Toby Gough

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Latinlover caught up with the theater director Toby Gough, the man who conceived and recreated the 'The Bar at Buena Vista' show. The Bar at Buena Vista: Cuba’s Grandfathers of Music To describe ‘The Bar at Buena Vista: Cuba’s Grandfathers of Music’ as a night of Cuban music and dance would not be doing it justice. The international Bar at Buena Vista tour is first and foremost a celebration of the human spirit as it takes the audience back in time to the golden age of Cuban music by some of its most legendary music story tellers.

The vibrant and lively performances belie the age of many of the performers, the eldest being singer Reynaldo Creagh at age 94.  Youtube Link of Creagh on stage. Toby Gough is the renowned director of The Bar at Buena Vista show.  Toby said it took a mere three weeks to get the show to rehearsal stage as the elderly performers did not need much convincing to take part.“It’s what keeps them alive,” he said, “it’s what they do, it’s who they are.” Throughout the first half of the show, the audience is introduced to the grandfathers, and one grandmother of Cuban music. Undoubtedly, Creagh, in his golden socks, stole the hearts of the crowd, much the same way as he did in the 1940s and 50s. Taking the stage alongside him were other legends of dance and music including the ‘Hurricane of Cuba’, Eric Turro Martinez. Toby said his vision for the show was to “bring the magic of spending a night in a Cuban bar to Australia,” but not just any bar – a bar from the 40s and 50s – an era that optimised “romance, passion, class and elegance.”   But it might not have happened if Toby hadn’t taken a stroll along the Malecón in Havana and had a chance meeting with Lucas, a man who remembers well the golden age of Cuban Music and inspired him to write the show.  “I met this wonderful old man who was lying in the sun along the Malecón... he was an original bar man of the Buena Vista Social Club, he knew everyone and all the stories. Lucas took me to meet the grandfathers of Cuban music and learn their stories.” In the show each of the grandfathers had a short on stage conversation with Toby translating. They joked about their age, said a few words about their journey and life in Cuba, but they did the real talking through their music. A mixture of fast paced rumba and salsa songs as well as slower latin jazz numbers drew the audience in and the on-stage acting recreated the typical bar arguments over women and dance. What the performers exemplify is a connection to the music that has been built up through the generations. Toby said that in Cuba, “the rumba is more than a dance or a song. It’s more than a religion. It’s a sense of their identity,” he said, “it’s the music and the dance that keeps their identity and their history alive and it runs through them.” The Australian audience was captivated, Toby said, “You can’t help but be amazed... It’s a very moving experience seeing these guys singing and dancing. To experience music as it was born and to be in touch with the human spirit.” If nothing else, the performers teach audiences to not give up on our dreams and to live our life to the full. As Creagh said at 94-years-old, “It feels like my career has just begun.” Other work by Toby Gough: * Some of his many hit productions include Lady Salsa, The Merchants of Bollywood and the Warriors of Brazil. * Toby also directed Kylie Minogue in The Tempest. Interesting facts on the cast: * 94-year-old Reynaldo Creagh has a fixation for shiny socks. Director Toby Gough is always hunting them down. His latest pair is from Singapore. * The one thing the cast go through most are dance shoes; the legends are fussy about their fancy leather shoes. * The cast have in their hotel room 1-year-old Cuban rum and Cohiba cigars.    Return to Interviews | Return to Homepage Interview & Written by Alexander Cork