Wrestling Drama Fighting With My Family Set for Musical Stage Adaptation
The acclaimed 2019 wrestling biopic Fighting With My Family, directed by Stephen Merchant, is being transformed into a full-scale stage musical production. This exciting adaptation will bring the story of WWE champion Saraya-Jade Bevis, known professionally as Paige, to theatrical audiences with a fresh musical interpretation.
From Silver Screen to Stage Spectacle
The musical adaptation features a creative team including book and lyrics by Jon Brittain, with music composed by Miranda Cooper and Nick Coler. The project is being developed by Tilted Musicals, whose co-founders Miranda Cooper and Sam Hodges expressed particular enthusiasm for the family dynamics at the story's core.
"What we love most about this story is, at its heart, it's about family – and all the wonderful, messy, contradictory dynamics that exist in every family," they stated. "It follows in the footsteps of superb British indies like The Full Monty, Billy Elliot and Everybody's Talking About Jamie, all of which have made terrific stage musicals."
Creative Vision and Wrestling as Performance Art
Stephen Merchant, who wrote and directed the original film, revealed he always envisioned the story in musical terms. "I always thought of it like a musical: a young woman from the 'chorus line' fighting to get her big break, surrounded by theatrical, larger-than-life characters and huge sweeping emotions," Merchant explained.
The director approached each wrestling sequence in the film as if it were a choreographed dance number, "building to a big show-stopping finale." He praised the adaptation team for "capturing the humour, grit and heart of the story in a way that feels both faithful to the film and completely fresh."
Star Power and Production Details
The original film starred Florence Pugh as Saraya-Jade Bevis, portraying her journey from a wrestling family in Norwich to becoming a WWE star in the United States at just eighteen years old. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson appeared in character in the film and is collaborating on the musical through his company Seven Bucks Productions.
Johnson expressed strong confidence in the adaptation: "Fighting With My Family feels exceptionally well suited for the stage. It's packed with personal emotion expressed through the dynamic world of wrestling, which has always been about storytelling and connecting with a live audience ... As it comes to life musically, I have no doubt it will be an absolute blast for theatregoers."
Background and Development Timeline
Saraya-Jade Bevis's remarkable life story has previously been documented in a 2012 Channel 4 documentary and her 2023 memoir Hell in Boots: Clawing My Way Through Nine Lives, which detailed her childhood challenges, personal struggles, and wrestling career highs and lows.
In a past interview, Bevis reflected on performance dynamics: "You can make them hate you, love you, cry for you and you get this adrenaline rush." This theatrical sensibility makes her story particularly suitable for stage adaptation.
The creative team includes Jon Brittain, whose previous success includes the hit musical Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!, currently being adapted for television. Development workshops for the Fighting With My Family musical will commence this year, with a public presentation anticipated for 2027.
