London's The Old Vic will present the world premiere of Just For One Day, a new musical written by John O’Farrell (Mrs. Doubtfire, Something Rotten!) and directed by Luke Sheppard (& Juliet, The Little Big Things). Running January 26-March 30, 2024, the new musical will officially open February 13.
Featuring the songs of Bob Dylan, David Bowie, The Who, U2, Queen, The Police, Elton John, Paul McCartney, The Pretenders, The Cars, Status Quo, Paul Weller, Sade, The Boomtown Rats, Bryan Adams, Diana Ross, Ultravox, and more, Just For One Day tells the story of Live Aid, when 70 artists performed, for free, in front of an audience of 1.5 billion in a ‘global jukebox’ at Wembley Stadium, London, and John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia, to raise $127 million for famine relief. Just For One Day is produced with permission of The Band Aid Charitable Trust.
Said Matthew Warchus, the Artistic Director of The Old Vic, "I had the pleasure of working with Luke Sheppard on Matilda The Musical and I have always admired the witty brilliance of John O’Farrell’s writing—I am thrilled to have these two great forces uniting on The Old Vic stage alongside an excellently talented company. For those of us who were around in the ‘80s, Saturday July 13, 1985, I’m sure will be one of those days that is forever etched in our memories. We all remember where we watched Live Aid, who we watched it with, and the pure amazement at the feat that was unfolding before our eyes. It’s these memories and individual stories that are the beating heart of Just For One Day, and I can’t wait for audiences to share in a moment that galvanised the globe once again."
The cast will include Julie Atherton, Ashley Campbell, Jackie Clune, Craige Els, James Hameed, Naomi Katiyo, Hope Kenna, Freddie Love, Emily Ooi, and Rhys Wilkinson, with additional casting to be announced.
The creative team, in addition to O'Farrell and Sheppard, will include music supervisor, arranger, and orchestrator Matthew Brind, choreographer Ebony Molina, set designer Soutra Gilmour, costume designer Fay Fullerton, lighting designer Howard Hudson, sound designer Gareth Owen, video and animation designer Andrzej Goulding, and casting director Stuart Burt.
A portion of the sale of every ticket will be donated to The Band Aid Charitable Trust to support their ongoing global relief efforts. Additionally, The Old Vic will work with 79 different school and community groups to offer free tickets and workshops through their education and community programmes.
Just For One Day is supported by Jamie Wilson Productions, Kevin McCollum, Sonia Friedman Productions, Gavin Kalin Productions, Kenny Wax Ltd, and the Ambassador Theatre Group.
For more information, visit OldVicTheatre.com.
