Catalyst's Nevermore prepares to haunt England

London calling! Nevermore – The Imaginary Life & Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe is headed to the U.K. Catalyst Theatre's gothic imagining of Edgar Allan Poe's life and death will play at the off-West End's Charing Cross Theatre from July 19 to Oct. 9, 2027. The musical, which was written, composed, and directed by Jonathan Christenson, made its official world premiere in 2009. Ever since, it has been on stages across Canada and the United States — including off-Broadway runs in New York. It was last seen in London at the iconic Barbican Centre in 2010. Casting is underway for the new engagement.

The original cast of Scott Shpeley, Shannon Blanchet, Sheldon Elter, Beth Graham, Ryan Parker, Garett Ross, and Vanessa Sabourin reunited for a run at Calgary's Vertigo Theatre in 2023. That production, complete with Bretta Gerecke's striking designs, was captured for a sleek, perspective-shifting film that was screened on Oct. 23 as part of the Catalyst Theatre Film Festival. That's where a local audience learned of the London tour, though trade publications such as Broadway World had it a bit earlier. "I'm very excited for London audiences to see this best-ever version of the show in 2027 and, as a co-producer of Come From Away, I'm especially proud to be bringing another extraordinary Canadian musical to the London stage," producer M. Kilburg Reedy said.

The film version of Nevermore is available to rent directly through Catalyst, and its soundtrack is on streaming services. For even more Catalyst close to home, MacEwan University's theatre program will perform a rendition of Catalyst's Hunchback at the school's Triffo Theatre from Nov. 25 to 29, directed by Christenson. His adaptation is based on Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame from 1831, though many audience members may know it as a Disney film from 1996. The Catalyst version is both dark and romantic, and of course, filled with rousing songs. Continuing in the vein of cultivating the next wave of Edmonton theatre artists, Catalyst's next musical theatre bootcamp runs from Aug. 3 to 21, with applications opening in February.