Casting is complete for the Donmar Warehouse's U.K. premiere of Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, which will mark new Artistic Director Tim Sheader’s directorial debut at the venue.
Previews are scheduled to begin December 9 prior to an official opening December 16 for a limited engagement through February 8, 2025
The cast will feature Declan Bennett as Pierre, Chumisa Dornford-May as Countess Natasha Rostova, Daniel Krikler as Fedya Dolokhov, Eugene McCoy as Prince Bolkonsky/Andrey, Annette McLaughlin as Marya Dimitriyevna, Maimuna Memon as Sonya Rostova, Jamie Muscato as Anatole, Cedric Neal as Balaga, Chloe Saracco as Mary, and Cat Simmons as Helene Kuragina Bezukhova with Andrew Berlin, Kimberly Blake, Ali Goldsmith, Chihiro Kawasaki, Nitai Levi, and Annie Majin.
The musical, adapted from a portion of Tolstoy's War and Peace (with a book, music, and lyrics all by Malloy), will also feature choreography by Ellen Kane, musical supervision by Nicholas Skilbeck, set design by Leslie Travers, costume design by Evie Gurney, lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Nick Lidster and Gareth Tucker for Autograph, musical direction by Sam Young, casting by Pippa Ailion for Pippa Ailion and Natalie Gallacher Casting, intimacy direction by Ingrid Mackinnon, and vocal coaching by Barbara Houseman.
The musical follows Natasha Rostova, who arrives in the opulent world of Moscow High Society, awaiting the return of her fiancé from the
front lines. But when she falls under the spell of an aristocrat, it is up to the unlikely hero, Pierre, to pick up the pieces
of her reputation.
The U.S. Off-Broadway, pre-Broadway, and Broadway productions (nominated for 12 Tony Awards) of the musical were famously staged immersively, in dramatically transformed theatres made to look more like a fantastical Russian bar. It's unclear if Donmar's production will follow that lead in its own black box theatre.