The world premiere of new British musical The Sorcerer’s Apprentice will now take place online following the cancellation of the show’s debut season at the Southwark Playhouse this month.
Announcing the decision to move the production onto streaming platform stream.theatre, producer James Seabright said: “We are sorry not to be able to present this wonderful new show to audiences as planned at Southwark Playhouse, but we are going to film it in the venue next week with broadcast quality cameras and then premiere it online.
“I commissioned it five years ago, and have loved developing it since then through a series of workshops and a West End concert presentation of an earlier version in 2017, which led to the invitation from Southwark Playhouse to premiere the show at their venue this month.
“I decided to press ahead with these plans with rehearsals up to Christmas and fit up and get-in since New Year despite the challenges presented by doing so during the Covid-19 pandemic, as I think this magical story of renewal and the importance of family is especially timely.
“However, the latest national lockdown leaves us with a show ready to perform which we are unable to share with live audiences. I have been inspired by the determination and resolve of our cast, creative team to make this possible whilst maintaining the highest safety standards for everyone on and off stage.”
Inspired by the 18th century poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the musical which has been created by writer Richard Hough and composer Ben Morales Frost (Our Man In Havana, A Christmas Carol) was due to make its debut in a production directed by Charlotte Westenra from 9 January until 13 February. The filmed version will now be streamed to home audiences from 26 January until 14 February (Monday to Saturday) with matinee performances on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday.
The gender-swapped twist on the original classic poem features: Nicola Blackman (Destry Rides Again, Donmar Warehouse); Dawn Hope (Follies, National Theatre); Marc Pickering (Seussical, Southwark Playhouse); Yazdan Qafouri (The Band, West End and UK tour); and David Thaxton (Jesus Christ Superstar, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre). The cast is completed by recent graduate Mary Moore making her professional stage debut in the musical and an ensemble made up of Tom Bales, Ryan Pidgen, Vicki Lee Taylor and Kayleigh Thadani.
Composer Frost also serves as orchestrator for the production which features musical direction by Alan Williams and choreography by Steven Harris. The creative team also includes puppetry director Scarlet Wilderink, set and costume designer Anna Kelsey, lighting designer Clancy Flynn, sound designer Ella Wahlstrom, puppetry designer Maia Kirman-Richards and magic consultant Scott Penrose. The King’s Head Theatre is the associate producer.
Angela Thomas
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