Theatreland to expand with OSCAR at the Crown Venue

London’s Theatreland is set to expand with the addition of a new venue, custom-built to bring the acclaimed musical, OSCAR at the Crown, to life following its success Stateside.

Behind an unassuming door on Tottenham Court Road, visitors will reportedly be transported to a secret bunker far in the fascist future, where the only things to survive are reality TV, glitter balls and the complete works of Oscar Wilde.

The underground dystopian nightclub musical invites guests to drink, party and join the throng of colourful outcasts among burnt-out tube carriages and smashed TV screens, as they ignite the fiery embers of a cultural revolution in an Orwellian future, propelled by the dramatic rise and fall of the flamboyant literary icon.

The theatrical dance party experience will make its London premiere with an ambitious reworking, featuring brand new songs and after-show parties, following its hit performances at Brooklyn’s 3 Dollar Bill, where the New York Times branded it “a party-inducing Rocky Horror transplanted to a 1990s Madonna video.”​​

Following its success in New York, the show is said to have delighted audiences at the Edinburgh Festival in 2023, where The Sun called it "a high-energy show that could be the best musical since SIX", and To Do List branded it "dopamine for the soul."

​The Crown will also host a programme of exciting events, to be announced soon.

The production is created by American juggernauts in the queer theatre space, The Neon Coven; book writer and star Mark Mauriello - who will reprise his role as Wilde, which The Guardian called “dazzling” - composer, lyricist and choreographer Andrew Barret Cox - creator of the biggest RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni hits - and director Shira Milikowsky, who is lauded for her radical re-imaginings of musicals and classic texts.

OSCAR at the Crown will be brought to London by ROYO, which creates and produces theatre and live entertainment around the world and is one of the UK’s biggest commissioners of new musicals, with hit productions including The Steps Musical, Here & Now, 13 Going on 30 The Musical and Kinky Boots.

GOLD SKY is a creative production collaboration between multi-Tony Award-winning producer Rebecca Gold and director/producer Shira Milikowsky, drawing on Shira’s decades of unorthodox devising and directing projects and Rebecca’s repertoire, producing unique theatrical events, including Sleep No More and Life and Trust.

Writers, Andrew Barret Cox and Mark Mauriello, said: “It’s a dream to finally bring OSCAR to London, especially alongside a team bold and mad enough to open a whole new nightclub for the show to call home. Absolutely crazy.

"The venue is the setting, baby. You’re about to be in it. And we think it’s gonna be really freaking fun. Welcome to The Crown!”

From 27th February at 10am, theatre lovers can sign up for exclusive access to limited £25 preview seats for London's hotly anticipated new show in May.

Tickets go on sale on 13th March ahead of the show's official launch in June 2025.