‘Yeast Nation’ to play European premiere at Southwark Playhouse

The comedy musical runs this summer.

Sophie Thomas
Sophie Thomas

Will this musical rise? Yeast Nation (The Triumph of Life) will receive its European premiere in London later this summer. Yeast Nation begins previews at Southwark Playhouse on 22 July, ahead of an opening night on 26 July and performances to 27 August. Yeast Nation tickets are on sale now.

Set in 3,000,458,000 B.C. Yeast Nation follows the lives of the world’s first life-form: The Yeasts. The Yeasts are forced to follow the law, but when one Yeast breaks the rules, they find love and a future path to evolution. Press material states Yeast Nation is “part classic Greek drama, part bio-historical comedy musical, part bizarre fever dream.”

The Yeast Nation musical is by Urinetown creators Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann. Yeast Nation premiered in 2007 at the Perseverance Theatre in Alaska. Yeast Nation is the prequel musical to Urinetown. A Urinetown sequel to complete a trilogy of musicals is currently in the works.

“I'm attracted to the wacky weirdness that comes from a show about Yeast. But with the genius minds of Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann behind it, the show is about so much more than that - it's about love, the soul, the state of the world we are in now, and the ways we are dealing with the terrifying global problems on our doorstep. And while The Yeast might only be little, they prove they can grow into the biggest heroes and change existence as we know it; what a brilliant metaphor for what we need today” said Yeast Nation director Benji Sperring.

Yeast Nation features design by Diego Pitarch, lighting design by Nick Farman, sound design by Adam Fisher and choreography by Lucie Pankhurst. A Yeast Nation cast is to be announced.

Yeast Nation is at Southwark Playhouse.

Yeast Nation tickets are on sale now.

Photo credit: Yeast Nation artwork (Photo courtesy of production)

Originally published on

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