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INTRIGUE. POWER. BEAUTY. Perth Symphony Orchestra and StoreyBoard Entertainment to present CHESS THE MUSICAL at Perth Concert Hall in June 2021

Featuring the iconic music of ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus & Benny Andersson, lyrics by Tim Rice & Bjorn Ulvaeus and book by Tim Rice, the worldwide stage hit CHESS THE MUSICAL will debut at Perth Concert Hall for its first professional presentation, in two exclusive performances on June 5^th, 2021.

Bourby Webster

Known as the orchestra that breaks the rules, Perth Symphony Orchestra will co-present CHESS THE MUSICAL with StoreyBoard Entertainment, producer of the critically acclaimed Barnum directed by Tyran Parke in Melbourne in 2019.

CHESS THE MUSICAL is inspired by extraordinary real-life events and first premiered to glowing reviews in London’s West End in 1986 starring the beloved Elaine Paige. The West End season ran for three years, resulting in a BBC listener poll ranking CHESS THE MUSICAL seventh in a list of ‘Number One Essential Musicals’ of all time.

Featuring hits including I Know Him So Well – recognised in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest selling UK chart single ever by a female duo – and the upbeat pop favourite One Night in Bangkok, music from CHESS THE MUSICAL is known the world over, with the original concept album described by Rolling Stone as having a “dazzling score (which) covers nearly all the pop bases”. Time Magazine declared the score as “rock symphonic synthesis ripe with sophistication and hummable tunes”.

CHESS THE MUSICAL tells the story of a complex love triangle combined with dramatic political intrigue, set against the background of the Cold War in the early 1980s, where Soviet and American forces attempt to manipulate an international chess championship for political gains.

The Perth performances of this much-loved musical, which recently premiered in Moscow, will feature the London West End orchestrations with full twenty-five-piece orchestra. The stellar Perth cast for this semi-staged concert style event will be announced in February 2021.

CHESS THE MUSICAL is produced by Bourby Webster from Perth Symphony Orchestra (Sweet Dreaming, Eurythmics Reimagined, Stardust: The music of David Bowie), & Adrian Storey from StoreyBoard Entertainment (Barnum, Follies, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) and directed by renowned director Tyran Parke (Barnum, Follies, Sunday in the Park with George) and with Musical Supervision by David Piper (Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, The Boyfriend, The Boy From Oz), Set & Costume Design by Dann Barber (Barnum, 33 Variations), Sound Design by award-winning designer Michael Waters and choreography by Freya List.

Perth Symphony Orchestra & StoreyBoard Entertainment present CHESS THE MUSICAL

Saturday 5 June 2021, 2:00pm and 7:30pm

General Public Tickets on sale from 9am 4 December 2020.

For further information visit: www.chessmusical.info

Gabi Bergman

Gabi Bergman (she/her) is a Melbourne-based performer and educator, and the current Deputy Editor-in-Chief of AussieTheatre.com. She holds a double degree in Theatre Studies and Film/Screen Studies, along with a Master of Teaching (Secondary Education). A passionate advocate for inclusion and diversity in the arts, Gabi brings her deep love of storytelling to the stage, the page, and the classroom. A lifelong lover of theatre, she spends more on tickets than she’d like to admit. Her most prized possession is her ever-growing collection of theatre programs.