Harold Fry offers a "very British" musical in Chichester

Previously on the main-house stage as Susan in Woman in Mind three years ago, Jenna Is now loving the thought of the Minerva: “I've never been in the Minerva but I've always wanted to play there. I'm a big fan of being in a very intimate space with the audience and being able to see the whites of their eyes. You always feel that there is something very beautiful that can happen especially when music is involved.

“And the music for this is beautiful. The music comes from Passenger who is a British folk/pop star, a brilliant musician, a very well respected musician. He was asked by our producers if he would write the music and he has done such an amazing job. What is so hard about writing musicals is that you can have some really lovely tunes but unless the lyric pushes the story along, there is just no point to them. All the great writers do that and Passenger has managed to do that.

“And it's great that we are being directed by Katy Rudd (Ballet Shoes, National Theatre) who I've been a big fan of for a few years. I went to see Ocean At The End Of The Lane which she directed because I'd heard really good things about it. And I cried about five times purely for the theatricality of it and the imagination that was on stage. She was so brilliant at telling epic stories.”

And that's what she's got with Harold Fry. Grey, tired and lonely, Harold (Mark Addy) receives a letter from an old friend and heads out to post his reply. And keeps walking. From South Devon to Berwick upon Tweed. Leaving his bewildered wife Maureen behind.

Because Harold is trying to make up for lost time, confront the ghosts in his past, and – perhaps – keep someone alive. As word spreads of his unlikely pilgrimage, a whole company of lost souls join him on his quest. And the horizons for both Harold and Maureen open wider than they could ever have imagined.

“It's a piece about so many things. It's about grief and it's about marriage and it's about our relationship with our children. It is about whether there is time to change and start afresh with someone. We meet this late middle-aged couple that are existing together but who have this massive trauma between them that they have never quite got to the bottom of and it's still there. There is a lot of blame and unspoken hurt. And then Harold just has this moment where he walks and keeps walking, and as he walks his eyes are opened to the world around him.

“Maureen (played by Jenna) is very closed. It is her way of coping. When they first met, there was a lot of love and a lot of joy, but it has disappeared over the years. She's now just a very closed person but through Harold’s journey she has to go on her own journey which is a quieter journey than his but the fact is that she still ends up in a place of hope. It's a really beautiful story and a really beautiful cast. Our director has got together some wonderful people. And the music. It is wonderful. It is so British. When you hear it, you will know what I mean.”