The Watermill Theatre in Berkshire, England, will host a musical adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy story, The Lord of The Rings, from July 25th until October 15th, 2023. It will be a semi-immersive, open-air production, taking full advantage of the area’s gorgeous gardens and the historic Watermill Theatre itself.

Located near the River Lambourn, the musical will feature tunes created by A.R. Rahman (Bombay Dreams, Slumdog Millionaire), Värttinä and Tony Award-winner and Grammy-nominated Christopher Nightingale (Matilda the Musical), with set design from Simon Kenny,  who’s critically acclaimed work includes the ‘Pie Shop’ production of Sweeney Todd and Hope Mill’s The Wiz. It will be directed by Paul Hart. Or, to put it another way, there’s a lot of exciting talent involved in putting this singing Hobbit show together.

The show’s venue, The Watermill Theatre, recently had its funding cut by Arts Council England and stated at the time that it was facing a “significant challenge” in maintaining its current operation. The Berkshire-based site is not too far away from Oxford (especially by tourist bus). Oxford currently has an active ‘Tolkien Tour’ tourist trade, and it’s very likely that savvy Middle-earth fans will add a quick visit to Berkshire onto their itinerary.

The Lord of The Rings Musical premiered in Toronto, Canada, at the Princess of Wales Theatre in 2006, before a re-written version of the show travelled to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London. The show struggled to find an audience then, despite having very well-reviewed songs and being described as the “definitive megamusical”. This new production sounds like it plans to mix the joys of Middle-earth with stunning songs and set design.

The musical has the blessing of the Tolkien family, and tickets can be obtained here.