From December 5, 2012 to January 6,
2013, the Sala Roja (Red Hall) of Madrid's Canal Theater will host
the world premiere of The Last Horseman, a production by Andrés
Vicente Gómez and Arabian Horses Production, LTD. This is a new
musical created in Spain and meant to appeal to audiences worldwide
with its talented cast and crew of renowned professionals in music
and theater, from Spain and the United Kingdom, such as Ray Loriga
(libretto & script), John Cameron, Albert Hammond and Barry
Mason (music), Ranjit Bolt (lyrics), Víctor Conde (direction),
Morgan Large (scenography), Karen Bruce (choreography) and Yvonne
Blake (wardrobe).
This show was conceived with the
intention of encouraging musical theater to take its place
alongside Broadway and West End big musicals. Work is underway
simultaneously with two production teams, comprised of one cast for
Spain and another for London, where it will premiere in 2013. This
is the first time Arabian Horses Production, LTD. is participating
in a European cultural project, making this musical a meeting point
of Arab and Western art and culture.
The storyline of The Last Horseman
is as follows: After a mysterious sand storm has destroyed the
theaters of London's West End, a man dressed in rags demands that a
show be performed just for him. The show unfolds around him,
dreamlike, from which he will not be able to escape. He is trapped
in the story of Tiradh, a young Bedouin with no possessions, who
embarks on a long journey in search of the horse of his dreams, a
mare he has never seen but which has always existed in his
heart.
From the Arabian desert to Egypt,
from the Middle East to London at the end of the 19th century, he
will travel in a magical world populated by legendary warriors,
horse traders, dangerous bandits, dancing camels, plagues of
locusts, powerful princes, rival armies, back alleys near docks
shrouded in fog, sinister rippers, itinerant characters and
scroungers as well as Lords and mansions, all the while pursuing
the trail of his beloved and elusive horse.
In the course of his odyssey he
will find himself forming part of the destiny of his homeland. He
will touch the soul of Laura, a brave and exquisite English
horsewoman who shares his love for horses and the fascination and
charm of the desert. With the help of Al Khansa, a mythical
immortal female poet with supernatural powers and uncommon wisdom,
Tiradh will face powerful enemies and confront all manner of
dangers from the old and new world as he seeks his own destiny.
Legend, history, love, dreams and reality combine to create an
unprecedented musical adventure.
Roberto Rodríguez.