A Mirrored Monet

A Mirrored Monet description

Meet the man behind the artistic magic in A Mirrored Monet.

A Mirrored Monet has been in development for quite some time, first staged at Greenside's Emerald Theatre as part of the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a premier with an all-Scottish cast and creative team. Original letters and diaries from Monet and other artists of the time provide the inspiration for a musical drama designed to immerse you in Belle Époque Paris, including gorgeous tunes and projections to bring the era to vivid life.

The scene is Paris, in 1916, right in the middle of the First World war. Artist Claude Monet is struggling to finish a commission from the French government that will end up defining his life's work, the awe-inspiringly lovely The Water Lilies project. But it's about more than great art. With food and vital supplies at stake as the war comes ever-closer, it is a matter of survival. Battling a severe creative block, he takes himself back in time to his early days as a painter when he spent quality time with fellow artists Renoir and Manet, and his first wife Camille Doncieux, his muse.

A brand new musical drama by the composer, lyricist and dramatist Carmel Owen, it stars Jeff Shankley (Starlight Express, Cats) as Monet himself, and Dean John-Wilson (Your Lie in April: The Musical, The King and I) as Monet as a young man. John Addison plays Leroy, with Brooke Bazarian as Camille, Natalie Day playing Blanch and Suzanne, and Ritesh Manugula as Bazille. Sam Peggs plays Renoir, Aaron Pryce-Lewis plays the roles of Manet and Durand-Ruel, and Steven Serlin plays Marquis.

An equally impressive creative team seals the deal. Writer Carmel Owen is joined by Director Christian Durham and Musical Director Michael Webborn, Designer Libby Todd, Lighting Designer Jodie Underwood and Sound Designer Andy Johnson. The Video Designer is Matt Powell, and the Production Manager is James Anderton. Assistant Movement Director Heather Douglas joins Assistant Music Director Rachel Blaquiere, with Orchestration from Neil Metcalfe, and finally we have Casting Director Jane Deitch on board.

A Mirrored Monet tickets take you to a legendary epoch where beauty was still being created despite the horrors of Europe at war. It's beautiful.

Playing at Charing Cross Theatre

The Arches, Villiers Street, London, WC2N 6NL GB (venue info)

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