APOLLO THEATRE

Welcome to Urinetown!

With Phill Jupitus from December the 1st!

In Urinetown, the irreverent satire about spending a penny, life is grim. Musing on corporate greed, political power and exploitation, with a whole lot of musical theatre pastiche thrown in, this urban dystopia has a strong message, and translates that in the context of wee.

Developed at the New York International Fringe Festival in the early 2000s, the crazy world of Urinetown exploded on Broadway in 2001, running for three years, winning three Tonys Awards and introducing people to new original songs and characters, that have become part of the theatre landscape.

Premiering on The West End in March 2014, Urinetown was highly acclaimed, once people has got over the title. The self referential show, directed by Jamie Lloyd, ran for three months, starring Richard Fleeshman as rebel leader Bobby Strong.

"THE POWER OF POPULATION IS INDEFINITELY GREATER THAN THE POWER IN THE EARTH TO PRODUCE SUBSISTENCE FOR MAN"

- Thomas Malthus

In the bleak reality of Urinetown, everything is in moderation. A drought has led to a tax on peeing, all, ahem... motions have to be carried out in heavily guarded public lavatories. If you can't pay, you cant go. Those who choose to use the street are arrested and sent to the titular Urinetown, a horrific destination from which no one ever returns.

At the heart of the story is the dashing every man Bobby Strong, who rallies against the government, and ultimately, the evil corporations pulling the strings. When his band of rebels take Hope Cladwell, the daughter of Caldwell. B Cladwell, CEO of the Machiavellian Urine Good Company, hostage, everyone learns a valuable lesson about anarchy, love, disappointment and, pee.