Book online at watermill.org.uk or VIA the Box Office on 01635 46044
Full casting and creative team have been announced for OUR MAN IN HAVANA, the world premiere musical adaptation of Graham Greene’s iconic novel, opening at Newbury’s The Watermill on Thursday 7 April – Saturday 21 May, with a press night on Monday 11 April.
A roller coaster comedy full of colourful
characters and uplifting Cuban inspired songs, this new musical is based on
Graham Greene’s iconic novel that cleverly satirises the fine line between
truth and lies. The production
was originally programmed as part of The Watermill’s Spring 2020 season but had
to be postponed by the pandemic, and now Artistic Director Paul Hart,
Executive Director Claire Murray and the whole team are thrilled to welcome
the show to The Watermill for a new run of the show this spring.
‘And all around them, the night comes alive with the
music of Havana…’
It’s 1958 and Havana is on the brink of revolution. All day and night,
the streets are filled with dancing and the shadows are filled with criminals.
In the midst of the warm tropical air, an English vacuum cleaner salesman lives
a quiet life running a modest business, raising his teenage daughter Milly and
collecting miniature whisky bottles.
Just as Milly’s love of shopping reaches new heights, James Wormold
receives an offer from the British Secret Intelligence Service that is too good
to refuse. What Wormold lacks in sleuthing experience, he makes up for with
imagination. Nothing stays quiet for long in Havana and his life is soon turned
upside down when the fictional events of his intelligence reports start to come
true!
Nigel Lister (The Secret Adversary – The Watermill and Footloose – UK tour) will play ‘James Wormold’, Daniella Agredo Piper (Electrolyte – The Watermill, The Secret Garden – Barn Theatre) will play ‘Milly Wormold’, Paula James (Beauty and the Beast – Rose Theatre, Gin Craze! – Royal & Derngate) will play ‘Beatrice / Maria’, Alvaro Flores (ClubMex – Hope Mill Theatre, Time of Our Lies – Park Theatre) will play ‘Segura / Hawthorne / Marco’, Adam Keast (The Sound of Fury – Liverpool Everyman/Playhouse, The Rise and Fall of Little Voice – Bolton Octagon) will play ‘Hasselbacher/Chief’ and Antonio Sanchez (Mamma Mia! - Sala Joaquin Turina; Seville, Beauty and the Beast: The Musical - Asociacion de Teatro La Ribera; Seville) will be the Onstage Musical Director.
Directed by Watermill Associate Director Abigail Pickard Price,
designed by Kat Heath, with Eliane Correa and Ben Morales Frost
as co-orchestrators, OUR MAN IN HAVANA has music & lyrics by Ben
Morales Frost, book by Richard Hough, sound design by Adam Fisher,
lighting design by Robbie Butler and choreography by Andrea Pelaez,
with Chris Cuming as Associate Choreographer. The Stage Management team consists of Rose Burston
(DSM), Natalie Toney and Fern Bamber (ASMs) with Katie Crump
on ASM placement.
Richard Hough
said, “The greatest honour of my career, the acme of my story so far, is
being given the chance to transpose the finest writer of the 20th century from
the printed page to the Watermill stage. Graham Greene has been an inspiration
to me since I first read Our Man in Havana at university, a
thousand years ago. The thought of bringing his world to life, of planting my
feet in the soil of a little bit of Greeneland, makes me happier than I can
say, and quite frankly, more excited than is seemly. To be working with such a
superb company and crew is a privilege, and to do it in Newbury a pleasure.”
Ben Morales Frost said, “It was an
irresistible challenge: a story half set in 1950s Havana, half in London; a
father-daughter relationship wrapped up in a tale of intrigue and international
espionage; a cast of 6 who have to act, sing, dance, play instruments, and
still operate a vacuum cleaner convincingly…
Working
with Eliane to create authentic Cuban orchestrations has been a real treat, and
has helped us create a gloriously jarring contrast to the buttoned-up
atmosphere of England in the mid-20th Century. We hope you enjoy the result.”
Abbigail Pickard Price said, “The heat and heart of Cuba perhaps
feels somewhat far away from the rolling hills of Bagnor but on first reading
of Ben and Rich’s new telling of Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana I
felt immediately transported. I have loved getting to delve further into this
as the team has come together; seeing the brilliantly bright snapshot of Havana
that Designer Kat Heath is creating and hearing Eliane and Ben’s Cuban
orchestrations. I look forward to joining this wonderful team in rehearsals and
hope that the audiences of Newbury will enjoy being transported across the
world and back in time to the world of Our Man in Havana as much as I did
the first time I set eyes on this script.”
The
Watermill continues to follow measures to control the risk of Covid-19 and to ensure
the safety and confidence of its audience members, staff, actors and creative
teams. The wearing of face coverings continues to be requested in the auditorium.
Enhanced cleaning procedures, including regular fogging of the auditorium, and
an efficient ventilation system supplying conditioned and filtered fresh air
also remain in place.
To help audience members to book with confidence, The Watermill are operating a flexible booking policy. In the event that their booking is affected by Covid-19, audience members will be offered a ticket exchange, account credit or refund.
