Doctor Who star Arthur Darvill aims to get the whole of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre dancing with a new musical.
The actor-musician, who played the Doctor’s companion Rory Williams and also the vicar in Broadchurch, has combined jazz, reggae, hip-hop and soul to create the score for The Lightning Child by Che Walker for the Bankside venue. A cast of real and imagined characters — including jazz singer Billie Holiday, astronaut Neil Armstrong and a pit bull terrier named Cleopatra, appear in the story inspired by The Bacchae, Euripides’ Greek tragedy.
Speaking from New York, where he is playing the lead in Once the musical, Darvill, 31, said: “The Lightning Child isn’t a story with songs — it’s a story you cannot tell without songs. Che’s script ranges hugely across time and space so I had complete stylistic licence. This is music that makes you move, and we want to use the fact that the groundlings are already on their feet to create a carnival atmosphere.”
The Lightning Child runs from September 14 to October 12. shakespearesglobe.com
