Tickets For The World Premiere Of Playful Productions’s GET UP, STAND UP! THE BOB MARLEY MUSICAL Are On Sale Today

TICKETS FOR THE WORLD PREMIERE OF GET UP, STAND UP! THE BOB MARLEY MUSICAL ARE ON SALE TODAY 

THE PERFECT TONIC, MARLEY’S LEGEND WILL LIGHT UP THE WEST END BRINGING HOPE AND POSITIVITY JUST WHEN WE NEED IT MOST

FIRST PREVIEW WILL BE ON MAY 28TH 2021 AT THE LYRIC THEATRE, SHAFTESBURY AVENUE. OPENING NIGHT WILL BE ON JUNE 16TH 2021

THE PRODUCTION TAKES INSPIRATION FROM MARLEY’S VISIONARY LYRICS TO TELL HIS EXTRAORDINARY PERSONAL STORY, AND FEATURES AN ELECTRIFYING MIX OF HIS HITS PLAYED LIVE

THE PRODUCTION HAS UNLIMITED ACCESS TO MARLEY’S PLATINUM-SELLING CATALOGUE OF MUSIC

GET UP, STAND UP! THE BOB MARLEY MUSICAL IS BROUGHT TO THE STAGE BY THE MULTI AWARD-WINNING TEAM OF WRITER LEE HALL AND DIRECTOR CLINT DYER

THE PRODUCTION WILL STAR ARINZÉ KENE AS BOB MARLEY

BOOKING IS NOW OPEN.  OVER 1000 TICKETS AT £25 OR UNDER EVERY WEEK.

AS PARTNERS OF GET UP, STAND UP! THE BOB MARLEY MUSICAL, THE BLACK TICKET PROJECT WILL DISTRIBUTE 1000 TICKETS FOR PERFORMANCES IN THE FIRST BOOKING PERIOD

THE PRODUCTION IS COMPLYING WITH SOLT’S SEE IT SAFELY CAMPAIGN TO ENSURE AUDIENCE SAFETY IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE

Producers Playful Productions, Stage Play and Cedella Marley are delighted to announce that tickets for the brand new musical Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical are finally on sale today. Full booking information can be found online.

‘It’s not all that glitters is gold, half the story has never been told’ 

Lively up yourself and celebrate the story of Jamaica’s global superstar, as the electrifying new production, Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical, bursts into life from June 2021 at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue.

From the hills of rural Jamaica, armed only with his overwhelming talent and righteous beliefs, Bob Marley applied himself with resolute determination to achieve international acclaim for his prophetic musical message – a gospel of love and unity.

With unlimited access to Marley’s platinum-selling catalogue of music, the multi award-winning team of Lee Hall (writer), Clint Dyer (director) and Arinzé Kene (playing Bob Marley) capture the rebellious spirit and story of this universal icon.  A euphoric company of performers fuse with the finest reggae musicians to bring this triumphant tale of passion, political unrest and progress from Trenchtown to the West End.

Lose yourself to the rhythm of 'Exodus', 'No Woman No Cry', 'Waiting in Vain', 'Three Little Birds', ‘I Shot the Sheriff’, 'Could You Be Loved', 'Redemption Song' and many more.

‘One good thing about music, when it hits you feel no pain’.

The full creative team has also been announced:

Choreographer - Shelley Maxwell

Musical Supervisor - Phil Bateman

Set Designer - Chloe Lamford

Lighting Designer - Charles Balfour

Sound Designer - Tony Gayle

Costume Designer - Lisa Duncan

Video Designer - Tal Yarden

Casting Director - Pippa Ailion CDG

Musical Director - Sean Green

Cedella Marley said “Our father’s music has for so long been an inspiration to so many people. We are proud that audiences will be able to sit in his company for a little while and, we hope, feel better about themselves, and the world. The wonderful team bringing this story to the stage will create a special evening in honour of our father.”

Clint Dyer, Director,  said “At long last! We have been waiting too long for this moment. It is a dream come true to be part of this project and I cannot wait to get into the rehearsal room to start work with Arinzé and the whole team to bring Bob’s music and story to life. What better way to soothe our souls after this troublesome year than with the music and spirit of one of the world’s great prophets.” 

Arinzé Kene said “It is Time. For. Bob. I am honoured and blessed to be taking on this role. Nothing feels more right, more hopeful than to be stepping into his shoes. I plan to immerse myself in his healing vibes and I hope very much we will be able to do justice to the great man.”

LISTINGS 

GET UP, STAND UP! THE BOB MARLEY MUSICAL

Lyric Theatre 

29 Shaftesbury Ave 

London  

W1D 7ES 

First performance May 28th 2021

Opening night  June 16th 2021

Box Office 0330 333 0088 

Tickets from £15 in previews and £20 thereafter

Please note that tickets can be exchanged up to at least 24 hours before the event

Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Musical is partnering with the Black Ticket Project. During the course of 2021 1000 free tickets will be given to the project to distribute. Black Ticket Project is an award-winning bridge organisation founded by producer and writer Tobi Kyeremateng. Black Ticket Project works with independent youth workers, youth organisations, school and charities, and cultural organisations to foster cultural experiences for Black young people.

Bob Marley
Bob Marley, a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, is notable not only as the man who put reggae on the global map, but, as a statesman in his native Jamaica, he famously brought together the country’s warring factions. Today, Bob Marley remains one of the 20th century’s most important and influential entertainment icons. Marley’s lifestyle and music continue to inspire new generations as his legacy lives on through his music. In the digital era, he has the second-highest social media following of any posthumous celebrity, with the official Bob Marley Facebook page drawing more than 71 million fans, ranking it among the Top 20 of all Facebook pages and Top 10 among celebrity pages. Marley’s music catalogue has sold millions of albums worldwide. His iconic collection Legend holds the distinction of being the longest-charting album in the history of Billboard magazine’s Catalogue Albums chart and remains the world’s best-selling reggae album. Marley’s accolades include inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1994) and ASCAP Songwriters Hall of Fame (2010), a GRAMMY® Lifetime Achievement Award (2001), multiple entries in the GRAMMY® Hall Of Fame, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (2001). 

Arinzé Kene
Arinzé is a writer and performer whose most recent one-man play, Misty, ran at the Bush Theatre to widespread critical acclaim and transferred to the West End. For this show he was nominated for 2 Olivier awards – Best Actor and Best New Play.

Other recent stage roles include playing soul singing legend Sam Cooke in One Night in Miami at the Donmar Warehouse and The Old Vic Theatre’s production based on the music of Bob Dylan – Girl from the North Country which transferred to the West End for an extended run. He has recently been seen playing to sold out audiences and 5-star reviews in the exceptional production of Death of a Salesman at the Young Vic Theatre. For his portrayal of Biff he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2020 Olivier Awards. It has just been announced that Arinzé will play the lead role of Bob Marley in the hugely anticipated West End musical production of Get Up, Stand Up! based on the music and story of Bob Marley’s life.

Recent TV credits include a vital role in the BBC’s thriller opposite Paddy Considine -Informer, PopTV / UKTV series Flack opposite Anna Paquin, Dominic Savage’s unique I Am... opposite Gemma Chan for Channel 4, E4/Netflix Original series Crazyhead and the BBC One adaptation of Andrea Levy's novel The Long Song.

He can currently be seen playing the lead role opposite Michaela Coel in Netflix’s acquired feature film, Been So Long which premiered at the London Film Festival. He took the lead as ‘Ade’ in the Duncan Kenworthy produced film The Pass opposite Russell Tovey. For this role he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2016 BIFA’s and won the prestigious Best Supporting Actor award at the 2016 Evening Standard Film Awards. He can currently be seen in Amazon’s American-British comedy film How to Build a Girl based upon the novel of the same name by Caitlin Moran and will be seen taking a lead in Julia Hart’s Amazon feature I'm Your Woman, due for release December 2020.

Clint Dyer
Clint Dyer’s work in theatre as a director includes The Big Life at the Apollo-West End and Stratford East (Olivier, Evening Standard, TMA and What’s On Theatre goers Awards nomination); Kingston 14 at Stratford East; The Westbridge (Writer's Guild Award for Best New Play) at the Royal Court; and Lady MacWata (also co-deviser) at Voila Theatre Festival.

As writer -director, his theatre credits include, Death of England  (Black British Theatre award nomination for Best Director) and Death of England: Delroy (co-written with Roy Williams) at The Royal National Theatre, Sylvia Plath (for Open Court) at The Royal Court.

As writer/co-director theatre includes The Happy Tragedy of Being Woke (co-directed with Simon Mcburney) for Complicité.  As writer and actor theatre includes The Big Idea – The New Order at the Royal Court. Triggered for 8.46 for Stratford East Theatre Royal podcast.

As a sole writer, 3.3 in My White Best Friend and letters unsaid, Royal Court Theatre.   Redacted, The Lockdown Plays podcast.

As a writer for TV and film, credits include Kev (part of Soon Gone: A Windrush Chronicle for BBC) and Dim Sum (part of ‘Europeans’ – Guardian and Headlong).

As director, short films include Death of England (Guardian) and a trilogy of short films with Positive Strides UK. ‘Pukka’ which won the Notting Hill Film Festival BCIA award. ‘One Of Us’ won the Hollywood VSM film award for best drama, the best actor category at the BFM International Film Festival and was chosen as one of the top ten shorts by the UK Film Council’s First Past the Post scheme. ‘Second Chance’ which played at festivals worldwide along with the other two shorts. Clint also directed and co-wrote the TV pilot ‘Fam’ (Lime Pictures).

Clint has acted in film, TV and theatre, starring in films such as MINE, SUS, The Trail, Cherps, Mr Inbetween, Everybody Loves Sunshine aka BUSTED, Love Me Still and appeared in the likes of Act of Vengeance, The Club, Montana, Unknown, Sahara, Agora, Mr Bean 2, Shopping.

TV includes TimeWasters, Black Mirror, Death in Paradise, Fallout, Trial and retribution, Dalziel and Pascoe, Inspector Linley, The Commander, Lock Stock, Thief Takers, Prime Suspect. On stage he has worked with heralded directors like Mike Leigh, Simon McBurney, Dominic Cooke, Michael Attenborough, Jane Howell, Ian Brown, Mike Bradwell, Madani Younis, Dawn Walton and the legendary Philip Hedley. He starred on stage in the National Theatre’s Olivier Award-winning show Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom directed by Dominic Cooke, for which he won best actor in the I.A.R. Awards.

Clint won Best Actor at the British Urban Film Awards, Screen Nation Film and Television Awards, Liege International Film Festival and the Texas Black Film Festival for SUS. He was also nominated for the Independent Spirit Award at the Screen Nation Film and Television Awards for SUS. In 2003 he was nominated for Best Actor for Ice Cool Reception and Cherps at the BFM Awards.

Lee Hall
Lee Hall is an award-winning British playwright and screenwriter. Lee wrote the book and lyrics for Billy Elliot The Musical which ran for over a decade in the West End, receiving the Olivier Award for Best New Musical and 10 Tonys for the Broadway production, amongst others. The successful musical has subsequently toured the globe, with productions around the world. Lee's theatre credits include The Pitmen Painters, Cooking with Elvis and the stage adaptations of Shakespeare in Love in the West End, and Network starring Bryan Cranston at the National Theatre in London and on Broadway. He wrote the screenplay for Rocketman, the musical film based on the life of Sir Elton John. Forthcoming projects include a collaboration with Sir Paul McCartney on the musical production of It’s A Wonderful Life. 

Playful Productions
Playful Productions was founded in 2010 by Matthew Byam Shaw, Nia Janis and Nick Salmon to develop, produce and general manage theatre. Its productions have received 27 Olivier Awards, 10 Tony® Awards, 8 Evening Standard Awards, 2 Golden Globe® Awards, 8 Emmy® Awards, 1 Oscar® nomination and 1 Grammy® nomination. 

Playful collaborates with a range of partners, theatres and talent to create and manage productions to inspire and captivate audiences. It has worked with writers including Peter Morgan and Hilary Mantel to develop explosive premieres in the UK and America including Frost/Nixon, Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies and The Audience which was further developed into global Netflix hit The Crown, with Playful as Executive Producer. It has presented landmark revivals including Flare Path, American Buffalo, The Weir, The Goat, Don Juan in Soho, No Man’s Land, Noises Off and the forthcoming Good. Championing the new writing of some of the UK’s most exciting voices, Playful has brought the likes of Lucy Prebble’s Enron, Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen and James Graham’s Quiz to popular audiences. Playful has general managed many of the West End’s most loved and prolific shows such as Wicked, Come From Away, Groundhog Day, Kinky Boots, An American in Paris and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and has also toured work extensively around the UK and internationally including productions of Wicked, Kinky Boots and Shrek The Musical. Playful celebrates its 10th Birthday in 2020. @playfulprods

Stage Play
Stage Play (Producer) is a partnership between Suzette Newman and Chris Blackwell. The two have worked together for several decades, beginning at the early days of the ground-breaking independent label Island Records, founded by Blackwell. Rolling Stone claimed Blackwell and Island were responsible for some of the most important music of the past 60 years, and for internationalizing reggae music and bringing the island’s culture to the world. Bob Marley & the Wailers brought reggae into the music mainstream, and their album, Exodus, which was co-produced by Blackwell, was named by Time as “the album of the century.” Artists signed by Island include Jimmy Cliff, Steve Winwood, Jethro Tull, Cat Stevens, Robert Palmer, early U2, Grace Jones and many others.  

Suzette Newman serves as Lead Producer of Get Up, Stand Up! The Bob Marley Story and began her career at the age of 16 at the iconic Island Studios in London, right at the independent label’s creative heart, and has in the years since produced and executive produced in London, Paris, New York, Jamaica and Africa, with a wide range of artists and projects. She worked with many of the outstanding Jamaican acts of the era, including Bob Marley, Sly and Robbie, Toots and the Maytals, Burning Spear, and Gregory Isaacs. In the world of rap, she brought such acts to the label as NWA, the revolutionary Los Angeles group. She also helped record the finest African musicians, including Nigeria’s King Sunny Ade, Mali’s Salif Keita, and Benin’s Angelique Kidjo. She collaborates with renowned Senegalese artist Baaba Maal, and helped establish the annual Blues du Fleuve festival in the north of Senegal, among other projects.

Cedella Marley
Cedella Marley is a multi Grammy-winning singer, designer, entrepreneur, and the first-born daughter of reggae singers Bob and Rita Marley. She is the CEO of Bob Marley’s recording label, Tuff Gong International, and the author of multiple lifestyle and children's books. A life-long advocate of philanthropy, Cedella is the director of the Bob Marley Foundation and is a Global Ambassador to the Jamaica Women’s Football Program.