We Begin Again (a musical for 2020)
2020 The Guardian / The National Theatre
Writer James Graham / Music Jim Fortune / Director Amy Hodge / Camera & Editor Noah Payne-Frank / Producer for the Guardian Jess Gormley / Producer for NT Public Acts Emily Lim and Lara Taylor / Music producer & mixer Julian Simmons / Musical Director Tarek Merchant
Cast Anita Dobson / Noah Thomas / Zubin Varla / Susan Wokoma
Cast from The Public Acts Company featured performers Durgha Acharya / Shreyasvi Achary / Narayan Prasad Acharya / Helen Adesanya / Rachel Adesanya / Sue Agyakwa / Mary Amoak / Josephine Appiah / Michael Baldwin / Lilian Bennett / Ian Bennett / Paris Easton / Olaide Folorunsho / Pete Hutchison / Amina Koroma / Roderick Lukenge / Samani Malik / Deevan Nembhard / Candida Owusu / Philip Owusu / Sally Reynolds / Claude Thomas / Imogen Thompson / Glynis Trinder / Ken Trinder / A Further 100 Community Chorus.
This short musical film is a unifying song for the country to take stock of the extraordinary year gone by and reset for the year ahead. A multi-generational cast reflects on their lives and the impact 2020 has had on them, while a supporting company of 100 community members from the National Theatre’s Public Acts programme in Doncaster and London sings a hopeful chorus encouraging everyone to 'begin again'. Filmed on location and remotely, during Lockdown 2 this online musical is a clear product of these unique times
