The world première of Jon Robyns and Christopher Orton’s Then, Now & Next is currently playing at Southwark Playhouse Borough. We spoke to Joaquin Pedro Valdes who plays Stephen, to discuss the production, how it feels to be a part of a brand new British musical, and his career more generally.

Please can you tell us about Then, Now and Next and your character in the piece?

Then, Now & Next is a brand new British musical written by Jon Robyns and Christopher Orton, and directed by Julie Atherton. It is a small and quiet story about Alex Shaw, played by the incomparable Alice Fearn, and her non-linear journey from grief to hope and everything in between.

I play Alex’s wild, passionate and mad first love Stephen Hayes who makes her journey of acceptance a little more difficult.

Is there a particular moment in the show you're particularly excited for audiences to see?

Any and all of it. Seriously. It’s one of those shows that’s really quite difficult to describe without experiencing it in the flesh. The songs are really beautiful. Catchy and cathartic. Proper acting through song pieces. The cast is incredible - an absolute masterclass in nuance and comedy. Alice Fearn is a living breathing icon. I know she’s known for her incredible work on big shows in the West End but I think the fans and audiences will see a deeper and more vulnerable Alice Fearn worthy of the god-status given to her.

More importantly, it genuinely feels like true ensemble work including the creative team led by Julie Atherton, all moving to tell this necessary story.

If you’re a living, breathing human who has ever felt love, loss and laughter…this show is going straight into your soul.

You've recently been in hugely popular, large scale musicals such as Heathers and The Lion King. What's it like to now to be in an original musical in an intimate venue?

I feel incredibly blessed to have worked on popular commercial titles; in a sense that’s where I earned my priceless education in this world. But being part of developmental and new work is fulfilling on a whole different level. There is an electricity and creative energy that fills the room which is otherwise harder to find in long-running commercial titles. The stakes are much higher and the drive and passion to do good work becomes necessary.

The intimacy is not just in the physical size of the Southwark Playhouse but also in the creation of the work. Julie Atherton, Alex Sarmiento, Ben Young and the entire team are incredibly caring, nurturing and invested in each of our journeys, not just as characters but as people. I honestly believe that people coming to see the show will feel that intimacy.

After being born in the Philippines, what attracted you to pursue a career in the UK theatre industry?

The integrity, the quality, and the diversity of the industry. Being a professional actor is difficult. It is a precarious profession and a dangerous one - anywhere in the world. Passion and love for craft is a currency. Theatre in the UK has a deep and rich cultural life and history, and this always called to me.

What's been the highlight of your career to date?

I honestly would say Then, Now & Next. I sit in the rehearsal room watching the joyous work of stupendously gifted actors whom I get to share space with. More so, we get to tell this beautiful and necessary story, through beautiful and necessary songs.

And what do you still hope to achieve in your career?

To keep learning, to keep growing. I hope to be in more rooms like this one, where I am constantly reminded of how far I’ve come and how much further I can go.

What do you think audiences will take away from Then, Now and Next with them?

They will take away a profound sense of hope, acceptance and love.

Then, Now and Next plays at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 29 July, with further information here.