Theatre News: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice To Premiere In January 2021

A new British musical, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, is set to premiere at the Southwark Playhouse in London next January.

The production, the latest adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s famous poem, is being directed by Charlotte Westenra. The cast includes Dawn Hope, David Thaxton and Mary Moore in her debut professional show.

Southwark’s website describes The Sorcerer’s Apprentice as a “gripping family-friendly story [that] sees brooms coming to life and love blossoming anew.”

Southwark, a staple venue of central London’s theatre scene since 1993, have reconfigured their performance space to allow audiences to observe social distancing. Ticket holders are also asked to wear masks when sitting in the auditorium or moving around the theatre. Southwark staff will be managing a one-way system throughout the venue and ensuring that queues also remain socially distanced.

Von Goethe’s fourteen-stanza ballad was popularised by the Disney animation Fantasia, which featured a symphonic poem of the same name from Paul Dukas that is inspired by the original. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice has also been adapted into novels by Hanns Heinz Ewers in 1910, and by Christopher Bulis in 1995.

Words by James Hanton.

Originally published at https://www.indiependent.co.uk on November 10, 2020.