After a three-year, multi-million pound transformation, the Hall for Cornwall reopens in fine style with a home-grown show about a modern Cornish fairytale come true. Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical is the heartwarming story of a group of Port Isaac fishermen who came together to sing the traditional working songs they’d sung for generations, hoping to raise a few quid for charity. Nobody, least of all the fishermen, expected the story to end on the Pyramid stage of Glastonbury. Packed with sea shanties, the show is a feelgood voyage about friendship, community and music. It’s the first co-production for the in-house Cornwall Playhouse Productions company and a fitting show to re-open the theatre after refurbishment.
The cast for this world premiere includes Cornwall’s own Edward Rowe, also known as stand-up Kernow King. He starred in the BAFTA-winning Cornish film Bait and Hall for Cornwall’s smash-hit Christmas shows Sleeping Beauty and Jack and the Beanstalk. Calum Callaghan (Mr Selfridge) plays Danny, the fish-out-of-water music manager who stumbles across a group of shanty singing fishermen, lead by Jim, played by Deka Walmsley (Billy Elliot, Macbeth) who takes some convincing to sign up his friends and family to the world of music recording.
The hit 2019 film Fisherman’s Friends delighted fans across the world and filming began on the sequel earlier this year.
Also in the company are St Austell born actor Robert Duncan (Drop the Dead Donkey) who plays Jago and Susie Blake (Mrs Brown’s Boys, Bev Unwin in Coronation Street, Nativity 3 and Miss Marple in The Mirror Crack’d) as his wife, pub landlady Maggie. They are joined by Mensah Bediako (Master Harold and the Boys), Dan Buckley (The Book of Mormon), Rakesh Boury (Rock of Ages), Matt Slack (Blood Brothers), Hadrian Delacey (The Phantom of the Opera), Parisa Shahmir (The Last Ship), Deborah Tracey (Hall for Cornwall’s 2017 Christmas show, Sleeping Beauty) as record label manager Leah and Georgia Bruce (Malory Towers) as Sally.
The show features hit shanties made famous by the band including Keep Haulin’, Nelson's Blood, No Hopers Jokers and Rogues, Sweet Maid Of Madeira and many more.
Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical is directed by James Grieve (former Joint Artistic Director of Paines Plough and former Associate Director of the Bush Theatre) and written by prolific playwright Amanda Whittington (Be My Baby, Ladies Day and Satin n Steel) working on her first book musical adaptation. Choreography comes from Matt Cole, Olivier-nominated for Fiddler On The Roof at the Menier Chocolate Factory and the West End; Oklahoma! for Chichester Festival Theatre.
Fisherman’s Friends: The Musical is at the Hall for Cornwall, Truro, October 13-30. Book online at hallforcornwall.co.uk
