THE SPARROW Musical Is in Development

A new original musical, The Sparrow, is currently in development — a sweeping romantic drama set in 1850s Sicily and inspired by Storia di una capinera, the celebrated novel by Giovanni Verga, one of Italy’s most influential literary voices.

Written in 1871 as an epistolary tale, the story follows Maria, a young woman sent to a convent in childhood and called back to her family home as cholera breaks out. Stepping out of her cloister, she awakens to a world of colour, temptation, and self-discovery — and realises that freedom, once felt, can never be unlearned.

Blending Italian folk rhythm, sacred choral textures, and contemporary musical theatre, The Sparrow reimagines the source material as a modern reflection on women’s empowerment and self-determination.

At its heart, The Sparrow is a cross-cultural collaboration between Italian playwright Nicholas Pratt and British composer Olly Novello, uniting two creative traditions to forge a new musical language rooted in both heritage and innovation. The show also features additional materials by Adam Morris, a London-based composer and writer who contributed to the early development of the book.

Pratt is a lawyer and civil servant who found his way into musical theatre by writing Italian lyrics for Disenchanted!, The Addams Family, 9 to 5, and Netflix’s Popples. He brings a uniquely Italian sensibility to the work’s language and themes. Novello trained at the Guildford School of Acting and quickly established himself as one of the youngest composers to have a show produced Off West End. His musical The Verge of Forever premiered at The Other Palace in 2023, followed by a diverse range of projects for stage, film, and television — including Jesús Está a las Puertas (San Diego), Is That the Universe Expanding or Are You Just Happy to See Me? (Australia), and ZDF/Netflix’s Doppelhaushälfte. His upcoming works include 1985, set to premiere in London in 2026.

“I’m incredibly excited to bring The Sparrow to the stage,” says Novello. “It feels as though, in every age, there exists some instrument of control exerted over people’s lives - its form may shift with each century, yet the struggle for freedom against those who seek to dominate remains a timeless and universal truth.”

“It’s a story that has fascinated me ever since I first studied it in school,” adds Pratt. “Maria was a difficult character to write because she spends most of the story without agency. Her only act of will arrives at the end of the show. Exploring how to give voice to that quiet resistance has been one of the most demanding and satisfying parts of the process.”

The musical is currently preparing for its first development workshops and industry presentations in 2026.