“Evita” will be among the line-up at Luxembourg’s Grand Théâtre for the 2017-2018 season Pamela Raith

“Evita” will be among the line-up at Luxembourg’s Grand Théâtre for the 2017-2018 season Pamela Raith

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s epic and moving tale tracing the life of Argentine political leader Eva Peron, will be performed in English at Luxembourg’s Grand Théâtre from 19-31 December.

The musical began as a rock opera concept album released in 1976, leading to productions in London's West End in 1978. It won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical, and on Broadway it became the first British musical to receive the Tony Award for Best Musical.

“No season would be complete without the musical, combining acting, dance and music. After the success of “Mamma Mia” last season and “Kiss Me Kate” this season, our audiences will surely delight in this great choice,” theatre director Tom Leick-Burns said at the launch of the 2017-2018 season on Monday.

Leick-Burns, who took over the running of the venue in 2015 from Frank Feitler, has a background in English theatre, having trained as an actor at the University of Central Lancashire’s Drama Centre London.

Next season sees him bring the cream of English theatre to Luxembourg with gothic horror “The Woman in Black” (12-14 October), adapted from Susan Hill’s novel, “Golem 1927” (6-7 December), “Funeral Blues”, a musical exploration of the poetry of W H Auden set to the music of Benjamin Britten (18, 21 and 24 January, 2018), and “A Man of Good Hope”, based on the book by Jonny Steinberg about a young Somali refugee’s journey to the promised land (17-19 May).

“Audience figures show that English language shows are more and popular,” Leick-Burns said.

The new season includes collaborations with the likes of the Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra, among others, as well as a vast line-up of contemporary dance.

Some of the highlights are local choreographer Sylvia Camarda’s “Ex(s)ilium or Down the Rabbit Hole” (October 4 and 5), “Dancing Grandmothers”, by Korean choreographer Eun-Me-Ahn and devised with actual grandmothers (30 and 31 January, 2018), and Compagnie Käfig’s visual feast “Pixel” (14 and 15 March).

The new programme launch comes within weeks before the end of the old season. Among the performances still to run at the Grand Théâtre are “Obsession”, starring Jude Law (23-25 June), which is now sold out, and “Breakin' Convention”, a hip hop dance theatre festival from Sadler's Wells on 17-18 June.