A NEW musical that was created and rehearsed in Cornwall is premiering at St Austell Arts Centre this October.

The Haunting of Bébé Manor is the brainchild of Piers Kent, who has been writing the story in various iterations for the past 14 years.

The production, which runs from Thursday, October 22 to Sunday, October 24, follows five millennials who arrive at an isolated manor for what should be a relaxing break.

Very quickly, things begin to go wrong. There’s no phone signal, the doors won’t always open when they should, and the house appears to be occupied by a collection of haunted dolls — all seemingly connected to the mysterious Bébé.

Behind the humour is a story about control, perfection and the pressure to behave exactly as somebody would expect you to.

Piers, who is a resident sound technician at the arts centre, said: “One of the things we’re most excited about is that audiences in St Austell really are seeing the very beginning of the show’s life.

“Because it’s a brand-new musical rather than an established title, the process has been quite different from putting on an existing show. The script, music, staging and characters have all been developed together, and rehearsals have involved discovering what works, changing things and watching the show gradually find its identity.

“There’s something slightly terrifying but incredibly exciting about knowing that nobody has ever staged these scenes, sung these songs or played these characters before.”

Promising to be a show that is funny and mysterious, each performance of the musical starts at 7.30pm, with an additional matinee taking place on Saturday, September 23 from 2pm.

Cast members include Joe Hirsh, Imogen Clifton Brown, Sakura Byrne, Penny Mergler, Gina Walkey, Leanne Pritchard, Olivia Coon, Holly Webb and Connor Picek-Jordan.

Piers continued: “We’ve also been incredibly lucky with the cast. They’ve embraced the fact that this is a new piece and have brought an enormous amount of themselves to the characters.

“Rather than stepping into roles that have been played hundreds of times before, they’re effectively creating the original versions of these characters.

“It has made the rehearsal room a really collaborative place, and watching the characters go from words on a page to fully realised people has probably been one of the most rewarding parts of the whole process.”

To book tickets, visit: www.ticketsource.com/bebemanor/the-haunting-of-bebe-manor/e-dlqqlp