Gone with the Wind - New London Theatre

SYNOPSIS

Gone with the Wind

The 1930s classic Gone with the Wind is one of the greatest love stories ever told. In 2008 it finds a new lease of life on stage at the New London Theatre on Drury Lane under the direction of the legendary Trevor Nunn. Billed as a stage musical production that is faithful to Margaret Mitchell's 1937 Pulitzer prize-winning novel, Trevor Nunn's Gone with the Wind has been three years in the making. Producer Aldo Scrofani and composer / lyricist Margaret Martin were integral to bringing the production together. Designer John Napier, with whom Trevor Nunn collaborated on such West End smash hits as Cats and Les Miserables, is also involved.

Gone with the Wind - the Story
 
Gone with the Wind is a love story that spans a decade. It is set in Atlanta, Georgia in the 1860s at a time of great social upheaval in America. President Lincoln's demands for an end to slavery in the South has sparked the American Civil War - and it is against this backdrop of change and uncertainty that the turbulent yet gripping story of Scarlett O'Hara and the irrepressible Rhet Butler plays out.

At the age of 17, Scarlett O'Hara is the eldest daughter of a wealthy plantation owner. They live a comfortable life - a life that is about to be shattered forever by war and the motives behind it. Rhet Butler is an army captain. He develops feelings for Scarlett and falls in love with her after witnessing her fiery nature first hand. The two then share a complicated and tempestuous relationship through the years that follow, Rhet's love for Scarlett being rejected at every turn.

It takes the last words of her best friend, Melanie Hamilton, on her deathbed for Scarlett to realise the truth. The man she thought she loved - Ashley Wilkes - was not really the man she loved at all. Instead, Rhet Butler was her knight. Scarlett finally pursues Rhet to lay bare her feelings. But Rhet, now drained of the love he felt for her after many years of pursuit, rejects her. Scarlett's response is "But what will I do? Where will I go?" Rhet's reply is one of the most famous quotes of the 20th century, "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."

The London Cast

In bringing Gone with the Wind to the London stage, Trevor Nunn and his production team have cast two of the brightest up and coming stars in the lead roles. Rhet Butler is played by Darius Danesh. Danesh is a former Pop Idol finalist who first came to prominence through the Popstars TV talent show. Prior to being cast as Rhet Butler he scored a #1 UK hit single entitled 'Colourblind'.

Playing opposite Danesh as Scarlett O'Hara is American Jill Paice. Paice has worked with Trevor Nunn previously on the original production of the Woman in White. Prior to taking up the role of Scarlett she appeared on Broadway as Niki Harris in Curtains.