Cast announced for WHITE HORSE in a brand new Cornish production based on Michael Morpurgo's classic novel

The cast for o-region’s production of WHITE HORSE has been announced ahead of their forthcoming run at the Regal Theatre in Reduth.

A show with Cornwall at its heart, WHITE HORSE will feature Edward Rowe in his first production following Hall for Cornwall’s Jack and the Beanstalk, and renowned film and theatre actor Mary Woodvine alongside a talented Cornish or Cornwall-based cast and creative team and directed by Olivier Award-winning director, Simon Harvey.

Produced by o-region - the team behind popular, original theatre shows (FUP, Hireth and Superstition Mountain) and independent feature films (Weekend Retreat, Brown Willy and Long Way Back) - tickets are already on sale for this brand-new production coming to the Regal Theatre Redruth in early 2025.

Based on ‘The White Horse of Zennor and Other Stories’ by internationally acclaimed author Michael Morpurgo, WHITE HORSE blends film, live music and puppetry to create a 21^st century Cornish folktale about place, family and the stories that bind us.

The full cast for the ensemble show includes:

·         Chloe Endean (Bait, Sorry About The Noise, Long Way Back, Calvino Nights and Sensibility) as Annie Veluna, a teenager who is reluctantly spending her summer in West Cornwall with her estranged father, Arthur.

·         Darcy Vanhinsbergh (The Psychopath Next Door, Poldark, Confession, Maleficent, Winter Hill) will play Arthur Veluna, a farmer who is struggling to maintain his ancient family farm and to connect with his daughter.

·         Edward Rowe (Bait, Enys Men, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Witcher, Hireth) will play Zennor local, salt of the earth and teller of tall tales, Samuel Trelochie

·         Mary Woodvine (Kneehigh Theatre, Bait, Judge John Deed, Doc Martin) will play multiple parts including the mysterious Miss Marney.

·         Rachel Leonard (a puppeteer who has previously worked with o-region on FUP, and whose credits also include War Horse (National Theatre) and film puppetry on Prometheus, Solo A Star Wars Film, Muppets Most Wanted, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them).  Rachel will be bringing to life a variety of a puppet characters including Patch the dog, a seal, a Cornish Chough and of course the titular White Horse itself.

The production will also feature renowned musicians Ben Sutcliffe and Zaid Al Rikabi of The People’s String Foundation, who have worked extensively with companies including o-region, Kneehigh, The Minack Theatre and Exeter Northcott.

Simon Harvey, artistic director of o-region and writer and director of the show said: “I’m delighted to have brought together a stellar cast of some of Cornwall’s finest actors, musicians and creatives to help bring this production to life.  This is a story which I have wanted to tell for a long time and all the ingredients of design, puppetry, music and film will make this a really special show."

He added: “I am passionate about telling stories which shine a light on Cornwall’s landscape and people and WHITE HORSE fits that bill - it’s about storytelling, spirit of place and celebrating Cornwall. In producing the show, we have prioritised cast, crew and creatives that are Cornish or Cornwall-based. We have also built in training opportunities to upskill emerging Cornish artists to work on a show at a scale that is rarely being produced here."

It is hoped that following this initial run of the show that we will be able to tour this piece of Cornish culture nationally in 2026.

WHITE HORSE – which has taken five years to develop - will run exclusively at The Regal Theatre, Redruth from 28 February 2025 – 8 March 2025 and will appeal to a broad range of audiences and is suitable for families with an age guidance of 8+.

Tickets are on sale through Hall for Cornwall and can be purchased here:

https://www.hallforcornwall.co.uk/whats-on/white-horse/

The story follows sixteen-year-old Annie Veluna who is spending the summer with her estranged father, in Zennor, West Cornwall. There’s nothing to do, no one to hang out with and as for phone signal….

Her dad Arthur - never the chattiest of men - is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders as he struggles to save his family farm from ruin and the reality of this ‘holiday’ is far from postcard perfect. But they say a place reveals itself through its stories, and stories is one thing Zennor has plenty of.

Whatever happened to Cherry and her Giant’s Necklace?  Was Billy Tregarthen really lost at sea? And who is the mysterious loner Marney who lives in the run-down shack at the top of Zennor Hill? As summer wears on and reality and myth blur, this ancient weather-beaten land will force Annie to make pivotal decisions which will redefine her families’ future forever.

Michael Morpurgo, who wrote the 1985 novel on which the play is based, is one of the UK’s best loved authors with over 200 books published including the War Horse which was adapted into a smash hit stage production by the Royal Shakespeare Company and later Steven Spielberg.

Simon Harvey worked extensively with Kneehigh Theatre and was the co-director of the show Pride and Prejudice (Sort Of) which won an Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2022.

As part of WHITE HORSE’s development o-region has been undertaking an outreach project across Cornwall and Isles of Scilly called From the Horse’s Mouth. Teams of artists led by Simon Harvey and lead writer Anna Maria Murphy undertook a series of residencies in St Mary’s, Isles of Scilly, Bude, Launceston, Redruth and Penzance.

They hosted drop in story collecting sessions, art and craft activities, song composition, drama and writing workshops and conducted interviews with members of the community to explore the themes of place, family and home which formed the basis for a series of curated performance events which took place across Cornwall last autumn.

The team has now released a new podcast based on these stories from Cornish communities. After working with 136 people across the five communities, the writers created 76 original pieces of writing. The podcast continues this work, creating a treasure trove of Cornish community stories about what makes the place they live in distinct. The recordings are available from all digital podcast providers – simply search for ‘From the Horse’s Mouth’.

The whole project is supported by the Shared Prosperity Fund, Arts Council England, Hall for Cornwall, FEAST and Michael Spiers.

White Horse is possible thanks to a grant from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Good Growth programme, which is managed by Cornwall Council and funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. The project is part of a £4.4m investment in a cultural events and talent programme across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly by the Good Growth Programme.

Cornwall Council has been chosen by the Government as a Lead Authority for the fund and is responsible for monitoring the progress of projects funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Find full details of the work of o-region here:

https://o-region.co.uk/