Classic caper film The Sting will be transported to the stage as part of Wilton’s Music Hall’s autumn season, the first in which the historic venue will open fully to the public after four years of building works.
The stage adaptation of the famous Robert Redford and Paul Newman film, which sees a pair of conmen go head to head with a powerful mob boss, brings 1930s America to the stage from 9 September in an adaptation by US dramatist David Rogers.
The eclectic season at the oldest surviving music hall in the world, which has undergone £4 million of restoration and repair work since 2011, also includes a Halloween production of M R James’ Casting The Runes (27 to 31 October), the first fully staged production of medical opera L’Ospedale, a dance retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey by the Mark Bruce Company (22 February to 19 March 2016) and the first ever panto at Wilton’s Music Hall, Dick Whittington (1 to 31 December), written by and starring Roy Hudd.
Speaking about the season, Wilton’s Music Hall’s Artistic Director Frances Mayhew said: “Now that we need no longer fear for the very fabric of our building, we can finally turn our attention to presenting a long-term artistic programme that befits Wilton’s future. Our aim is to be a Music Hall for today’s audience.
“We want to bring artists and audiences from diverse disciplines and cultures together under this unique, creative and passionate roof, to produce a much fuller and richer programme across a more diverse range of disciplines. Now that Wilton’s is finally saved these ambitions for this tremendous and historic building can become a reality.”