Royal Theatre to resurrect Amy Winehouse

Danish theatre group is planning a production based on deceased singer’s career and personal life, despite disapproval from her family

Amy Winehouse, Britain’s best-selling artist of the 21st century, is making a comeback from the grave in a newly planned production by Copenhagen theatre group Det Røde Rum, a facet of the Royal Theatre.

The theatre calls the production, titled simply ‘Amy’ a collage of Winehouse’s ”fast-paced career, her struggle with her demons and the destructive love affair between her and her boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil”.

The announcement, however, was met with hostility from Winehouse’s Father, Mitch Winehouse.

“It doesn’t matter to them whether it’s too soon [after her death,]” he told Yahoo News “they’re only interested in making money and nothing else bothers them.”

Winehouse doesn’t think the play will be much of a success either.

“It will be like any of these unauthorised biographies that are made about her – they can’t use the songs so it won’t be worth seeing,” he said. “We can’t do anything about it if they do want to go ahead, but I think it will be a load of rubbish.”

Mitch Winehouse has previously expressed disapproval about his daughter’s image being used for commercial purposes, calling John Paul Gaultier’s Amy Winehouse-inspired 2012 Spring/Summer collection, where models donned Winehouse’s characteristic beehive do and heavy eyeliner, "to be in bad taste” on his Twitter account.

The actress who will portray Winehouse, Johanne Louise Schmidt, has previously played Alanis Morissette in Det Røde Rum’s Jagged Little Pill and claimed that the show would in fact be using Winehouse’s music.

“We’ve been given access to all her material,” she told the Ritzau news bureau. “We can use all her songs, notes and recordings.”

Royal Theatre artistic director Emmet Feigenberg refuted Mitch Winehouse’s accusations about the intent of the production, which is set to premiere in January.  

“It is fair to say that the production will not be used as a cash-cow,” he told Yahoo News “Ticket-prices will be as low as possible and ‘Amy’ will be performed only 13 times on one of our smallest stages in a small-scale and intimate production.”

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