Water Babies, which opens at the Curve on April 24th promises to be a spectacular event. Directed by Ed Curtis, and written jointly with Guy Jones, with music by Chris Egan, the musical boasts West End and television stars such as Louise Dearman, Lauren Samuels and Tom Milner making sure the production is one not to miss.

Tom Milner stars in the world premiere of 'Water Babies', exclusive to the Curve.

Tom Milner stars in the world premiere of ‘Water Babies’, exclusive to the Curve.

Water Babies, based on the childrens novel by Reverend Charles Kingsley, is the story of an orphaned boy named Tom who finds himself framed for a murder he did not commit. In a series of events he cannot control, he finds himself jumping off a cliff and into a magical underwater world. Escaping this underwater world proves to be difficult, but a desperate Tom will do whatever it takes to get back to the woman he loves. Along the way, he makes some unlikely friends, and in his quest to get back to land, he discovers that it’s not only his fate he holds, but that of the Water Babies too.

The launch event, which took place at the Curve on January 13th, 2014, gave the audience a sneak peak at what to expect from the upcoming musical. The three main cast members performed songs from the upcoming musical, and the cast and crew were quizzed for facts on making the production.

Louise Dearman, Tom Milner and Lauren Samuels are a talented cast who are not put off by the challenges of their roles. All three seem to be enjoying the challenge of creating these new characters and are very excited to show you what they can do in a production as big as this.

In the five years it took to bring this musical to life, the writers and directors had a few goals in mind, one would be to cast an all British cast, and second was to bring to life a musical suitable for all the family to enjoy. They wanted to make the production ageless and fun for all ages of the audience. The characters have been up-aged from the characters in the book, but the writers are certain that this will not influence the story and journey of Tom.

When asked why the Water Babies in particular, Ed Curtis says he was ‘drawn by the heart of the story,’ and how compelling the main character Tom’s story was.  By making the characters older, Curtis hopes to bring the journey from boy into man into a different light, and see Tom take on a more mature aspect.

For Chris Egan, the musical process has been a long one. He claims he wanted to the music to be modern, but staying with the roots of classical theatre music. He says it is ‘story telling theatre songs’, with each character having a different sound of music. For example, the villains of the story have a jazz style of music, where the comedy characters have a more gospel sound. Chris Egan’s hard work seems to be paying off, as the music sung on the night was fantastic, and sure to be a success.

With such a technically difficult musical to stage (most of the story is set under water!), the writers and director do not seem to be too daunted by the task. They say they have everything prepared, and some of the performance will even take place underwater, though how they would manage it was not something they shared with the audience, but it will definitely be the first of its kind and a sight to behold. With the Curve being one of the most technically advanced theatres in Britain, we’re sure they’ll be able to pull it off with no problems.

You can listen to the first track released for the musical here:

Water Babies opens at the Curve on April 24th, you can book your tickets in person at the Curve, by telephone on 0116 242 3595, or online at: http://www.curveonline.co.uk/curve.php?view=showinfo.php&showid=518