Back in London, Helpmann directed and choreographed the first British production of Lerner and Loewe's musical "Camelot" in 1964. He had been approached by its authors to play Merlin in the original Broadway production, but nothing came of the suggestion. For the London production he sought to recapture, more than the American production had done, the sprit of "The Once and Future King", the book on which the show was based. The musical received tepid reviews, but Helpmann's production, with designs by John Truscott, was praised as a "dazzling" and "gorgeous spectacle"; the show ran for well over a year.