FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY
Seven Bucks Productions, co-founded by wrestling legend Dwayne Johnson, better known to WWE fans as The Rock, has teamed up Tilted Musicals and Birmingham Hippodrome to bring Stephen Merchant’s biopic film, Fighting With My Family, to the stage as a musical.
The new high-energy musical inspired by the 2019 film and an extraordinary true story, follows Saraya Knight, aka Paige, a goth outsider who is raised in a chaotic but loving British wrestling dynasty. When a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity takes her from Norwich to America’s glitzy WWE, she must confront who she really is without her family in her corner.
A ‘heartfelt coming-of-age story’ it will feature a vibrant songbook by British songwriter Miranda Cooper who shaped the sound of 2000s British pop music, penning more than 30 Top 10 singles and 4 No 1’s for major pop acts including Girls Aloud, Sugababes, Pet Shop Boys, Alesha Dixon and Kylie Minogue.
With book and lyrics by Olivier award-winning playwright Jon Brittain, Fighting With My Family will feature a bold new soundtrack with music and lyrics by Brit Award-winning songwriter Miranda Cooper and music by Ivor Novello-nominated Nick Coler.
Merchant says, “When we were making the film, 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. I approached each wrestling match like it was a different dance number, building to a big show-stopping finale. Seeing the film reimagined for the stage feels like the natural next step. The team have captured the humour, grit and heart of the story in a way that feels both faithful to the film and completely fresh.”
Wrestler turned actor Johnson, who played himself in the film as well as co-producing it with Seven Bucks Productions’ co-founder Dany Garcia, reflects, “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. Working with Stephen Merchant on the film was a truly special experience, and his brilliant work deserves this new act. As it comes to life musically, I have no doubt it will be an absolute blast for theatre-goers.”
Garcia adds, “From the very beginning, Fighting With My Family has been about heart, grit, and the unexpected humour life throws at you along the way – the kind of journey that shapes who we become. At Seven Bucks, we’re always building stories that connect on a deeply human level, and this one was made for a live audience. With Jon, Miranda, and Nick involved, we know this musical will not only honor the film but expand the universe of this story in a way that feels both authentic and alive.”
Closed workshops will take place this year before a public presentation in 2027 and Tilted Musicals co-founders Cooper and Sam Hodges, reveal, “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. 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. But also, wrestling is pure theatre. It’s as much about storytelling as it is fighting, it’s funny as well as fierce, and more than anything else, it’s about the art of winning a crowd over – the first rule of performance. For all those reasons, it felt like a perfect start for the first of our Tilted Musicals projects to be announced.”
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