Children’s author Michael Morpurgo thrilled his Pinocchio is coming to Newbury’s Watermill
“I’ve always loved the idea of seeing a Pinocchio in this wooden and atmospheric space which responds to the idea of the story being literally carved out of Geppetto’s workshop. I have no doubt this celebration of storytelling will bring joy to our audiences,” said the Watermill’s artistic director Paul Hart as the casting for the Christmas show was announced.
The family production of Michael Morpurgo’s Pinocchio opens on Friday, November 15 and runs until Sunday, January 5.
Michael Morpurgo said “At last, Pinocchio speaks for himself! About time too. And I’m so thrilled he’s doing it at the Watermill. Come see Pinocchio as he’d like to be seen. Simon Reade and I are rare amongst writers. Others have read Pinocchio, the Collodi version of his life, or seen the movie. We’ve met him! Come see the show and you can meet him too!”
Lovingly carved in Geppetto’s workshop, Pinocchio’s parents dream of a bright future for their wooden son. Pinocchio, however, dreams of adventure and sets off on a path of fun and freedom ready to discover the world. Along the way, Pinocchio is confronted with big decisions and a menagerie of colourful characters, leading to calamitous consequences as he starts a fire, turns into a donkey, and even ends up inside a whale!
Pinocchio has been adapted for the stage by Morpurgo’s long-time collaborator Simon Reade, with music and lyrics by Chris Larner.
“We are all tremendously excited about bringing this new production of Pinocchio to life here at the Watermill.” Paul Hart added. “I have been so inspired by the care and craft with which Simon Reade and Chris Larner have responded to Michael Morpurgo’s extraordinary retelling of this story.”
Pinocchio’ will be played by Jerome Yates (Our Teacher’s Troll and Peter Pan & The Battle for Neverland – Ruined Theatre), in the role of ‘Geppetto’ is Christopher Bianchi (I’m Sorry Prime Minister: I Can’t Quite Remember – Barn Theatre, Of Mice and Men – The Torch Theatre), Fred Double (Much Ado About Nothing – Watermill Theatre, Wuthering Heights – Wise Children DeLaMar Theatre) will play ‘Cricket’, Hanora Kamen (Macbeth – English Touring Theatre, The Gangs of New York and The Importance of Being Earnest – Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, will play ‘Fox’, with Lottie Latham (The Mousetrap – West End and National Tour, The Miniaturists – Arcola) as ‘Signora Geppetto’, Eddy Payne (Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet – Orange Tree Theatre and Guildford Shakespeare Company, Little Women, Romeo & Juliet and Stig of the Dump – Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre) as ‘Cat’, Jacoba Williams (The Frogs – Kiln Theatre and Royal & Derngate, The Fir Tree, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night – Shakespeare’s Globe) as ‘Carabiniere’ and Simon David (The Musical of Musicals! (The Musical!), Above The Stag Theatre) who will be musical supervisor and onstage musical director.
Co-direction will come from Elle White and Indiana Lown-Collins, set and costume design from Yoav Segal alongside Marc Parrett who will be puppet designer, maker and director, lighting design from Jonathan Chan, with sound design by Ella Wahlstrom, and movement direction from Asha Jennings-Grant. Completing the production team is production manager Tom Nickson, company stage manager Cat Pewsey, DSM Caitlin Ravenscroft, ASMs Fern Bamber and Katie Crump, BSL supervisor Stephen Collins, sign integrated performer Kim Helman, alongside Lixi Chivas who will also be the audio describer and Min Gilby on captioning.
“The vision of Elle, Indiana, and the whole creative team is teeing up to be something very special. We are excited to share some initial designs which the incredible Watermill team are in the process of bringing to life,” continued Paul Hart. “The terrific cast for this will be assisted by puppets created by our very own Geppetto, Marc Parrett.”
Michael Morpurgo has been writing stories since the 1970s and is one of the UK’s best-loved authors, Michael was appointed Children’s Laureate in 2003 and was awarded the OBE for his writing in 2006. He has written over 130 books, including The Butterfly Lion, Kensuke’s Kingdom, The Mozart Question and War Horse, which was adapted for the stage by the National Theatre and then, in 2011, for a film by Steven Spielberg. Many of Michael’s other books have been adapted for the stage including Private Peaceful, An Elephant In the Garden, Toro Toro!, The Mozart Question, The Butterfly Lion, I Believe In Unicorns, Why the Whales Came and Kensuke’s Kingdom.
Michael was awarded a Knighthood in the New Year’s Honours in 2018 for services to literature and charity.
The Watermill are offering a special treat to audiences for the first performance on November 15 at 5.30pm – tickets will be £15 and will include a complimentary hot drink and sweet treat from the Watermill café before the show.
Newbury’s Horsey Lightly Solicitors, long-time supporters of The Watermill are generously supporting this production. horseylightly.com
PERFORMANCE schedule varies, visit https://www.watermill.org.uk/ for exact times and dates.
The age recommendation is 4+ but all ages are welcome.
Access services: BSL (British sign language)/ CAP (captioning) / RP (relaxed performance)/ AD (audio description).
THE WATERMILL THEATRE
The Watermill Theatre is The Stage’s Theatre of the Year 2024, jointly held with The National Theatre.
In November 2022 Arts Council England cut The Watermill’s National Portfolio funding – equating to a loss of £460k a year. The Theatre, now an independent charity without any statutory funding, went on to produce eight shows in 2023, including the award winning The Lord of the Rings, its most ambitious production to date, which saw it welcome 17,000 people through its doors, 47% of whom were first time bookers. This show, re-created in partnership with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, received its American premiere in July 2024 and will continue to New Zealand in the autumn, followed by a run at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia in 2025.
The theatre, a converted Grade II listed rural watermill nestled on the banks of the river Lambourn, is a unique producing powerhouse of residential and artistic facilities which provide a crucible for creativity, innovative storytelling and artistic excellence. The Watermill’s work is characterised by an enduring pursuit of artistic innovation and the weaving of actor-musicianship through new writing and reinvigorated classics. They tell stories that reflect and celebrate diverse lived experiences, create the environment for actors and creatives to take risks, and connect annual audiences of 60,000 with live theatre that truly resonates.
With a core belief in the transformative power of the arts, The Watermill open opportunities for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, young families and isolated or displaced communities to explore their own creativity. Their engagement programmes reach 20,000 people each year in the theatre, schools and other community settings. The theatre engages with those who are underrepresented, hard to reach, or at risk and drives long term impact for its communities.
Reaching far beyond the 200 seats in its auditorium, The Watermill’s productions regularly transfer to the West End or tour nationally and internationally. Over the last five years, half of its productions have had a further life beyond The Watermill including Calamity Jane, The Lord of the Rings, Bleak Expectations, SPIKE, Amelie the Musical, and Crazy for You.
The Watermill’s central ethos is to commission, discover and amplify new voices to create work that excites audiences now and will become part of the theatrical canon in the future.
