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Ground-breaking film The Harder They Come has come again! But this time it’s reincarnated as a colourful stage play which  kicked off its North American tour in Toronto on Tuesday.

Like the 1972 film on which it’s based, the musical was written by Jamaica’s Perry Henzell who died in 2006, but not before he’d written the script for a musical based on his tale of a would-be musician who becomes a wanted man in the mean streets of Kingston, Jamaica.

British producer Jan Ryan brought it to the stage and Theatre Royal Stratford East and UK Arts International have teamed with Mirvish Productions to premiere it in Toronto.

The film, with its track of famous songs such as The Harder They Come, You Can Get It If You Really Want and Many Rivers to Cross, brought lead player, singer and song-writer Jimmy Cliff to superstardom. Cliff’s character, based on a real-life Jamaican criminal, cannot negotiate the politics of the music industry and turns to crime. Many of the issues tackled in the film is still pertinent today so should resonate with audiences around the world.

The Toronto production, the first stop on an international tour, runs June 21 through Aug. 23 at the Canon Theatre.

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