First seen in the West End back in 1983, Tim Rice has now announced that a brand new version of his musical comedy Blondel will receive its London premiere at the Union Theatre this summer, running from Wednesday 21 June – Saturday 15 July, 2017.
Blondel has lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Stephen Oliver. The book is by Tim Rice and Tom Williams, and additional music by Mathew Pritchard.
When King Richard announces that he’s off on a Middle East Crusade to give Saladin a piece of his mind (and sword), the struggling court musician Blondel is forced to stay behind to write songs in praise of the King’s evil – and ambitious – brother, Prince John. Worse still, Blondel is separated from his sweetheart Fiona, who has been press-ganged into the King’s official crusade dry cleaning dept.
However, when Richard is captured by the murky – and rather cunning – Duke of Austria (just before the interval), Blondel decides to embark upon a pan- European adventure to save his King, Fiona, and England. An irritable assassin, a proto-Robin-Hood and a quartet of monks all aid and/or hinder Blondel’s efforts to write himself both a place in history and love song to dedicate to Fiona.
Tim Rice said:
“I’m delighted Blondel is returning to the stage. It was one of the most enjoyable projects of my career, and I’ve always felt Stephen Oliver’s wonderful music deserved a larger audience than it reached back in 1983 when the show first ran. I hope this new production at the terrific Union Theatre will please old fans and find some new ones.”
For more information, and to book tickets, please Click Here.
