Full casting has been unveiled for the highly-anticipated return of folk-flavoured musical The Wicker Husband to Newbury’s Watermill Theatre next month.
Joseph Alessi (The Lorax, Old Vic and Toronto) will take on the role of Cobbler with Gemma Sutton (Sweet Charity, The Watermill) as Ugly Girl, Olivier Award winner George Maguire (Sunny Afternoon, West End) as Wicker Husband, Angela Caesar (Caroline, or Change, Playhouse Theatre, Chichester Festival Theatre and National Theatre) as Cobbler’s Wife, Jonathan Charles (The Butterfly Lion, Barn Theatre) as Innkeep, Claire-Marie Hall (Operation Mincemeat, Southwark Playhouse) as Innkeep’s Wife, Jack Quarton (Amélie, Criterion Theatre) as Tailor, Davina Moon (Privates on Parade, Noel Coward Theatre) as Tailor’s Wife and Julian Forsyth (Sunset Boulevard, ENO) as Old Basket Maker.
Pat Moran will feature as the onstage musical director alongside on-stage band members, Jon Whitten playing the hammered dulcimer and Rachel Barnes.
The puppeteers of The Wicker Husband will be Nisha Anil (Rhia and The Tree of Lights, Quirk Theatre) and Sebastian Charles (puppeteer for Amal in The Walk, Good Chance and Handspring Puppet Company). The cast is completed by Tom Norman (War Horse, UK and international tour) as Swing.
The musical which had its world premiere run at the distinctive Berkshire venue in early March 2020 cut short by the pandemic, will now return to complete its run from 11-26 March 2022.
Based on a short story by Ursula Wills-Jones, the winner of the inaugural MTI Stiles + Drewe Mentorship Award in 2016 has a book by Rhys Jennings and music and lyrics by Darren Clark.
Commenting on the return of the production, Clark said: “The Wicker Husband was one of many shows that closed in 2020 due to the pandemic and sadly many of those will never get the chance to be performed again.
“We feel so incredibly fortunate that the Watermill Theatre continues to put its faith in our story and for its continued perseverance and commitment to supporting quality work by new British writers in remounting the show this coming March.
“When we go into rehearsal, it will be nearly 10 years since we originally began working on this beautiful, ambitious show and we simply cannot wait to share it with you at the stunning Watermill with this extraordinary cast.”
The venue’s artistic director Paul Hart added: “It’s been a long road since The Wicker Husband, a piece that is so perfect for The Watermill’s stage, opened and was forced to almost immediately close, in March 2020. With its beautiful score, and incredible puppets, I can’t wait to welcome back the whole team for this remarkable show.”
Directed by Charlotte Westenra, the Watermill production features handcrafted wicker puppets created by Finn Caldwell whose credits include War Horse, Life of Pi and The Grinning Man. Set design is by Anna Kelsey, with choreography by Steven Harris, lighting design by Hartley T A Kemp and sound design by Ella Wahlström. The associate sound designer is Gregory Clarke and the associate puppetry director is Gareth Aled. The stage management team consists of Emily Stedman, Alex Berridge-Schuter, Caitlin Ravenscroft and Eleanor Walton.
The Wicker Husband was included in the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s 30th Annual Festival of New Musicals in New York in 2018. It is one of two new British musicals re-scheduled from 2020. The musical version of Graham Greene’s classic novel Our Man In Havana will now receive its world premiere at the venue from 7 April until 21 May.
The Watermill is taking part in the National Lottery’s Love Your Local Theatre scheme this March. When purchasing a ticket for The Wicker Husband during the month of March, patrons will get another ticket free, courtesy of the National Lottery.
Angela Thomas
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