Featuring music by Chris Egan and book and lyrics by Ed Curtis (who also directs) and Guy Jones, it is being produced by Peter Shaw and Joanna Cecil for Water Babies Musical UK Limited, with Tristan Baker as executive producer.
In the show, Tom, "our orphaned teenage hero, is framed for a crime he didn’t commit. In a desperate attempt to escape capture he is trapped on the edge of a waterfall. His only choice is to jump. Awakening in the depths of the ocean he encounters a whole new world of enchantment, danger and adventure. Desperate to get back to the girl he loves Tom must brave underwater terrors in a world beyond his wildest imagination. Together with the unlikeliest of friends he embarks on a quest to find a way back to land. However, soon he finds it's not just his own fate he holds in his hands but also that of the mysterious and elusive gang of Water Babies."
According to press materials, the production will use "some of the most sophisticated special effects ever seen on stage."
Curtis and Jones' writing credits include Marlon Brando's Corset (UK tour), and the book for the musical Never Forget (Savoy Theatre, West End), which was co-written with Danny Brocklehurst and featured the music of Take That. Jones has also written an adaptation of Gorky's The Lower Depths, which was directed by James Grieve at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Whispers (Latitude Festival) and The Spinning Wheel (Hiraeth Productions). He also contributed to Paines Plough's Come To Where I'm From.
Curtis' directorial credits include Dreamed a Dream (UK tour), Jolson & Company (UK tour), Never Forget (Savoy Theatre and UK tour), Marlon Brando's Corset (UK tour), Conspiracy (Pleasance, Edinburgh and UK tour) and Calamity Jane (Shaftesbury Theatre and UK tour). Egan has worked in all genres of music as a composer, arranger and orchestrator. Theatre credits include The Bodyguard (West End), The Pajama Game (Chichester), Kiss Me, Kate (West End), End Of The Rainbow (Broadway, West End, US tour), Crazy For You (West End), The Witches Of Eastwick (UK tour, Worldwide), Never Forget (West End & UK tour), The Wedding Singer (UK tour), Grease (West End, Worldwide tour), Daddy Cool (West End & European tour), Footloose (West End, UK tour, South Africa), Love Shack (UK tour) and Calamity Jane (West End).
Peter Shaw produced the film of "The Water Babies" starring James Mason, Billie Whitelaw, David Tomlinson and Bernard Cribbins. Other feature films include "Sweeney Todd" with Ben Kingsley, "Keep the Aspidistra Flying" with Richard E. Grant and Helena Bonham-Carter, "Taffin" with Pierce Brosnan, "Champions" with John Hurt and Edward Woodward and "Castaway" with Oliver Reed. Baker's theatre producing credits include The Railway Children, Never Forget and Footloose.
To book tickets, contact the box office on 0116 242 3595, or visit www.waterbabiesthemusical.com for more information.
