It’s not a sequel to Roald Dahl’s fantastic story. It doesn’t even feature an ocean-going forest-dweller. We looked into Welcome Home, Captain Fox’s rehearsals to find out more.
If we’re very honest, the discoveries we made from scrutinising Manuel Harlan’s lovely rehearsal images are not up there with that of the existence of gravitational waves – yes, we do science too – so we reverted to good, old-fashioned research.
Adapted from Jean Anouilh’s Le Voyageur Sans Baggage by Anthony Weigh, with the action shifting to 1959, the comic tale of identity lost and found follows the return of the titular hero. Thought lost on the battlefields of France a decade and a half earlier, as he prepares to be reunited with his family, he is claimed by 22 others. Can he really be Captain Jack Fox?
The cast, as you can see from the pictures, includes Barnaby Kay as Mr Fox and Sian Thomas as Mrs Fox, along with Katherine Kingsley, Danny Webb, Michelle Asante, Rory Keenan, Trevor Laird and Daniel York. They’re directed by Blanche McIntyre who seems to have been hiding while Harlan was snapping away like an overenthusiastic crocodile.
You can find out who Captain Fox’s family are from next week; the play takes to the Donmar Theatre stage from 18 February. You can book tickets through the Donmar’s website.