Casting Announced For OUR MAN IN HAVANA At The Watermill

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 by Ben Morales Frost, book & lyrics 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 globe 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.

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