First look at Stiles & Drewe’s Just So in concert at The Watermill Theatre

A first look at Stiles & Drewe’s Just So in concert at The Watermill Theatre has been revealed.

The semi-staged production will play between 30 July and 4 September as part of the Newbury venue’s 2021 summer season.

The cast includes Laura Andresen GuimarĂ£es as ‘Zebra’ and Kemi Clarke as ‘Leopard’, both 2021 graduates who are making their professional debuts at the Watermill:

They’re joined by Alexander Bean as ‘Rhino’, Nathanael Campbell as ‘Eldest Magician’, Dan de Cruz as ‘Parsee Man / Jaguar / Show MD’, Eleanor Kane as ‘Elephant Child’, Emma Lucia as ‘Kolokolo Bird’, Pete Mooney as ‘Kangaroo / Cooking Stove’ and Emma Jane Morton as ‘Giraffe / Yellow Dingo Dog’.

Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography

Just So is a family musical which combines five of Rudyard Kipling’s classic tales to tell a story of courage, friendship and the power of an individual to make a difference.

At the ‘Time of the Very Beginnings’ the land is bustling with beasts, the sky is filled with birds and the ocean is teeming with fish. But there is one small problem: all the animals look the same!

The wise ‘Eldest Magician’ sends them out into the world to find their individuality. Everything is just so until Pau Amma the Crab starts playing with the ocean, causing terrible floods that put the other animals in danger. The brave Elephant’s Child embarks on a journey to challenge and overcome Pau Amma, but can she do it alone?

This wondrous family musical blends five of Rudyard Kipling’s Just So stories to tell a tale of courage, friendship and the power of an individual to make a difference.

For more information and tickets visit watermill.org.uk

Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography

The concert is directed by Abigail Pickard Price with set and costume design by Katie Lias, choreography by Chi-San Howard, lighting design by Harry Armytage, sound design by Leigh Davies with Tarek Merchant as Musical Director.

Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography
Just So company. Picture: Pamela Raith Photography

The show concludes Watermill Theatre’s summer season which also saw the return of the critically acclaimed comedy version of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic Sherlock Holmes tale, The Hound Of The Baskervilles and The Watermill Ensemble’s brand-new sustainability focussed production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It, adapted by Yolanda Mercy and directed by Paul Hart.

About the author: Josh Darvill

Josh is Stageberry's editor with over five years of experience writing about theatre in the West End and across the UK. Prior to following his passion for musicals, he worked for more than a decade as a TV journalist.