The musical comes from Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, the legendary writing partnership behind Les Misérables and Miss Saigon. Martin Guerre was their third major musical together – intended to complete a remarkable trio of sweeping, epic musicals – but its journey has proved rather more complicated than those of its famous predecessors.
The extraordinary true story
Set in 16th-century France, Martin Guerre is inspired by one of history’s most extraordinary cases of mistaken – or stolen – identity.
A young Martin Guerre leaves his wife Bertrande and disappears from their village. Years later, a man returns claiming to be Martin. He knows intimate details about Martin's life and is accepted by many of those around him – including Bertrande. But questions about his identity begin to grow, eventually leading to a sensational trial.
At its heart is a fascinating question: what happens when the person who comes back is not necessarily the man you lost – but perhaps the man you would rather have had all along?
The real Martin Guerre case has fascinated writers and historians for centuries and was famously retold in the 1982 French film The Return of Martin Guerre, starring Gérard Depardieu.
From the creators of Les Misérables and Miss Saigon
By the time Martin Guerre arrived in London, expectations could hardly have been higher.
Boublil and Schönberg had already created two musical-theatre phenomena with Les Misérables and Miss Saigon. Martin Guerre, with music by Schönberg and book by Schönberg and Boublil, promised another grand, largely sung-through historical musical filled with romance, conflict and a soaring score.
Produced by Cameron Mackintosh, the original production opened at the Prince Edward Theatre on 10 July 1996, directed by Declan Donnellan and choreographed by Bob Avian.
Its original cast included Iain Glen as Arnaud du Thil, Juliette Caton as Bertrande, Matt Rawle as Martin Guerre, Jérôme Pradon as Guillaume and Michael Matus as Benoit. Interestingly, the ensemble also included a very young James Corden.
A musical that kept changing
Unlike its predecessors, Martin Guerre didn't immediately find its feet.
Following a mixed critical reception, substantial changes were made while the production was still running. It actually closed for several days in October 1996 to allow a significantly rewritten version to be rehearsed, with changes to the book, structure and score.
The work paid off: the revised production received a much warmer response and went on to win the 1997 Olivier Award for Best New Musical, as well as Best Theatre Choreographer for Bob Avian. It eventually closed in February 1998 after 675 performances.
But the writers still weren't finished.
A substantially rewritten production emerged at West Yorkshire Playhouse before touring the UK and US in 1999–2000, while another version was staged at The Watermill Theatre in 2007, directed by Craig Revel Horwood with a company of actor-musicians. Each incarnation reshaped the story, characters and score.
The songs
For all its transformations, Martin Guerre has always had something its admirers have championed: Claude-Michel Schönberg's sweeping score.
Among the numbers associated with its various incarnations are “Live With Somebody You Love,” “I’m Martin Guerre,” “The Day Has Come,” “How Many Tears” and “The Seasons Turn” – music carrying the same unmistakably epic, emotional Schönberg DNA that runs through Les Misérables and Miss Saigon.
And now, even that familiar score is evolving again.
Martin Guerre returns
In October 2026, Martin Guerre returns to London for the first time in almost three decades, in a radically reworked version at The Old Vic.
This isn't simply a revival. Boublil and Schönberg have returned to the musical and rethought it extensively, with new music, new lyrics and new folk-inflected orchestrations. Bertrande is placed more firmly at the emotional centre of the story.
Developed and directed by Matthew Warchus, the production will be presented in the round as a five-week run of semi-staged performances from 1–31 October 2026. New lyrics are by Alain Boublil, Annabel Mutale Reed and Paul Hodge, with Rob Howell designing the set and costumes and Lizzi Gee providing choreography.
Liv Andrusier stars as Bertrande, with Alex James-Hatton and Shane O'Riordan sharing the role of Martin, alongside Colin Ryan as Benoit, Barney Wilkinson as Guillaume and Caroline Sheen as Madame de Rols.
Thirty years after its West End premiere, Martin Guerre remains the intriguing third member of the Boublil and Schönberg trio – the musical that never stopped evolving.
Worth watching
If you’re keen to see and hear more, here are a few suggested videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7mDZsFvpx8
Martin Guerre A Musical Journey - Part 1 of 8 Documentary on the making of Martin Guerre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is7-vquDpxU&list=RDIs7-vquDpxU&start_radio=1
Martin Guerre Sequence | David Campbell, Maria Friedman from Hey, Mr. Producer!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9hMA9MP0Yo&list=RDs9hMA9MP0Yo&start_radio=1
Iain Glen and Juliette Caton singing "Tell Me To Go" in the 1999 production of Martin Guerre.
