Eastbourne stage show inspired by the life of Nina Simone

It comes to the theatre for two performances on June 30 and July 1.

Spokeswoman Aimee Pugh said: “Inspired by the life of the Nina Simone and featuring many of her most iconic songs performed live, this powerful production will transfix audiences and comes to Eastbourne following sell-out seasons in Shanghai, New York, Edinburgh and the West End.

“The show imagines a jazz singer reflecting on her life, holed up in a hotel room alone, from young piano prodigy to superstar diva at the forefront of the civil rights movement, with all the love, joy, tragedy and racism she experienced along the way.

“Nina Simone was a cultural icon, an enigma with 40-plus albums to her name, a jazz singer who fused gospel and pop with classical music. Her US breakthrough came in 1958 with I Loves You, Porgy and subsequent album Little Girl Blue, which due to an ill-advised music deal left Simone at least $1 million out of pocket from royalties as she sold the rights for just $3,000.

“Simone was a child prodigy who took to the piano keys aged just four.

" By 12 she was presenting a full classical recital. During this performance, her parents were forced to move from the front row to the back so a white couple could take their seats. Simone refused to play until her parents could return to their seats, an event attributed to the beginning of her long hard-fought battle in activism.