New musical 'The A-Z of Mrs P' to premiere at the Southwark Playhouse, full casting announced

It has been announced that a new musical 'The A-Z of Mrs P' will premiere at the Southwark Playhouse next year. The production will open on Monday 24th February 2014 (previews from 20th February) and will run until Saturday 29th March 2014. 

The show tells the true journey of the eccentric Phyllis Pearsall who got lost on the way to a party... and spent the next five years of her life walking the streets of London creating the A-Z. 

Comedian and actress Isy Suttie (pictured right) will make her musical theatre debut as Phyllis Pearsall alongside West End favourites Frances Ruffelle and Michael Matus. They are joined by Stuart Matthew Price, Turlough Convery, Dawn Sievewright and Sidney Livingstone.

The production is directed by Sam Buntrock, has a book by Diane Samuels (Kindertransport) and music and lyrics by Gwyneth Herbert. One of the songs from the show, "Lovely London Town", previously won the Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Prize.

Diane Samuels said: “One of the joys in my life is walking around London as Phyllis did. The link seemed pretty straightforward. Then behind a simple series of very handy maps, I found out about her emotionally complex family story, particularly the relationship between Phyllis and her father Sandor Gross. I'd always wanted to write a father/daughter play and here, unexpectedly, it was. Gwyneth and I were outside the musical theatre world, and in writing and composing our take on Phyllis' journey we have faced her struggles and thrilled as she found her own feet, to create an intimate, epic work of psycho-geography that celebrates what it is to have a vision.” 

Gwyneth Herbert said: “I'd never seen a musical before I started this crazy journey 5 years ago. Thing was, I loved stories, I loved music, I loved the theatre. And now, after working intensively and intimately alongside Diane exploring Mrs P's own inspiring journey, I find myself in love with this huge beast of an art-form: its limitless possibilities for creative invention, the way you can plant one thought or feeling and make it shudder through the whole piece, music and words and action and visual art all weaving together. For me, I have found it's the most multi-dimensional and exciting way to tell a magical story.”

Please visit www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk for further information and tickets.

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