As announced today (July 9), Luke Newton will be the next to play Lee Alexander McQueen in a new off-Broadway production, House of McQueen. The 32-year-old actor, known best for his role as Colin in Bridgerton, will be swapping his RP accent for McQueen’s cockney twang this autumn. Newton follows in the footsteps of other actors such as Jack O’Connell (who eventually pulled out of the rumoured biopic) and Stephen Wight, who starred in the 2015 West End play McQueen, opposite Dianna Agron.
Written by Darrah Cloud, the new play will tell the story of the designer’s early life and quick ascent in the fashion industry – plus all the battles that came with it. “It is the story of a boy born in the East End of London, who literally wears his heart on his sleeve, never meant to rise beyond his working-class family,” reads the official synopsis.
“Seeking to find beauty in the most devastating aspects of life, McQueen envisions and creates clothes to empower women in response to what is happening in his life and the world around him. Fighting against the commercial interests of legendary houses like Givenchy and Gucci to remain provocative, he challenges norms and pushes boundaries as an artist. In the end, the fight consumes him.”
The show is due to open for previews from August at The Mansion at Hudson Yards, New York, before opening officially in early September. Tony-nominated Broadway veteran Emily Skinner will join Newton on stage, playing McQueen’s mother, Joyce, who died eight days before the designer devastatingly took his own life.
Though McQueen’s genius is undisputed and widely known, it’s also known that his story was not a happy one. He battled with anxiety and depression for years, and reimaginings of his life don’t tend to be cheerful productions. For Luke Newton, it’ll be a bit different to Bridgerton.