A Little Life: Hanya Yanagihara novel heads to London stage

A caller which developed a passionate pursuing among young audiences volition beryllium adapted for the signifier successful a caller West End accumulation starring James Norton.

A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara, follows 4 classmates from a tiny US assemblage who determination to New York to prosecute their careers. It deals with analyzable themes including abuse, race, privilege, sexuality, relationship and addiction.

The caller was shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2015. It did not win, but became a word-of-mouth deed aft striking a chord with younger radical - thing which tin seldom beryllium said for the kinds of books usually shortlisted for the prestigious lit prize.

A Little Life's devoted fanbase includes vocalist Dua Lipa, who interviewed Yanagihara for her podcast, telling her the publication had "changed her life".

The signifier adaptation volition play for 12 weeks astatine the Harold Pinter Theatre successful London from 25 March. The West End premiere volition people the show's English-language debut - its manager Ivo van Hove has antecedently lone staged it successful Dutch.

"The publication is simply a benignant of a mystery, due to the fact that it became a immense bestseller," helium tells BBC News. "It's a small spot unusual due to the fact that it talks astir cruel things, astir a traumatic acquisition that haunts idiosyncratic for the remainder of his life."

"But aft each these years, each night, theatres are full, radical are moved, sometimes angry, but it creates a precise visceral absorption towards it."

Sales of the novel, Yanagihara's second, were humble pursuing its work - but it gradually became fashionable via word-of-mouth, yet selling much than 2.5 cardinal copies. (For context, the author's 2013 debut, The People successful the Trees, had sold lone a fewer 1000 copies.)

The signifier adaptation of A Little Life volition prima Norton - who is known for McMafia and Happy Valley - alongside It's A Sin prima Omari Douglas, Bridgerton's Luke Thompson and The Witcher's Zach Wyatt.

The Dutch mentation played 4 performances (with English surtitles) astatine the Edinburgh Festival this year. It enjoyed lukewarm reviews from critics, contempt its often grim taxable matter.

The Telegraph awarded it 5 stars, saying successful its review: "This devastating play is emotionally gruelling. But that doesn't detract from however transfixing and heartrending it is."

There was agreement from the Guardian, which described the play arsenic "mesmerising" successful its four-star review, but added: "This is not a amusement for the faint-hearted."

Some critics besides noted that the four-hour runtime could enactment disconnected ticket-buyers.

Van Hove says the West End mentation volition beryllium somewhat shorter, astatine 3hrs 40mins, but points retired determination is truthful overmuch worldly to reproduce. "The publication is 720 pages," helium points out, "but it is simply a page-turner."

Norton, Douglas, Thompson and Wyatt volition play the 4 friends astatine the centre of the publication - prodigious lawyer Jude, struggling creator JB, aspiring histrion Willem, and palmy designer Malcolm, respectively.

"I deliberation I person a precise bully squad of actors," says van Hove. "I truly took my clip to speech to people, bash auditions, due to the fact that it's precise aggravated to play it, and I anticipation I person recovered a radical that tin spot each other."

I americium acrophobic to accidental that I approached Hanya Yanagihara's A Little Life with trepidation. A 720-page doorstopper of a publication by a writer I had not travel across.

I devoured this communicative of 4 antheral friends surviving successful New York and the acheronian secrets of kid maltreatment and self-harm successful the beingness of 1 of them, Jude.

Yanagihara surely makes her characters suffer. Drink, drugs, rape and amputation besides feature.

"The publication is not cheerful," she told maine erstwhile I interviewed her successful 2015 erstwhile the caller was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. "But I anticipation it doesn't consciousness similar a piling connected of miseries for the involvement of misery."

Some readers, I americium good aware, whitethorn find A Little Life oppressive and depressing. At times it is melodramatic too.

But for me, it was an immersive and intimate speechmaking experience. "I did privation it to consciousness similar a walled garden, a spot that you couldn't get retired of," said Yanagihara.

And I thought 1 of the book's large strengths was its depiction of the interior lives of the characters. Yanagihara takes you profoundly into the thoughts and feelings of the mysterious Jude and his friends Willem, Malcolm and JB.

So I americium intrigued to spot however that tin beryllium reproduced successful the theatre.

When we spoke a signifier adaptation was not connected the cards, but Yanagihara did archer maine she did not deliberation A Little Life could "exist" arsenic a film.

But, she revealed: "I would emotion to person it made arsenic a mini-series. I deliberation a mediate aged Jude would beryllium precise bully with Christian Bale successful the role. But I besides similar the American histrion Joseph Gordon-Levitt."

Van Hove says it is his "dream" to signifier the play successful English, adding: "I'm truly looking guardant to seeing however it volition enactment erstwhile it's successful the archetypal language, that's a imaginable that I cannot hold to start."

Yanagihara says she is "thrilled" that the accumulation was heading to London, describing it arsenic having "the astir bonzer formed I could person hoped for".

Given the publication tapped into a younger demographic, does van Hove expect the play volition pull larger numbers of the young radical theatre sometimes struggles to reach?

"That happened really erstwhile we did it successful Amsterdam," helium replies, "a batch of young radical came to it." Van Hove recalls the absorption of immoderate young actors helium was moving with erstwhile they recovered retired helium was involved.

"I was doing West Side Story and determination were a batch of radical who were 17 oregon 18 successful the cast, and tons of them were speechmaking the book," helium remembers. "When they discovered I had done it they astir fainted.

"It has the imaginable to pull a diverseness of people, due to the fact that the formed is besides culturally divers - it's precise adjacent to the book."