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A stage adaptation of Stephen Merchant’s 2019 feature film, Fighting with My Family, starring Dwayne Johnson and Florence Pugh, is currently in development.
The stage production is a collaboration between Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions, Merchant, Kevin Misher, Tilted Musicals, and Birmingham Hippodrome. Jon Brittain (Rotterdam) will write the play and lyrics, with a new soundtrack by Miranda Cooper and Nick Coler.
Fighting With My Family was written and directed by Merchant and premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. The film follows the true-life story of WWE performer Paige, played by Pugh. Vince Vaughn played the WWE trainer, and Johnson featured as himself as well as a producer on the film with Dany Garcia for Seven Bucks Productions.
The stage production is said to be inspired by the film. The story will follow Paige, originally named Saraya Knight, a goth outsider raised in a chaotic but loving British wrestling dynasty. The synopsis reads: When a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity takes her from Norwich to America’s glitzy WWE, she must confront who she really is without her family in her corner.
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“Fighting with My Family feels exceptionally well-suited for the stage,” Johnson said in a statement. “It’s packed with personal emotion expressed through the dynamic world of wrestling, which has always been about storytelling and connecting with a live audience. Working with Stephen Merchant on the film was a truly special experience, and his brilliant work deserves this new act. As it comes to life musically, I have no doubt it will be an absolute blast for theatergoers.”
