Production News
John Henshaw to play God in King Cotton
Rehearsals for Jimmy McGovern’s new musical King Cotton start on Monday and as the cast and musicians assemble for this World Première, Manchester born actor and ex-dustman John Henshaw is preparing for his most unusual role ever …. God!
One of television’s familiar faces, John has appeared in hundreds of roles from comedy to cutting edge drama and his credits include Early Doors, GBH, Cutting It, Cracker, Life on Mars and the role of Anthony’s uppity father-in-law, Roger Kavanagh in the The Royle Family. He recently played John Prescott in TV’s Confessions of a Diary Secretary and appeared on the big screen in the highly acclaimed Grow Your Own.
One of the leading roles, Sokoto, is played by Israel Oyelumade, a Rada graduate who has performed with the National Theatre and RSC as well as appearing in films including Pirates of the Caribbean, Starter for Ten and About A Boy. He was described by The Stage earlier this year as “bringing dignity and a worthwhile degree of everyday humanity to the part of Equiano” in Riding Light’s theatre production of ‘African Snow’.
The other leading role of Tom is played by Paul Anderson who has performed on stage at the National Theatre in Market Boy and at the Royal Court Upstairs and Liverpool Everyman in On Tour. Paul has also appeared in BBC programmes, Silent Witness and Dr Who.
They are joined on stage by an exceptional ensemble cast - Paul Barnhill, John Elkington, Nolan Frederick, Kirsty Hoiles, Emma Jay Thomas, Cornelius Macarthy, Wendy Mae Brown and Vanessa White-Smith.
Two different words bound by cotton collide in this world premiere musical from the pen of the multi award-winning Jimmy McGovern, his first stage play in 20 years. This inspirational tale is directed by Jude Kelly, former Artistic Director of West Yorkshire Playhouse, currently Artistic Director of London’s South Bank Centre and one of the most dynamic and innovative theatre and opera directors of recent times.
With epic sweep and compelling music, King Cotton tells the story of the struggle to break free from poverty and slavery, seen through the eyes of Sokoto, a black slave working on an American cotton plantation and those of Tom, an impoverished mill-worker in the North West of England. It is set at the time of the American Civil War and the Lancashire cotton famine with cotton serving as the thread that binds their lives. Both are searching for their own freedom, but neither imagines that this will involve a journey across the Atlantic bringing them together with devastating consequences.
King Cotton is from an original idea by Ian Brownbill who enjoyed a successful period as principal cornetist with several bands in the North West of England during the 1980s. The narrative is driven by a group of musicians performing music inspired by the traditional sounds of Northern mill towns and the plantations of the Deep South, with the defiant pulse of the African drum resonant. The exceptional score is performed by a live band augmented by the phenomenal 21-piece Ashton-under-Lyne brass band.
With set and costume design by Ti Green, Tony-nominated for her work on the Broadway production of the National Theatre’s Coram Boy, King Cotton is set to be the unmissable theatre event of the year.
King Cotton is produced by The Lowry and co-commissioned by The Lowry and the Liverpool Culture Company. King Cotton is supported by The National Lottery through Arts Council England.