Tamsin Greig will make her musical theatre debut in an adaptation of Pedro Almodóvar’s Oscar-nominated film Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown when it receives its UK premiere at the Playhouse Theatre next year.
The production, which will be directed by Tony Award-winner Bartlett Sher, will play a limited 20-week season from 20 December (press night 12 January) to 9 May.
Featuring a book by Jeffrey Lane with music and lyrics by David Yazbek, the duo behind current West End hit Dirty Rotten Scoundrels The Musical, Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown captures a liberated Spain, following Pepa and her friends as they struggle for power over their own lives.
The show marks Greig’s first foray into musical theatre following recent performances in a string of plays including the Royal Court’s Jumpy, Longing at the Hampstead Theatre and The Little Dog Laughed at the Garrick Theatre. The actress, who is also well-known for her screen roles in series including Green Wing, Episodes and Love Soup, won an Olivier Award in 2007 for her performance as Beatrice in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Much Ado About Nothing.
Talking about her forthcoming role in the musical comedy, Greig said: “I am excited, thrilled and terrified to have been invited to collaborate with artists of the calibre of Pedro Almodóvar, Bart Sher, David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane to perform in a musical. If it’s true that you are only as good as the company you keep, then I am in very safe hands. And I feel very fortunate to have been encouraged – well, bullied – by my agent to have singing lessons, to learn new skills and to experience other creative mediums. I have also run out of excuses why I can’t do it!”
The film’s director Almodóvar, who has been involved in workshops for the musical, spoke of the story’s timelessness, saying: “I love that my Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown resists the passing of time. 26 years after having been created, they’re still alive. This time, with the very talented Bart Sher in command, they’re taking London, a city that’s always been to me the paradigm of freedom, pleasure and modernity. I wish them a long and funny stay!”
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown will open at the Playhouse Theatre following the current West End transfer of 1984, which ends its run on 23 August.