George Maguire plays ‘Wicker Husband’ in Darren Clark’s The Wicker Husband which will open at The Watermill Theatre following its premature closure on press night in 2020.
Directed by Charlotte Westenra, with Book by Rhys Jennings, Music and lyrics by Darren Clark and based on an original short story by Ursula Wills, this folk-inspired new musical tells the timeless tale of the outsider and was the winner of the inaugural MTI Stiles + Drewe Mentorship Award in 2016 celebrating new British musical theatre writers.
It was also included in the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s 30th Annual Festival of New Musicals in New York.
The Wicker Husband is at The Watermill Theatre Friday 11 to Saturday 26 March 2022. More information and tickets can be found here
You’re starring in The Wicker Husband at Watermill Theatre, what can you tell us about the show?
The show is based on a short story by Ursula Wills called The Wicker Husband. It’s set in a fictional town called Pretty Town and it is a folk story about finding yourself an identity and the meaning of feeling ugly and feeling accepted.
The main characters are the Ugly Girl, the Old Basketmaker who weaves a magical Wicker Husband for her, and the townsfolk who are the ones who ostracise her for being different. It involves amazing music by Darren Clark, a wonderful book by Rhys Jennings and it also involves a lot of puppetry – which is a six foot Wicker Husband operated by three puppeteers and I operate the head and the voice.
What was it about the show that made you want to be a part of it?
What made me want to be a part of this musical more than anything was the chance to learn puppetry and to have a go at that, as I’d never done it before in my career. The idea of learning a new skill and having seen amazing productions like War Horse, I was so excited to try something I’d never tried.
As soon as I read the scenes for the audition and as soon as I heard the songs I was completely captivated, and then I went into the audition and met the whole team and their energy and passion for this very special show made me want to be a part of it more an anything I’ve done in a long time.
How would you describe the music in The Wicker Husband?
I would describe the music in the show as folk-based storytelling music that works well in a modern musical but also has a sense of real old folk traditional music.
Some of it is really catchy, very moving, and it really captures the different characters’ feelings and personalities perfectly. There’s running themes in it which I love. There’s a folk phrase that is used throughout the show and it can be used in different ways, to be light or dark, and the theme comes back in either major or minor.
The show is heavily in this musical world that Darren has created and it’s quite stunning. All the music in the show is played by three musicians – we have a guitar, a dulcimer (which is a 92-string instrument played with beaters), cello and bass played by the same musician and then we have actor-musicians who play violins, accordion and I play drums at one point. It’s got this real feel of the ensemble creating the soundscape and music, which in a venue as intimate as the Watermill is very exciting.
Tell us a little more about your character?
My character of The Wicker Husband is a magical creature who is being created from the willow tree. He is a wicker man made by the Old Basketmaker. Essentially, he is a kind soul and he was made to hold the Ugly Girl – he was made for her. He is devoted to her, he loves her, he is happy to be alive.
He is very warm and the actual character in appearance – he is obviously huge. He is about six feet, he is made of wicker, he is great. It’s an amazing creation by Finn Caldwell, the puppetry director.
The challenges for me… obviously the main one being the puppetry, having never done it before, and working as one of the three puppeteers that operate it. I do the head and the voice; Sebastian Charles does the Heart and Nisha Anil does the feet. We have to work together as a team to bring him to life, which at the beginning was really challenging and I think we’re really now starting to get into the flow where we can just create and be this character. For me, bringing to life his voice and making it seem like the voice I was creating for the character was coming from the puppet has been a big challenge and one that I have absolutely loved. So I hope that it is working for the audiences.
What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see The Wicker Husband?
I would say – do it before it’s too late. To see this production in this beautiful theatre at the Watermill will be unlike many other theatrical experiences. It’s suited perfectly. The world we create works amazingly within the wooden structure of the Watermill. We have a willow tree on stage and you are brought into our magical world completely. If you love beautiful music, heartfelt stories, magical puppetry, comedy and excellent singing then you will love this show.
