The tunes of hit 60s band The Kinks will come to the Hampstead theatre next spring when it stages the world premiere of new musical Sunny Afternoon.
The show, which features a book by Blue/Orange’s Joe Penhall and music and lyrics by The Kinks Ray Davies, will follow the band’s rise to stardom, exploring how 100,000 fans sang one of their songs in unison as Bobby Moore lifted the World Cup, how they broke America and how they were subsequently banned from playing there at the height of their career.
The new musical, which will be directed by Hampstead theatre’s Artistic Director Edward Hall, will begin its Hampstead run on 14 April before opening to the press on 1 May and running until 24 May.
Founded by Davies and his brother Dave in the early 60s, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most influential bands of the time. Among their hits are songs including You Really Got Me, All Day And All Of The Night, Waterloo Sunset, Lola and Sunny Afternoon.
Casting for the production, which follows current production Drawing The Line, Gina Gionfriddo’s Rapture, Blister, Burn and David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People on the main stage, is yet to be announced.