One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them…
Artistic Director Paul Hart, Executive Director Claire Murray and the team at Newbury’s The Watermill Theatre are thrilled to announce details of their epic summer musical; a brand-new production of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, a musical tale based on the classic trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, with book and lyrics by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus and music by A.R. Rahman (Bombay Dreams, Slumdog Millionaire), Värttinä and Tony Award winner and Grammy nominated Christopher Nightingale (Matilda the Musical).
With the production set across both the Watermill auditorium and gardens, audiences will be immersed in the magical landscape of Tolkien, joining an ensemble cast and large-scale puppets on an epic journey celebrating the power of friendship and common goodness to conquer unimaginable evil.
The Lord of the Rings will play at the Watermill from Tuesday 25 July until Sunday 15 October 2023.
Tickets will go on sale to Friends of The Watermill on 15 March, to Watermill email subscribers on 21 March and on general sale on 22 March, via watermill.org.uk/The-Lord-Of-The-Rings. Tickets for the performance on 22 September, Bilbo Baggins’ birthday, will include a celebration in the Watermill gardens before the show.
As the Hobbits celebrate Bilbo Baggins’ eleventy-first birthday, he gifts his nephew Frodo his inheritance – including his most precious belonging – a gold ring. Little does he know that his legacy will confront Frodo with an immense and impossible task; a perilous journey across the darkest realms of Mordor to foil the Dark Lord’s quest for total dominion.
