New musical The Land of Might-Have-Been visits Norwich this week after its premiere in Buxton. The three male leads of the show – Alex Knox, Kit Esuruoso, and George Arvidson – sat down for an interview before their weeklong run at Norwich Theatre Royal.
The Land of Might-Have-Been is a new musical co-produced by Norwich Theatre and Buxton International Festival. It tells the story of four young people in the long summer of 1914, as they fall in love with one another, not knowing what looms over their near future. The story is loosely inspired by the early life of Vera Brittain, who is played by Audrey Brisson. Her fiancé, romantic poet Roland Leighton is played by Alex Knox. George Arvidson plays Edward Brittain, Vera’s brother. Edward is an amateur musician with hopes of studying music at Oxford University. He must try to hide his sexuality while in a secret relationship with Vera’s friend Bobbie Jones, played by Kit Esuruoso.
The musical featuring a gay couple fits in with this week’s Norwich Pride. With George Arvidson being openly queer himself, he spoke about the representation in the show. “It shows [sexuality] in a way you wouldn’t expect,” he said. “It’s not what the show is about, but it is an important aspect.” He said how important it is that “queer relationships are shown in a context that is normalised,” with his character’s sexuality not being the main focus of the show. “Having the show on during Pride Week is really important because it shows us how far LGBTQ+ rights have come in the last one hundred years,” George said.
The cast shared how they get into character before each performance. Kit said you have to “hold yourself a different way” when wearing the costumes from the time period. They all spoke of how the songs help them get into their characters. “The moment the music starts, something clicks,” said Alex. “The story is told through the music of Ivor Novello, whose songs would have been the “soundtrack to the characters’ lives”. The lives of Vera Brittain and Ivor Novello ran parallel, and the musical combines the two worlds with the music and the story of the show. George described the show as a “turn of the century jukebox musical,” saying that “the songs do move the plot along.” He also said that audiences will be “surprised with how many songs they know.”
After spending some time in Norwich, the cast gave their opinions on the city. “I just love the greenery,” Kit said, explaining how nice it is to “get out of the smoke of London”. The only times that Alex has come to the city is to watch Tottenham Hotspur play Norwich City. “Tottenham don’t beat many teams, but every time I’ve come to Norwich, Tottenham have won,” said Alex. “So I have very happy memories of Norwich!” George said how Norwich has “fantastic places for food”, citing Café 33 as a particular favourite: “You can’t go wrong there.” He last visited in September, as part of the cast of Les Misérables in its sell-out run at Theatre Royal. George spoke about the “amazing history” of the city, saying “Norwich has a special place in my heart”.
By Lucy Potter, work experience placement from UEA.
The Land of Might-Have-Been is at Norwich Theatre Royal this week for seven performances, from July 25 until July 30. Tickets are available here, or by calling the box office at 01603 630000
