Strictly champion choreographs couple’s new show Barista The Musical in Horsham
Strictly champion Pasha Kovalev is to choreograph a Worthing couple’s new show Barista The Musical when it premieres at Horsham’s Capitol Theatre from September 12-21.
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00:00Good morning, my name is Phil Hewitt, Group Arts Editor for Sussex Newspapers. Lovely
00:06this morning to be speaking to Nigel and Anna Newman of Worthing. Very exciting year coming
00:11up, 2024. We're heading towards, in September, in the capital in Horsham, the premiere of
00:18your new musical, Barista. Tell me about it. Nigel, what's the gist of the story? What's
00:23it all about?
00:25Well, as the name suggests, Barista, this is a musical that has a real link around coffee.
00:33And it's fundamentally a love story, but set across two countries. So one of the characters
00:41comes from England, and one is a young student who comes from Colombia, and it's their love
00:46story. The two countries gives us a chance to bring lots of different musical styles
00:51and of course, dance as well.
00:53And a distinguished choreographer here we're talking, aren't we?
00:56Yeah, absolutely. We're absolutely thrilled to be working with Pasha Kovalev, one of the
01:01Strictly dancers, professionals and a champion even. So he's amazing to have on board. But
01:07we also have a super director in Sarah Redmond, who's very established as a performer and
01:12director in London as well.
01:14Yeah. And Anna, tell me a bit more about the kind of musical we're talking about. Obviously,
01:18it's got love, it's got dance.
01:20Yes, it's got pretty much everything. I think it's got a wonderful score. And it's dramatic,
01:30but it's also very tender. It has a lovely story through it, a thread of family love
01:38and loyalty, treachery and a lot of humour as well. So I think it should appeal to most
01:45people. I think it's a very rounded musical and hopefully people will love it.
01:54It sounds terrific. But Anna, tell me again, how do you work together? It's a partnership,
01:59a writing partnership, isn't it? How do you divide the task?
02:03Completely, yes, it is a complete partnership. Nigel tends to write the music, the melody,
02:11and then we'll sit and write the lyrics together. Quite unusually, sometimes it's around the other
02:15way, but we tend to have, Nigel will write a lovely tune and we'll write lyrics to that tune.
02:22And in terms of the script, we do that together too.
02:28Yes, it's definitely been something that we've evolved together and on all fronts,
02:36actually. And I guess that has enabled us to develop it and continue to develop it. I think
02:42musicals are living and breathing things, aren't they? So it'll continue to develop right up until...
02:47And Nigel, as with so many things, had it not been for the pandemic,
02:50this would have happened sooner, wouldn't it?
02:53Indeed. After we started our relationship with our producers, Even James Productions,
03:01we did two professional workshops in London, which was super helpful.
03:06But then the second one of those was literally just before the pandemic hit.
03:11So everything, of course, was put on hold for a while. But as soon as theatre really picked up
03:15again, we've started that journey and are really excited now to be looking forward to the production
03:22next year.
03:22Fantastic. So counting down to September, the Capital and Horsham for the premiere of Barista.
03:28Really lovely to speak to you. Keep in touch. Keep me posted what happens as you
03:31get closer to production. And thank you very much indeed.
03:34Brilliant. Thank you so much, Phil.