Thelma & Louise at the Young Vic

Thelma & Louise,

Young Vic, 14 October 2026

I'm not much of a theatre-goer these days but when Neko Case announced she was working on the music for a new musical based on the classic film Thelma & Louise, adapted by its original Oscar-winning writer Callie Khouri, I was intrigued to say the least and bought a ticket to see it during its limited run at the Young Vic.

After Neko Case released Hell On back in 2018, aside from continuing to appear on albums by the New Pornographers, it felt like she went quiet and the only things being released were box sets and compilations. It turns out that Case was far from being idle: she was working on her memoir, a new album (Neon Grey Midnight Green which came out at the end of 2025) and writing all the songs for this musical adaptation of Thelma & Louise. 

When I saw her doing a Q&A at Rough Trade last year to promote her memoir, The Harder I Fight The More I Love You, she spoke about working on the project and that was the reason she had been spending so much time in London recently. She said had worked a lot with the legendary T Bone Burnett and through him became friends with his wife Callie Khouri, who personally asked Case to write the music. She admitted she didn't have a clue about musicals but the film had meant a lot to her when it first came out in 1991, so she agreed and since then her Substack has been filled with news of her regularly coming to London to work on the show.

The film is of course iconic and I've always loved it too so, while I am generally not a fan of when they turn movies into musicals, the involvement of both Case and Khouri made me curious to see what this new stage production would be like. 

I had never been to the Young Vic before but was pleasantly surprised at how intimate it was yet it still had a large stage that wrapped part of the way around the seats at the front. Although I had a good middle end of row seat in the stalls,  the seats were tiered and higher at the back, sloping down towards the stage, meaning that everyone had a good view and no one had a head in front of them blocking their view, which often happens in the stalls at old theatres, because of this I liked it a lot. Those in the front row were also so close to the stage, they were almost in the play itself, so I was glad I was at least a few rows back!

The stage was set up like the inside of an American dive bar, with a pool table, neon and metal signs, cut-outs of John Wayne and country and western posters adorning the walls, as well as a payphone standing at the side. It actually looked pretty cool although I did wonder how they would manage to stage something that is essentially a road trip tale, especially since I saw no sign of a car.

Suddenly the lights dimmed and a bunch of actresses ran onto the stage, dressed in denim skirts and cut off shirts,  and started dancing in a country line-dance style while singing "This is the story of..." basically giving us a preview of what was to come, singing about the potential lives these women could have had. It was fiercely feminist but also, dare I say it, a little cinge. I have been to many musicals in my life as my mum used to adore going to see musicals and it was my Christmas present to her every year to take her but since she was diagnosed with dementia it's something I rarely do anymore. I think I had forgotten the suspension of disbelief you need for these shows, but also I'm not sure I've actually been to a musical before with such a serious subject matter, usually they are far more light-weight.

The song eventually led up to a finale of "this is the story of... Thelma and Louise" with the doors at the back of the stage opening revealing the lead actresses sitting on an upturned car, foretelling the famous ending of the tale. 

The leads Amy Lennox (Thelma) and Rachel Tucker (Louise) looked suitably rough and ready and were hugely likeable and it's no doubt they had great gal pal chemistry, although I'm not sure they had that defining charm that Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon had in the original film, which obviously is a very hard thing to live up to. What they did have though were tremendously powerful and gritty singing voices, which not only matched the characters superbly but also were able to tackle Neko Case's clever and musically atmospheric songs. Sometimes they sounded so strikingly like her music that I just kept imagining what they would sound like recorded by her on one of her albums, other times they did fall more into the typical narrative musical fare, albeit with a more country & western sound, but were still beautiful and interesting. 

Case is such a creator of mood and strange tales, her lyrics pure poetry filled with mystery and darkness and magic, it was hard for me to imagine her turning that into a such a gritty, real-world retelling of two women whose lives are thrown into turmoil by the patriarchal world we all live in. But I have to say, she did it and while there were a few light-weight, funny songs that are necessary for any musical, there was one song in particular where Louise recalls the rape that changed her life and how she can't talk about it, that sends chills and is incredibly moving.   

I'm not sure how I felt about the lack of the car. I assumed at some point there would be a stage car and screens behind them making it look like they were driving, but instead they merely talked about driving to the next place and at one point Louise even sings a song about her love for her 1966 Ford Thunderbird car, but aside from the glimpse of the upturned car at the start, we never see one. I think it was a missed opportunity really but maybe there wasn't the budget for it.

The famous end scene were they are driving with the cops in pursuit and roadblocks ahead, is instead portrayed with the two leads defiantly holding hands while slowly being surrounded by armed police officers, lining the front of the stage, until we hear the squeal of wheels and a crash before the stage goes completely dark. This was always going to be hard to show on stage so I suppose it was as effective as it could be, but I did find myself picturing the end of the movie instead.

There were other times the staging was actually pretty clever and fun, as when they covered the stage with bags of sand as part of a musical number, turning the floor into the desert, while the doors on the back of the stage also at times opened to reveal a painting of the Grand Canyon, which was kind of cool.

Overall though I really liked it and the slightly naff feeling that made me cringe a little at the beginning quickly faded and I found myself completely engaged in the story despite being overly familiar with it all and knowing the famous ending. All the actors were great too, which was hard work for them given they not only had to sing but also was working under the shadow of their more famous counterparts. By the end, the show had won me over and at times completely moved me.

It was also interesting to hear Neko Case write music and songs for a different medium. Her songs are usually more abstract and twist and turn in different and unusual ways, many don't have traditional choruses or catchy melodies, relying instead on moods and lyrics. There was definitely a little bit of that still remaining, afterall if you ask a master songwriter like Neko Case to write the songs for your musical you are gonna want it to sound at least a little like her, but it was also fascinating to hear her work within a more standard format, with poppy singalong choruses and upbeat music that the actors were able to dance along to.  

The reviews for Thelma & Louise, from what I could see, were pretty mixed: some loved it but others were a lot more scathing. One merely proclaimed it as "fine", another actually called it "bland". I think both reviews were unfair, as I found it entertaining throughout and quite powerful in parts. But I do think it is difficult when the film is such a beloved classic and it was hard not to think of Davis and Sarandon the whole time I was watching it. 

I do think the music was wonderful though and I hope I get to hear it again in some format because it really deserves to live on beyond this musical's short seven week run. I'm assuming it will eventually make it's way over to theatres in the US but I hope that there will also be some kind of recording too, whether by the cast or Case herself, because it really does showcase just what a brilliant and inventive songwriter she really is.