New musical IN CLAY to be presented at VAULT Festival

After successful workshop performances at The Other Palace Studio and New Wimbledon Theatre Studio earlier this year, Design & Canvas Co. will present In Clay from 24-28 January as part of an exciting wave of new British musicals. 

Directed by Grace Taylor (SIX Associate Director), In Clay combines jazz manouche with contemporary musical theatre in a story of near misses, unfulfilled potential, and the joy of creating art. 

In Clay has a book and lyrics written by Rebecca Simmonds, with music and lyrics by Jack Miles, music supervision, orchestrations and arrangements overseen by Matt Herbert, and lighting by Tom Turner.

Starring Rosalind Ford (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) and based on a true story, In Clay is a new one-woman musical told from a small kitchen in the suburbs of Paris in the late 1930s.

Composer/lyricist Jack Miles said: “VAULT Festival is a marvellous opportunity for emerging artists, and I know that our show has found a perfect place for its first run. Our workshop was really well-received, and we cannot wait for more people to see In Clay.” 

“This show is for anyone who has ever had any creative aspirations, or a dream that was never quite realised. It’s a real delight to mount this production just when there’s a sense of real momentum behind the new MT scene in this country.” 

Coloured canvases and vases litter the space. A well-used foot-pedalled pottery wheel is visible to one side. Marie-Berthe Cazin, a ceramist in her early 40s, eagerly awaits the arrival of her closest friend, Henrietta Tirman, a celebrated artist. 

As Marie prepares for the joyous evening ahead of them, she is transported back to their first meeting as students. The chasm between who she was and who she is now prompts Marie to reminisce, and dream about what could have been. 

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