The Harder they Come

In 2006, Stratford East staged a smash hit musical adptation of the 1972 reggae film classic The Harder they Come. And in 2025 it’s doing it again, this time the UK premire of a completely different version with a book by the great US playwright Suzan Lori-Parks. The songs, of course, are the Jimmy Cliff originals, and the story cleaves to that of Perry Henzell’s movie. It follows young hero Ivan, who arrives in Kingston, Jamaica determined to make it as a reggae star and who becomes radically disillusioned with the corrupt music business. Matthew Xia directs.