Aspects of Love - Menier Chocolate Factory
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
TREVOR Nunn will direct the first major London revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black and Charles Hart’s Aspects of Love at the Menier Chocolate Factory, where it runs from July 15 (previews from July 7) to September 26, 2010.
Based on David Garnett’s novel of the same name and set in 1940’s France and Italy, Aspects of Love is a love story spanning twenty years, binding six people and three generations as they come to appreciate that love changes everything.
Alex Dillingham, a young student travelling through France, falls in love with the alluring actress Rose Vibert. As the pair embark on a passionate affair, the unexpected arrival of Alex’s uncle changes their lives forever.
It includes musical numbers such as Love Changes Everything, which became a huge hit for Michael Ball, There Is More To Love, First Man You Remember, Anything but Lonely and Hand Me the Wine and the Dice.
From 1968 to 1986, Trevor Nunn was Artistic Director and Chief Executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company, directing over thirty productions, including most of the Shakespeare canon. From 1997 to 2003, he was Director of the National Theatre, directing twenty-one shows including Tom Stoppard’s The Coast of Utopia and award-winning revivals of Oklahoma and My Fair Lady.
His more recent theatre productions include Hamlet and Richard II (Old Vic), The Royal Hunt of the Sun (National Theatre), King Lear (Royal Shakespeare Company’s Complete Works Festival), Porgy and Bess (Savoy Theatre), Tom Stoppard’s multi award-winning Rock ‘n’ Roll (Royal Court and Duke of York’s Theatres), the ill-fated musical version of Gone with the Wind (New London Theatre) and A Little Night Music (Menier Chocolate Factory and West End).
His other work includes Cats, Starlight Express, Chess, Sunset Boulevard and The Woman in White.
As well as Aspects of Love, Andrew Lloyd Webber is the composer of The Likes of Us, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, By Jeeves, Evita, Variations and Tell Me On A Sunday (later combined as Song and Dance), Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game and The Woman in White. His new musical Love Never Dies opens at the Adelphi Theatre next month.
Don Black OBE made his West End debut as a theatre lyricist with composer John Barry on the musical Billy (Theatre Royal, Drury Lane). He collaborated with Lloyd Webber on Tell Me on a Sunday, forming the basis of the stage show Song and Dance, and Sunset Boulevard for which he won two Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Lyrics of a Musical. He also provided additional lyrics for Starlight Express and Whistle Down the Wind and wrote the lyrics for Bombay Dreams.
His film credits include the songs for many James Bond films – Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, The Man with the Golden Gun, Tomorrow Never Die and The World Is Not Enough. In collaboration with composer John Barry, he wrote the title song for the 1966 film Born Free, which won him the Oscar for Best Song. He also collaborated with Barry on Out of Africa and Dances with Wolves. In 2007, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
As well as Aspects of Love, Charles Hart wrote the lyrics for The Phantom of the Opera and The Vampyr (BBC). He is the recipient of two Ivor Novello awards and has been nominated twice for a Tony Award.
Aspects of Love originally opened on April 17, 1989 at the Prince of Wales Theatre, where it ran for 1,325 performances. The cast included Ann Crumb, Michael Ball, Kevin Colson, Kathleen Rowe McAllen and Diana Morrison.
The Menier Chocolate Factory’s production of Aspects of Love will be designed by David Farley, with choreography by Lynne Page, lighting by Paul Pyant and sound by Gareth Owen. Casting and booking dates will be announced shortly.