Show Archive: The Braille Legacy

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The Braille Legacy
Acclaimed director Thom Southerland (Ragtime, Titanic, Grey Gardens) directs the world première of  The Braille Legacy, starring West End star Jérôme Pradon. 
 
The Braille Legacy tells the thrilling, true, inspirational and epic story of Louis Braille, a young blind boy who wanted the same chance in life as those who see and ended up improving the lives of millions of blind people around the world.
 
In Paris in the 19th century, blind people were victims of profound discrimination. Louis Braille, a bright young mind with a mad dream, arrives at the Royal Institute of Blind Youth, searching for the same chance as everyone else: to be free and independent. But he soon discovers that people and things aren’t always what they first seem. By sheer determination and courage, he stumbles upon something revolutionary: a simple idea, a genius invention, a legacy.
 
Two hundred years ago, Louis Braille changed the world by inventing the tactile system of communication the Braille alphabet, liberating the “People of the Night” and introducing literacy, knowledge and culture to a people who were otherwise trapped. It was their journey into the light.
 
Olivier Award nominated Jérôme Pradon's West End credits include the UK premiere of the musical Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown, Guillaume in Martin Guerre, The Man in Whistle Down the Wind, Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, Chris in Miss Saigon, Javert in Les Misérables in London and Marius in Paris, and Judas in the Emmy-winning video of Jesus Christ Superstar.
 
The Braille Legacy has an original French Book and Lyrics by Sébastien Lancrenon, Music by Jean-Baptiste Saudray, with an English translation by Ranjit Bolt. Music Supervision and Orchestrations are by Simon Lee.

The Braille Legacy is supported by the Royal National Institute of Blind People & L'Occitane

*Audio Described performances will take place on Saturday 27th May, 15:00 & Monday 29th May, 19:30. To book audio described seats please contact the box office directly on 02079258040 or email us at boxoffice@charingcrosstheatre.co.uk. 


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Stiletto

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Stiletto
In Italy during the 18th century, an average of 5,000 boys were castrated annually. Almost exclusively, they came from poor families. Their treble voices intact, castration promised those who survived a chance to earn fame and fortune by singing female roles in the opera. A few made it, but most didn’t and were swept aside.

Stiletto, a new musical with Music and Lyrics by three-time Grammy nominee, Oscar and Golden Globe nominee Matthew Wilder (Disney’s Mulan), Book by double Olivier Award nominee Tim Luscombe (Noël Coward’s Easy Virtue, Terrence Rattigan’s The Browning Version and Harlequinade), is set in Venice, Europe’s opera capital.

During the winter of 1730-31, Venice is a city bristling with opportunity where fortunes can be made but life is cheap. A city of lustre and intrigue with plenty of chances of success for Marco, who was castrated as a child to retain his perfect voice. Opera stars being the rock stars of their day, Marco is on course to be an 18th-century Jagger or Bowie, to snag a powerful patron and play leading roles.

In a busy square he meets Gioia, confident, strong willed...and supremely talented. But despite her musical gifts, being the daughter of an African slave, there’s no chance for her to fulfil her dreams. Marco recognises her talent and, sensing that they are both outsiders as well as sharing a love for music, they fall in love.

In an attempt to get her on stage, Marco introduces Gioia to society and his patron, the Contessa Azzurra, but at the end of the evening, a body lies dead and Gioia is hauled off to prison. To free her, Marco must overcome the demons of his past and the morally corrupt forces of the present.


Creatives:
Music & Lyrics: Matthew Wilder
Book: Tim Luscombe
Director: David Gilmore
Staging Consultant: Anthony Van Laast
Musical Director: Jae Alexander
Orchestrator: Simon Nathan
Set Designer: Ceci Calf
Costume Designer: Anna Kelsey
Lighting Designer: Ben Ormerod   
Sound Designer: Andrew Johnson
Casting: Neil Rutherford
Executive Producer: Guy Kitchenn
Produced by Patrick Bywalski for the Robert Stigwood Organisation and Steven M. Levy for Charing Cross Theatre Productions Limited.
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