Rave Reviews for THE HARDER THEY COME in London!
The Harder They Come has opened at The Royal Stratford East Theater in London!
Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, and Olivier award-winning director Matthew Xia, bring to life a new musical adaptation of the 1972 movie, The Harder They Come.
The breakthrough film, produced and directed by Perry Henzell and co-written with Trevor Rhone, follows Ivanhoe Martin, a rural dreamer who arrives in Kingston to become a star. He falls in love and cuts a record, but his rise is blocked by corrupt gatekeepers and a rigged system. Refusing to back down, Ivan fights to assert agency over his own existence, transforming into both outlaw and folk hero. His song becomes an island-wide anthem of resistance and hope.
Featuring Grammy Award-winner Jimmy Cliff’s hits, such as “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” “Many Rivers to Cross” and “The Harder They Come.”
“Electrifying…sweet and sandy and catchy as hell” — so says The Guardian in one of the many 5-star reviews accorded to The Harder They Come.
The Guardian goes on to praise director Matthew Xia’s production as a “galvanising spirit of protest, justice and power-to-the-people kinship,” blending comedy and tragedy in a narrative that spans playful, catchy quips and heartfelt drama. “There are only Aces in this deck.”
Broadway World called the musical a “late summer smash,” breathing new life into the cult-classic 1972 film story with gorgeous set pieces and characters, and musical numbers churning “hit after hit” via live band. They go on: “The show moves effortlessly between exultation, longing, defiance, heartbreak. The musical numbers are integral to everything we see: they lift the mood, deepen the impact of the plot points and give interior life to Ivan’s hopes and disillusionment.”
What’sOnStage calls Suzan-Lori Parks’ adaptation compelling, remarking on the focus on Ivan’s emotional journey as the musical’s core tenet. “This tonal shift transforms what was once a gritty crime drama into something altogether more uplifting.” They add: “Matthew Xia’s direction crackles with visceral energy, whilst Shelley Maxwell’s choreography gives everything a natural rhythm that permeates the entire production like a collective heartbeat.”
AllThatDazzles agreed with this sentiment, adding in its own 5-star review: “By their official opening, the team had crafted something so vivid, so extraordinary, and so alive with kinetic energy and clarity of vision, that it was as if I was seeing every scene, hearing every song, for the first time all over again.” Not to be outdone, The Arts Desk likened the ensemble to “West End performances”, praising the cast and Xia’s direction as reaching heights that were “operatic in its scale and power. For once, the adjective spine-tingling is not a reviewer’s metaphorical flourish, but a literal description. I can think of no better a recommendation than that.”
Neither can we.
See The Harder They Come now extended through November 1, 2025, presented by Stratford East in association with Washington Square Films. WSF’s Joshua Blum & Bruce Miller serve as Producers.
