The Young Vic has announced a new musical about the life of Nelson Mandela as part of its latest season.
Titled Mandela, it will be directed by Schele Williams and features music and lyrics by Greg Dean Borowsky and Shaun Borowsky. It has been developed together with the Mandela family.
The production will tell the “story of Mandela the man and Mandela the movement” and will apparently be “infused with the rhythms and spirit of South Africa”.
Nelson Mandela was an anti-apartheid campaigner who became a symbol of political change and liberation. After being imprisoned for 27 years due to his political views, he became South Africa’s first black head of state upon being freed.
Born in 1918, he died in December 2013 aged 95.
“As my grandfather once said, music has the power to free us to dream, to unite people as one voice, and we hope that our musical will do just that,” Mandela’s grand-daughter Nandi said.
“We are so proud to be bringing his story to the stage… we hope that my grandfather’s story, of a man from humble beginnings who pulled himself up by his bootstraps, will resonate with audiences far and wide, and communicate his message of hope - that we are all capable of doing great things, as long as we are true and authentic to ourselves.”
Luvuyo Mandasa, Mandela’s great-grandson, added: “Mandela is a story of hearts and minds… together, we will invite people to the Young Vic to see who Madiba was, who his family were and what they meant to him, the sacrifices they made and the many unsung heroes that journeyed alongside Mandela as he became a global, political icon.”
The production will be open in November and run until February next year. Also announced as part of the new season will be a production of acclaimed French author Édouard Louis’ Who Killed My Father, directed by Ivo Van Hove, and a new play by Sonali Bhattacharyya titled Chasing Hares.
The autumn season will also mark the 25th anniversary of The Young Vic’s creative engagement department, Taking Part, which the theatre will be marking with a series of events.
