We sat down with Kitty Morgan, writer of the new musical The Highwayman, which is heading to Norwich Theatre Playhouse between 14 – 18 Aug, to talk about this full-throttle musical inspired by the infamous Alfred Noyes poem and how you go about creating a brand new musical.
Describe the show in three words for us.
Boisterous. Brave. Bitter-sweet.
Can you give us a sneak peek at your favourite moment in the show?
Oh boy. If I absolutely must choose only one, it is Rose’s song in the 11th hour of the show, which is called “Your Life for Your Girl”. In this critical moment, one of our female leads, Rose, faces an incredibly tough decision: does she betray the love of her life for the sake of her daughter, or does she spare his life? Let Duval walk away? Or give her daughter the life none of them has ever dared to dream of? Watching Rose wrangle over this, whilst reflecting on how the life she has led has brought her to this moment is agonising. What does she do? You’ll have to come and see the show!
Where do you get your ideas from?
All of my creativity happens while I’m either writing or walking. The more time I spend playing the piano, writing something (anything), or going on a walk, the more ideas I have. I have to be there, in the thick of it, and then it just pours out of me like a flood. I love writing completely original ideas like these and adapting classics. Highwayman is a bit of both of these.
The classical inspiration comes from two places. Firstly, the Alfred Noyes poem of the same name. I have absolutely loved the sensuality, the clandestine glamour, and the agonising tragedy of this poem since I studied it in school, and I remember staging it with friends in an English class and feeling all the feels that I still feel now when I participate in or witness beautiful art; the shiver down the spine, the thrill in the chest. This dramatic reading of The Highwayman in my Year 5 English class might as well have been the Palladium to me. And secondly, from the true life of 17th century highway robber Claude Duval, who our anti-hero Duval is based upon. I first read about Duval on a plaque on the wall of a pub called The Marquis opposite Charing Cross Station about ten years ago – this pub (once called The Hole in the Wall) features heavily in the show and is the actual place from whence Duval was arrested and taken to Tyburn to be executed.
The musical is described as having a genre-busting sound – how do you achieve this?
I never set out to do this in a million years! But sometimes, these things just determine their own path… At first, Highwayman was a fairly straightforward, legit musical, with songs and scenes playing out as you’d expect. But I was programmed in an industry presentation where I only had 10 minutes to share some of the show, and I just needed a way to condense it down and tell it how it is, in its authentic style. And suddenly, Duval was speaking in rhyme. Not singing. Not rapping. But speaking in spoken word poetry. This element of the show got a grip on me, and I absolutely ran with it and then started setting it to music – I now can’t really imagine Highwayman existing without this element. It is intensely contemporary whilst echoing the language of the contemporaries of Duval himself, such as Shakespeare – and there’s nothing else like it. The nearest comparable thing is probably Hades Town – but imagine Hades Town with an intensely British, folky, period drama vibe, and you’re pretty much there!
What is the importance of providing platforms for new musicals?
Whilst I enjoy a night at a jukebox musical as much as the next mum-of-young-kids-let-out-on-the-town, it’s so vitally important to support new, original musicals. Without providing platforms for brand new musicals, the form will die out because they are long, hard and expensive to make. I am so grateful to the team at Norwich Theatre for the faith they have had in the show since its very earliest incarnation, for joining OVO Theatre as a co-producer of this musical, for staging it and for supporting its birth!
This season, we are exploring kindness through creativity. How do you use your craft to exercise kindness to yourself and others?
Love this question. In my home we value kindness above all other things – wealth, success, stuff. I hope that that bleeds through the bones of my work in everything I ever make.
In terms of others, something extraordinary happens in the room when people watch Highwayman. Much to my delight and surprise, it is a transformative piece of art. People laugh. They cry. Sometimes, they just sob. People find stories about creating a chosen family inside it. About hope. About survival. About turning your life around. This gift I seem to have made is for every single person in the world who ever wants to see it – the good, the bad and the ugly.
In terms of myself, my creative craft is the very most therapeutic, happy-potion, life-affirming, vital part of my existence. There have been times in my life when I have not been able to write or play the piano, such as when I experienced postnatal depression and when my two sons were very little. These have been the hardest times I have lived through so far. I have to create to be sane, loving, a good mother, a sexy-immense-inspiring-fabulous wife, a fun, generous friend, and be myself. There is no greater kindness I can ever pay myself.
The Highwayman is at Norwich Theatre Playhouse between 14 – 18 Aug. For more information or to book, visit norwichtheatre.org or call the Box Office on 01603 630 000.
