Nicky Silver’s familial Broadway hit The Lyons will make its European premiere at the Menier Chocolate Factory later this year, with acclaimed US director Mark Brokaw returning to the production for its London run.
The Lyons will run at the Off-West End theatre from 19 September (press night 26 September) until 16 November, with casting for the production, described as “at once savagely funny and heart-breaking”, to be announced on 31 July when tickets will also go on public sale.
Premiering off-Broadway in 2011 before making the prestigious transfer to Broadway in 2012, Silver’s dark comedy tells the story of a family who have gathered around the hospital bed of their dying father Ben. An exploration of a fractured family, The Lyons sees the characters’ compassion soon give way to bickering, sniping and betrayal.
Described by The New York Times as a “prolific creator of dark and defiantly eccentric comedies”, playwright Silver’s many other works include the Drama Desk Award-winning Pterodactyls, The Eros Trilogy, The Food Chain, Fat Men In Skirts, Fit To Be Tied, The Maiden’s Prayer and Raised In Captivity. The Lyons added to his career’s many award wins and nominations, garnering nods in the Drama League Award’s Distinguished Production of a Play and Outer Critics Circle Award’s Outstanding New Broadway Play categories.
Director Brokaw, whose Tony Award-winning musical Cinderella is currently playing in New York, returns to London after more than a decade following 2002’s Lobby Hero, which played at the Donmar Warehouse and transferred to the West End’s Ambassadors theatre.
Joining Brokaw in the creative team to design the hospital-set comedy is Jonathan Fensom, with lighting design by Jason Taylor and sound design by Gregory Clarke.
The Lyons will follow John Doyle’s musical adaptation of the Alice Walker classic, The Color Purple, which will end its run on 14 September, into the London Bridge venue.