First look: The Mozart Question at The Barn Theatre

First look photos have been revealed of The Mozart Question at The Barn Theatre.

Directed by Jessica Daniels, Vicki Berwick’s theatrical adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s beloved novel The Mozart Question runs at the Cirencester venue until 30 April 2022 from 21 March.

The play, which was originally planned to debut as part of the theatre’s 2020 season, will be the fourth production based on Michael Morpurgo’s work to be staged at the theatre and continues their ongoing relationship with the internationally best-selling author.

The production comprises of an actor-musician ensemble with composition, arrangements and musical supervision by Rudy Percival.

Those on the cast are Matt Ray Brown (The Inheritance, Henry V), Ian Harris (Treasure Island), Phyllis Ho (Life of Pi), Elzbieta Kalicka (The Brothers Grimm Present: Cinderella), Lara Lewis (The Hired Man), Matthew Romain (The Recruiting Officer, The Brothers Grimm Present: Cinderella), Mikey Tsoukkas (professional stage debut), Eleanor Turiansky (professional stage debut) and Emma Whittaker (The Green Fairy).

We open with a young reporter being sent to interview a great violinist Paolo Levi. There’s just one thing she is told not to do and that is to ask the Mozart question.

However, as the interview begins, Paolo takes the opportunity to tell her his life story, including the answer to mystery.

He takes us back to his life as a little boy growing up in Venice and recounts how he discovered a violin in his own home. A violin with a haunting traumatic past set against the background of the Holocaust. Michael Morpurgo’s moving tale of love, secrets and survival is bound together by the power of music in the hardest of times.

The production features design by Ceci Calf (How To Survive An Apocolypse), movement direction by Mark Conway (Land of Our Fathers – Time Out Critic’s Choice), lighting design by Sam Rowcliffe-Tanner (Marry Me A Little, Private Peaceful), sound design by Benjamin Hudson (You (Us) Me) and casting direction by Harry Blumenau.

For more information and tickets, visit barntheatre.org.uk