March 14, 2013 21:32

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong to write new music for Shakespeare adaptation Green Day Tickets

The frontman will contribute to the rock retelling of 'Much Ado About Nothing'

Photo Gallery: Green Day
Photo: Press

Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong is to write new music for a rock adaptation of Shakespeare.

The frontman will contribute new material to the Yale Repertory Theater's production of 'These Paper Bullets', a modern day updating of The Bard's 'Much Ado About Nothing', reports the New York Times.

The play centres on a band from Liverpool as they cope with the pressure of the London music industry and fledgling romance. The project marks a return to theatre for Bille Joe Armstrong, who was previously a creative force behind Green Day's Broadway show 'American Idiot' in 2010.

Meanwhile, as revealed earlier this week, Green Day will headline this year's Reading and Leeds Festivals as well as playing a huge gig at London's Emirates Stadium in June. The dates will come just six months after Armstrong left rehab following a high profile breakdown in Las Vegas in September 2012 and an admission he was addicted to alcohol and insomnia pills.

Speaking in this week's new issue of NME about how the band are feeling ahead of the gigs, bass player Mike Dirnt admitted: "It's nerve-wracking playing these shows after Billie Joe's rehab. The shit really hit the fan but we're ready to get the fuck out of home again."

Read the full interview with Mike Dirnt of Green Day in this week's NME, available nationwide now (March 14).

Subscribe to NME here, or get this week's digital issue

The world's greatest music magazine is now available as a digital edition! For exclusive content you won't find on NME.COM, download here on your iPad/iPhone and here on your Kindle Fire or Nook.

Share on Facebook