World premiere of Sleepless to open in London this August with social distancing

We are praying this is able to happen! The world premiere of Sleepless (based on the original screenplay of Sleepless in Seattle) is due to begin previews at London’s Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre on 25 August 2020, after its original opening in March was halted due to Covid-19.

Running for a limited season until 27 September 2020, Sleepless is a new musical with a book by Michael Burdette and music & lyrics by up-and-coming British writing duo, Robert Scott and Brendan Cull. The show will star Jay McGuinness as Sam and Kimberley Walsh as Annie, roles made famous by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan in the 1993 film.

Producer Michael Rose of Encore Theatre Productions said: “Lockdown has affected and frightened a huge number of people in this country, particularly in our industry. Our story in Sleepless deals with mending something that is broken. It’s about putting a family back together after a loss and we feel it’s time to do exactly that. It’s time to start the healing process – that’s part of what we do in Theatre.”

The spacious venue will cater for a socially distanced audience who will be kept safe along with the those working on the production, in accordance with advice from both the World Health Organisation and Public Health England. All cast, crew and audience members will be sent the most current safety measures and instructions 48 hours prior to their date of attendance.

Those entering the building will have their temperature checked upon entry and will be required to wear a facemask for the duration. Only contactless payments will be accepted for food/sundries and hand sanitiser will be made available throughout the venue. All areas will also be deep cleaned following each performance.

Whilst the shows still intend to run at the present time, this is pending government guidance.

Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre stated: “Our first priority is and always has been the safety and comfort of our audiences, staff and visiting companies. We are working closely with health and safety experts and strictly following all government guidelines and we look forward to welcoming audiences to the world premiere of Sleepless whenever this is allowed.”

Sleepless will be directed by Morgan Young with set design by Morgan Large, costumes by Sue Simmerling, lighting by Ken Billington, sound by Simon Biddulph and musical direction by Chris Walker.

For further details on the production, please visit www.sleeplessthemusical.com.