The European première of The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin opens the new season at Theatre Royal Stratford East which kicks off next month.
This award-winning musical by Kirsten Childs (book, music and lyrics) has a score combining Motown, pop and R&B, described as "Sondheim meets Beyoncé".
This life-affirming and funny coming-of-age story has a cast made up of Matt Dempsey, Llandyll Gove, Karis Jack, Ashley Joseph, Sophia Mackay, Jay Marsh, Jessica Pardoe, Trevor A Toussaint, Sharon Wattis and Shelley Williams.
It is being directed by Josette Bushell-Mingo, the choreographer is Mykal Rand, the musical director is Jordan Li-Smith and the re-orchestrator is Darius Smith.
The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin is a Theatre Royal Stratford East and Belgrade Theatre Coventry co-production.
Other highlights include the world première of Room which runs in May.
Here Emma Donoghue has adapted her book of the same title for the stage featuring original songs by Scottish songwriter Kathryn Joseph and Cora Bissett. Donoghue has previously adapted Room for film.
Cora Bissett directs, puppet design is by David Cauchi and the musical director is Gavin Whitworth.
This is a co-production from Theatre Royal Stratford East and Abbey Theatre, Dublin in association with National Theatre of Scotland and Covent Garden Productions.
Following in June is The Who’s multi-award winning rock musical Tommy featuring creative use of audio description, captioning and British Sign Language interpretation.
This show premières at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. It will be directed by Theatre Royal Stratford East’s artistic director, Kerry Michael, and will feature a cast of 22 disabled and non-disabled performers and practitioners.
The choreographer is Mark Smith and the musical director is Robert Hyman.
Also in June the National Theatre’s My Country; A Work in Progress opens at Theatre Royal Stratford East having premièred at the National Theatre next month.
Directed by Rufus Norris, this is Carol Ann Duffy’s dramatisation of verbatim responses to the EU Referendum result.
Summer in London closes the main house season. This is the world première of Rikki Beadle-Blair’s a romcom which features an all transgender cast.
For later in the year, there is National Theatre Connections, MonologueSlam UK and Stratford East Singers. The pantomime has been confirmed as Rapunzel.