. Helen Siveter will be the associate director.
Announcing the production, Taylor Mills said: “I’m over the moon with how the opening of The Turbine has been received. Torch Song has been an absolute dream for me and it was always my ambition to follow up the first production with a musical.
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“I’ve been obsessed with High Fidelity in its various incarnations for a long time. I’ve always been curious as to why it didn’t get the life I believe it deserved on Broadway and believe this may have been because of timing and geography. I have engaged Vikki Stone to relocate the story back to its London roots, where Nick Hornby’s book was originally set. I’m thrilled to have the blessing of the original writers of the musical and hope to build on the brilliant show they’ve created.”
With a book by Pulitzer Prize-winner David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole), music by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tom Kitt (Next To Normal) and lyrics by Tony Award nominee Amanda Green (Bring It On), High Fidelity debuted on Broadway in 2006. The musical which was set in Brooklyn, followed a successful film version in 2000 starring John Cusack and Jack Black, which re-located Hornby’s original London story to Chicago.
Presented by Bill Kenwright and founded and led by Taylor-Mills, The Turbine Theatre is an intimate theatre space under the Grosvenor Bridge railway arches at Circus West Village, that will be the first chapter in the regeneration of the iconic Battersea Power Station.
Unveiling details of his latest project in July, the former artistic director of The Other Palace, said: “I’m elated to be launching a brand new theatre at the iconic Battersea Power Station. The vision is a simple one, to enable world class artists to tell stories that enchant at The Turbine Theatre and eventually play beyond our London home. We’re interested in being the starting point for new shows and also reimagining the older ones.
“It has been a lifetime dream of mine to have a home for my ideas that feels authentically ‘me’. Over the last year I’ve had the most precious time curating a venue and programme that reflects my tastes and I’m really excited about welcoming those that have followed my work over the last couple of years. I’ve been blessed with the most wonderful partners in Bill Kenwright and Hilary and Stuart Williams, without whom none of this would have been possible.”
Angela Thomas
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