Andrew Barth Feldman sings And Now He Hounds the Night in the first song released from Nero, the new musical by Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik that opens at Southwark Playhouse Elephant on 2 November.
A burgundy jacket, a hand-held microphone and a crumbling hall full of stacked wooden chairs, lit by flames and strings of bulbs. That is the setting for the first song to be heard from Nero: Andrew Barth Feldman, who plays the emperor, performing And Now He Hounds the Night live to camera.
The camera stays close, then pulls back to find guitarist Daniel Kemshell seated among the chairs. Phil Bateman, the production's musical supervisor, vocal arranger and co-orchestrator, is credited on the film, which Jack Douglas directed, shot and edited.
The video is also on Southwark Playhouse's YouTube channel.
Steven Sater wrote the book and lyrics and the late Duncan Sheik composed the score, reuniting the team behind Spring Awakening, with Lindsay Posner directing. Their Nero is the young man before the legend: an artist and performer pushed towards a throne, as family, love and Roman politics close in around him.
Alongside Feldman, the company includes Stephen Carlile as Seneca, Sally Dexter as Agrippina, Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky as Poppea, Nabi Brown as Octavia, Waylon Jacobs as Tigellinus and Timo Tatzber as Britannicus. The full cast and creative team are in our guide, everything you need to know about Nero.
Nero plays Southwark Playhouse Elephant from 2 November - 5 December 2026, Monday to Saturday at 7pm with Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm.
