Following a limited run in 2019, where it received critical and audience acclaim, ATG Productions, GBA, Gavin Kalin Productions, Eilene Davidson Productions, and Jethro Compton Productions are delighted to announce that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button A New Musical by Jethro Compton and Darren Clark, will return in a new production at Southwark Playhouse Elephant from 22nd May to 1st July 2023. Tickets now on sale at southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
In the roles of Benjamin Button and Elowen Keene are Olivier Award winner Jamie Parker and Molly Osborne. They lead the 12-strong actor-musician ensemble featuring Matthew Burns, Jonathan Charles, Oonagh Cox, Anna Fordham, Philippa Hogg, Damien James, Ann Marcuson, Jack Quarton, Benedict Salter, and Tonny Shim.
Discover a sleepy fishing harbour on the north coast of Cornwall, home to a most curious story.
Born in rather unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button is an old man, not at the end of his life, but at the beginning. Locked away from the world and branded a monster, Benjamin dreams of the chance to live a little life. More than anything, he dreams of love. With no hope of finding it, Benjamin resigns himself to a life of solitude, until, one day, a miracle occurs – the local barmaid, Elowen Keene. But as the years come and go, time and tide threaten to tear the two apart.
Experience this extraordinary, inspiring, and timeless tale of a love that defies all odds. Set to a thunderous, foot-stomping folk score, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button reminds us, no matter how much time we have, to make every second count.
Jamie Parker is best known for his role as Harry Potter in the original West End cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, for which he received an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play and a WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor in a Play. He also received a Tony Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his portrayal of the character in the original Broadway production. Other notable roles include Sky Masterson in Guys & Dolls (Olivier nomination, Best Actor in a Musical, 2015; UK Theatre Award win, Best Performance in a Musical, 2015); Henry V at Shakespeare’s Globe, 2012; Scripps in The History Boys (original National Theatre and Broadway cast and film); Alan Greene, QC in Des (ITV, 2020); and John Dudley in Becoming Elizabeth (Starz, 2022).
Molly Osborne is known for her work at The Menier Chocolate Factory, where she has been seen in The Sex Party by Terry Johnson, Rebecca Taichman’s Tony Award winning Indecent by Paula Vogel, and Trevor Nunn’s 2018 revival of Fiddler In The Roof, with which Molly made her West End debut in 2019. Molly is soon to appear in the screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys, produced by Amazon Studios.
Jethro Compton says: “I’m thrilled to be bringing this story back to London. Southwark Playhouse has been a home to me for almost fifteen years, and to have the chance to return with this new production of Button, in their new venue, feels like the perfect homecoming. It’s a show about time, and home, and love – things that I’m sure have new meaning for most of us after these years of uncertainty.”
“I have so much love for the 2019 production. It was a scrappy little show, produced on a shoestring, with an enormous amount of heart. The last four years have given us time to let the story and the music grow and develop. But for those who loved what we made in 2019, don’t worry – the heart of that scrappy little show is very much alive.”
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is based on the short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby and The Tender and the Damned. With Book & Lyrics by Jethro Compton and Music & Lyrics by Darren Clark. It is directed by Jethro Compton who also designs the stage, with choreography and movement by Chi-San Howard, co-music supervision by Mark Aspinall and Darren Clark, costumes and associate stage design by Anna Kelsey, sound by Luke Swaffield, and musical direction by Mark Aspinall.
