Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Playhouse Theatre

Culture Whisper says: ⭑⭑⭑⭒⭒

Below is our preview, which explains the background of the show. Click here to read our Women on the Verge review.

Queen of acerbic quips, the inimitable Tamsin Greig (Doctor Who,The Archers, Green Wing and Episodes) will be taking on a new stage craft as she stars in her first ever West End musical.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown: musical

 The iconic 1988 film was Almodóvar's breakthrough work. It stars Antonio Banderas, is set in Spain and follows actress and singer Pepa as she tries to come to terms with being left by her boyfriend. When his ex wife and current fiancé both show up, the entanglement of these romantic affairs gets very messy indeed.  

This is not the first stage outing for this adaptation by David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane (the men behind Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which is currently running on the West End with Robert Lindsey and Rufus Hound) – in 2010, the Broadway production gained three Tony Award nominations . Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown seems unlikely fodder for a musical but the success of the Broadway version has proven that Spanish black-comedy and musical theatre is an all too neglected combination.

Tamsin Greig: theatre veteran, musicals novice

Directorial duties are taken on by Bartlett Sher, resident director of the Lincoln Center theatre in New York. Musical Theatre is Sher’s speciality, with his 2008 production of South Pacific gaining rave reviews and winning him both the Tony and Drama Desk awards. 

Greig is a newcomer to musicals, after being apparently ‘bullied’ into taking singing lessons by her agent, but she is no stranger to the stage, having performed in a number of West End productions and won an Olivier award for her role as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing at the RSC. Her wonderful comic timing combined with her performative sincerity make her an asset to any production, and we are very excited to see what surprises her foray into a new genre will bring.