The Remains of the Day is a musical

Musical theatre

Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...

 written by Alex Loveless, based on the novel of the same name

The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day is Kazuo Ishiguro's third published novel. One of the most highly-regarded post-war British novels, the work was awarded the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1989...

 by Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro

Kazuo Ishiguro OBE or ; born 8 November 1954) is a Japanese–English novelist. He was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and his family moved to England in 1960. Ishiguro obtained his Bachelor's degree from University of Kent in 1978 and his Master's from the University of East Anglia's creative writing...

. The original production, directed by Chris Loveless, premiered at the Union Theatre

Union Theatre (London)

The Union Theatre is a small fringe theatre situated in the borough of Southwark in London, England. It was established in 1998 by Sasha Regan who took the initiative to convert a disused paper warehouse near Southwark station into a functioning theatre...

 in London, playing from August 31, 2010 to September 25, 2010.

Background

In an interview, Ishiguro said, "It struck me as an intriguing idea. ... I am a big believer in musicals and I see no reason why my novel shouldn't make a good one. Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...

's A Little Night Music

A Little Night Music

A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...

 shows you can set an unlikely story to music. ... This is a small scale thing and I might feel more cautious about it if the film version hadn't been such serious, faithful adaptation."

Original London cast

• Reginald – Christopher Bartlett
• Sir David – Adrian Beaumont
  Adrian Beaumont
  Adrian Beaumont is a British composer, conductor and university teacher.He studied at University College, Cardiff, completing a PhD in Composition in 1972. He lectured in music at the University of Bristol from 1961 until his retirement in 2002, his 41 years continuous service making him the...
  
  
• Stevens – Stephen Rashbrook
• Miss Kenton – Lucy Bradshaw
  Lucy Bradshaw
  Lucy-Anne Bradshaw is a British actress and singer, known for playing Cathy in the original production of Whistle Down the Wind by National Youth Music Theatre and Miss Kenton in the musical adaptation of The Remains of the Day...
  
  
• Lord Darlington – Alan Vicary

Reception

The musical received mixed reviews. Among the positive reviewers, Fiona Mountford wrote, "“Rashbrook gives a marvellously restrained performance that hints at the unexplored depths of Stevens’s soul, and he and Bradshaw, plus a top-notch ensemble, make easy work of the songs, many of which have a solemn and hymn-like feel. It’s not all gloom, though, with the frothy music hall number 'The End of the Pier' to lighten the mood. A canny West End producer could do far worse than to tweak this fine show for a transfer.” The What's On Stage review agreed, "The songs are almost always well-integrated, intelligently written, and subtly performed. Although Loveless’ adaptation does not quite pack what we feel is its potential punch, it does suggest a wealth of potential." BroadwayWorlds review by Carrie Dunn observed, "...some of this show works surprisingly well. This is pretty much entirely down to the touching, subtle performances of Stephen Rashbrook as butler Stevens and Lucy Bradshaw as housekeeper Miss Kenton. Both are compelling viewing, and work with the frequently limited (by necessity) material they have, endowing it with rich emotion."

Mixed to negative reviews included those in the Financial Times

Financial Times

The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....

, TimeOut and MusicOMH.