 Albarn's cartoon band Gorillaz performed at the Grammys |
Gorillaz singer Damon Albarn is writing a stage musical based on the grittier side of life in London's Notting Hill. The musical, a collaboration between Albarn and award-winning playwright Roy Williams, will open at the National Theatre in London in 2007.
"The piece will be about the diverse culture that is Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill," said Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre.
"Damon is one of the most unique and inventive musicians of the moment."
"We introduced him to Roy Williams and they discovered Ladbroke Grove in common," said Hytner.
"They have been working on it for the past nine months and I have been absolutely thrilled by the stuff they have been producing together."
 British playwright Williams wrote for TV's Babyfather |
Williams' previous theatre work includes the Royal Court production Fallout, about the murder of a black teenager.
The untitled musical is being seen as an antidote to the 1999 film Notting Hill, from screenwriter Richard Curtis, which was criticised for failing to acknowledge the west London neighbourhood's more multicultural aspects.
"It will allow Damon to develop his passionate interest in the many musical styles that have emerged from Notting Hill over the past four decades," added Hytner.
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