Kiss of the Spider Woman is one of those rare musicals that doesn’t come around often – so when it does, it makes it even more unmissable.
From Kander and Ebb, the creators of Cabaret and Chicago, this unforgettable adaptation brings all the drama of Manuel Puig’s epic novel to life, set to an incredible score.
The production’s director Paul Foster, and its three leads – Anna-Jane Casey, Fabian Soto Pacheco, and George Blagden gave their take on this spectacular show and revealed what it’s like to bring this exciting revival to the stage.
What’s your role within the production?
Fabian Soto Pacheco: I’m playing Luis Alberto Molina. Molina is as flamboyant and as fabulous as one can be. Molina escapes the reality of being in prison by re-telling and re-living the movies that Aurora, a spectacular actress who is Molina’s biggest obsession, has starred in.
George Blagden: I play Valentin – he’s a Marxist revolutionary who has been jailed for his beliefs, and for this anti-government movement that he is involved in stirring up.
Anna-Jane Casey: Aurora and the Spider Woman, who I play and who is in the title of the piece, is a very interesting character. Aurora is the classic movie star – it’s the big hair and glamorous outfits, worlds apart from the Spider Woman, who is the epitome of death in one of her films, and who so frightens Molina. This role has always been literally on my bucket list – my absolute idol is Chita Rivera, who played it in London and America in the original production, and so to be able to step into Chita’s shoes for five minutes is such a blessing.
Paul Foster: I started learning Spanish almost forty years ago and studied the original Manuel Puig novel. To be directing Kiss Of The Spider Woman is a real dream. I feel very, very lucky – it’s not an opportunity that many people get to experience. It feels like a story for now – although it’s been over 30 years since it’s been done at scale in this country, believe we need stories like this at the moment. Stories that transport us, stories that give us hope, and stories that remind us that even when times look dark, we can still find light.
What is it about this story that makes it so captivating?
George Blagden: It’s essentially about these two men who are imprisoned in 1970s Buenos Aires and how they change one another through the course of sharing a cell. Fabian’s character Molina creates fantasy worlds as a way of dealing with their trauma, removing them from the torrid world of their cell and transporting them to this dream-like Hollywood world. It’s all about escapism and dealing with suffering in the best, most magical way possible.
Fabian Soto Pacheco: This is a story I’ve been in love with for years, and I hope those who aren’t familiar with it will fall in love with it too. The Argentinian novel by Manuel Puig is a classic in Latin America, and a staple in queer literature. It is about two people, seemingly very different from one another, changing each other profoundly while sharing a cell in prison. It is also a story that has proven to be timeless – it deals with love being more powerful than hate in the face of political injustice.
Anna-Jane Casey: This hasn’t been revived for many years – so many people have fought for the rights to do this show, and they’ve finally let us have a go at it! We’re doing a very different version to what was seen in the 90s, which was a massive Broadway production. We’re doing a more compact version, which I think will bring the narrative more to the forefront, because it is a really deep and meaningful story. It’s not your traditional jazz-handsy musical, even though there are moments of complete fabulousness.
Paul Foster: It works on a lot of levels, this story – these two men that you might think are from opposing backgrounds, and with completely different opinions on the world, but gradually, step by step, little by little, they find common ground. It becomes a piece with a lot of tenderness, where once it started as a story with a lot of anger. It’s like a chemistry set – what was acid becomes alkali. But throughout it all, we’ve got this incredible woman Aurora, who is this dream actress of the silver screen, and she spins a web in the different characters that she portrays. So, whilst we’ve got the claustrophobia of the cell, we’ve also got this incredible technicolor routine. For the audience, it’s a real eye-popping show, a real visual feast.
How would you describe Kander and Ebb’s score?
Paul Foster: I’m not being paid to say this, but I think this is Kander and Ebb’s best score! It’s got boleros in it, it’s got samba in it, it’s got beautiful ballads, lush harmonic singing, songs of hope, songs that will get your feet tapping, songs that gladden your heart. It’s a real rich variety in combination with an excellent book by Terrence McNally, and I’m really looking forward to audiences in Leicester, Bristol and Southampton experiencing that, because it’s an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often.
Fabian Soto Pacheco: I adore it – it is my favourite Kander and Ebb score. It has all the brilliance of the duo’s music and lyrics, but infused with Latin flavours and rhythms. It’s dramatic, it’s striking, and it has so many great songs.
Anna-Jane Casey: John Kander and Fred Ebb, if people don’t know, wrote Chicago and Cabaret – that’s a brilliant indicator of what their music is. This beautiful music has got a bit of a rumba and a samba feel, some jazzy numbers, but there are also some incredible ballads with heartfelt lyrics. In fact, Kander and Ebb themselves said it was their favourite score – from the two men who wrote New York, New York, that’s a pretty good reference!
What’s it like to be part of this incredible company?
Fabian Soto Pacheco: It’s the biggest honour. These are people who I’ve wanted to work with for a long time, and to be trusted by them with a character like this is unbelievable. The brilliant director, Paul Foster, the stunningly talented Choreographer, Joanna Goodwin, as well as George Blagden and Anna Jane Casey… I’m so excited to get to share the stage with talents like that. I am so grateful.
Anna-Jane Casey: To be asked to be involved in this incredible production here at Mayflower Southampton with the most amazing creative team is just a dream. We’ve got my favourite director Paul Foster, our musical director Dan Glover, Sarah Travis is one of the UK’s most renowned orchestrators and musical arrangers, Joanna Goodwin is our amazing choreographer, David Woodhead our incredible set designer, Gabriella Slade our phenomenal costume designer – the list of talent here truly is endless. All of this and to be under the banner of Curve and artistic director Nikolai Foster is a real treat for me. I am honoured and thrilled that I’m going to be able to do this.
Paul Foster: When you look at the entirety of our cast –led by Fabian, George and Anna-Jane –they’re triple threats, people who can dance, sing, and act brilliantly. And I think they’re going to tell this story -literally weave this web – with incredible skill and hopefully audiences will have their jaws on the floor watching them. Along with our incredible creative team – we’re all committed to making this as hypnotic and as exciting as we possibly can.
What can you tell us about the costumes?
Anna-Jane Casey: I seem to have got the budget! Everyone else is in prison-wear and I’m in some incredible corseted outfits that are reminiscent of that 1940s age of cinema but with a twist, using the most gorgeous fabric. So there’s real moments of dark depression in the prison with the prison guards and the deliberately drab nature of what they’re wearing, contrasted with this fantastical stuff that comes out with Gabriella Slade’s designs, Howard Hudson’s lighting and Andrzej Goulding’s video designs. There’s an explosion of beautiful, bright colours and excitement! The final number of Act One has an almost carnival-like vibe.
What should audiences expect from this production of Kiss Of The Spider Woman?
Fabian Soto Pacheco: It’s a heartbreakingly beautiful story. It has captivating music with some new orchestrations. There’s dazzling new choreography as well – I can’t wait for audiences to see it.
George Blagden: It’s in a dark, similar vein to Cabaret [also by Kander and Ebb] with lots of different levels and meanings. It’s got so much that is pertinent to today with the need for escapism and joy, and it’s going to be really up close and personal in the intimate spaces. And it’s the first major revival in the UK since 1992 – I didn’t know that the show hadn’t been on for such a long time when I was auditioning, so I think audiences are going to get something really special with it. Taking that big, expansive musical setting that it was in the 90s into this intimate space – I hope the effect will be that the audience feel like they’re right there in the prison cell with Molina and Valentin.
Anna-Jane Casey: This is a great, beautiful, political piece of drama underneath, with songs on top. Audiences are going to get full-out numbers with dancing and singing, along with an amazingly compassionate tale about two men who are finding a friendship amidst the most awful of circumstances. I think there should be something for everyone. There’ll be tears, there’ll be laughter and there’ll be beauty.
Paul Foster: You know, some titles come along every week. But it’s been over 30 years since British audiences have had a look at this one. And to do it like we’re doing it in this close-up, intimate chamber way… I hope it will feel unforgettable.
Tickets for Kiss of the Spider Woman (Tuesday 2 – Saturday 6 June 2026) are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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