New music theatre adaptation of Gone With the Wind at New London Theatre in April 2008

New music theatre adaptation of Gone With the Wind at New London Theatre in April 2008

Trevor Nunn is to direct a new music theatre adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's classic novel, Gone with the Wind, with music and lyrics by Margaret Martin, opening at the New London Theatre in April 2008.

Booking will open in September 2007.

Producer Aldo Scrofani of Columbia Artists Theatricals in New York has been developing Gone with the Wind with Margaret Martin and Trevor Nunn for more than three years. Scrofani teams up with London producer Colin Ingram to produce the West End premiere.

Casting, dates and further information about the production will be announced in the coming months.

Set in 1860's Atlanta, Georgia, Gone with the Wind follows the story of the seventeen-year-old Scarlett O'Hara, the eldest of three daughters living a life of luxury on their father's plantation. But then President Lincoln demands the end of slavery in the South and the Civil War begins. Scarlett's incredible journey through both the war and the peace is mirrored in her turbulent relationship with Rhett Butler, whose actions always defy prediction. Their story spans ten years and mingles romantic ecstasy with tragic grief, as the life these people once knew disappears, for better or worse: gone with the wind.

Trevor Nunn said: "Having now worked on adapting two vast novels for the stage, Nicholas Nickleby and Les Misérables, I am drawn to the challenge of telling Margaret Mitchell's epic story through words, music and the imaginative resources of the theatre. The major turning point of American history is conveyed through Mitchell's extraordinary cast of characters, black and white, as they pursue their different ideas of the future, and of the past."

Aldo Scrofani, Producer, said: "Our task in presenting the musical stage version of this epic combines our obligation to remain true to Margaret Mitchell's original story and characters while also revealing its relevance to our lives today. Our hope is that this theatrical adaptation will cause our audiences to rediscover this timeless and rich story, while also providing each of them a meaningful and memorable experience."