Robert Askins’ Tony Award nominated play Hand To God will transfer to the West End next February following its triumphant Broadway run.
Described by one critic as the love child of The Book Of Mormon and Avenue Q, Hand To God confirmed it would bring its darkly comic story of a shy boy and his sock puppet friend to London from 5 February on a statement on its website.
Nominated for five Tony Awards, Askins’ outrageous drama centres on quiet student Jason who discovers a way to express himself thanks to his local Christian Puppet Ministry. Creating a new hand puppet friend Tyrone, things start to go very wrong for Jason when this similarly inanimate object springs hilariously to life, shaking the core of Jason’s small Texas town.
The show’s producer Kevin McCollum announced its New York end and forthcoming London run in a statement to the US press, saying: “Having played an extraordinary nine month run on Broadway, London is the natural next step for a new American play that is this exciting. We are thrilled that Hand To God will soon be experienced by audiences all over the world.”
The show opened at New York’s Booth Theatre in April, earning five stars from Time Out New York who called it “The freshest and funniest Broadway comedy in years,”, commenting: “Hand To God is to plays as The Book Of Mormon is to musicals: a welcome breath of foul air.”
Hand To God’s Broadway director Moritz von Stuelpnagel will bring the show to London with casting and venue still to be announced.