South Pacific

The Haymarket, Basingstoke, 12th-16th May 2009

Show synopsis
On a South Pacific island during World War II, a U.S. Navy nurse from Arkansas, Ensign Nellie Forbush, falls in love with a middle-aged French plantation owner, Emile de Becque.

Meanwhile, the restless U.S. Navy sailors, led by the entrepreneurial Seabee Luther Billis, lament the absence of women or combat to relieve their boredom. Lieutenant Joe Cable of the U.S. Marine Corps arrives on the island to take part in a dangerous spy mission that might help turn the tide of the war against Japan. Since only officers can sign out boats, Billis convinces Lt. Cable to accompany him to the mysterious and valuable island of Bali Ha'i. There Bloody Mary, the native souvenir dealer, introduces Cable to her teenage daughter, Liat. The two fall in love.

The two couples -- Nellie and Emile, Liat and Joe -- gain deepening affection, and marriages are proposed. But Nellie has deep-seated ethnic prejudices, and Emile is a widower with biracial children from his marriage to a Polynesian wife. Nellie, torn between her long-held Arkansas prejudice and her heartfelt love for Emile, hesitates to marry Emile. And Joe refuses to marry Liat because she is Polynesian. Joe's refusal infuriates Mary. Though aware of and ashamed of their bigotry, Nellie and Joe are prisoners of their upbringings: they think they have no options.

Dejected and with nothing to lose, Emile agrees to join Joe on his dangerous mission behind Japanese lines. The two successfully send back reports on enemy forces. The Americans use this information to intercept and destroy Japanese convoys. "Operation Alligator" gets underway, and the previously idle sailors, including the reluctant Luther Billis, go off to battle. Joe is killed; Emile narrowly escapes a similar fate. Emile returns home to the now-understanding Nellie and his -- soon to be their -- children.

Ticket prices and performance dates

Concessions

Box office
Tickets may be purchased from the Anvil box office (tel: 01256 844244).

Other information
Link to Wikipedia entry.

For specific details about the show, including the audition dates, rehearsal schedule and cast list click here.