10 New Musicals in 2 weeks
So with less than month to go to the Launch Night - the programme of new shows has been announced for this years event at Upstairs at the Gatehouse.
The shows are listed below in alphabetical order and details of the schedule can be found at
Tickets can be booked for just £10 on 0208 340 3488 or through TicketWeb.
ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS
Music by Luke Bateman
Book & Lyrics by Katy Darby
Desperate to create the perfect family Christmas, Tone hires escort girl Irina to pose as his girlfriend when he goes to his parents’ for Christmas Day. But tensions soon rise and secrets spill in this black comedy about obsession, the search for happiness, and why “It’s A Wonderful Life” is the most important film ever made.
BOYS IN THE FRONT ROOM
Music & Lyrics by Richard Silver
Book & Additional Lyrics by Sean Hoskyn Hume
Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell were lovers. For fifteen years they lived together in one room, speakingin each others voices, wearing each others clothes, nurturing their writing talents and sharing everything. But fame picked just one of them.On 9th August 1967, Kenneth beat Joe to death with nine blows of a hammer then took twenty two Nembutals. The Boys In The Front Room is a musical based on Joe and Kenneth’s lives together from the day they meet until the day they died.
FORCE 9 ½
Devised by Youth Music Theatre :UK
Book & Lyrics by John Nicholson
Music by Alexander Rudd
Developed over 9½ days with young people at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Force 9 ½ tells the story of a boy, whose life inexplicably and disturbingly turns into a musical. His school day descends into comic absurdity before he can return to normality and finally win the girl.YMT:UK’s latest production won an MTM:UK Commendation for Musical Theatre at Edinburgh 2007 and a five star review from BoradwayBaby.com
GUILT
Book, Music & Lyrics by Dougal Irvine
By the time you’ve read this, another 10 children will have died from starvation. We live in a busy city. Do we have time to feel guilty? And if we do, how much guilt do we need to feel before we act? In this new musical from the writer of Departure Lounge, a city-girl, a gay Priest, an idealistic writer and a prostitute collide at Christmas, a time when miracles can happen, and change each others lives forever.
LOST BOY
Music by Jared Dubrowski
Words by Susannah Pearse
James doesn’t understand Latin. Or cricket. Or anything else about his new school. Lonely and lost, salvation seems to come in the shape of Peter, a charismatic older boy who befriends James and enables him to achieve the solidarity with the other boys that he longs for. But is Peter exactly who he appears to be?
MAC BITCH
By Shrubshall & Free
Mac Bitch! Is a school-set musical reinvention of Shakespeare’s classic text. As Beth McBride begins her ruthless climb up the school hierarchy – spurred on by her boyfriend, Stewart, and some weird, tarot-reading Goths – who knows to what lengths she will go to achieve her ultimate goal of becoming Head Girl?It’s a modern take on all the bitching, backstabbing and power-crazed, murderous ambition you find in the average secondary school.
SLOW MOTION SUICIDE
By Andrew Taylor & Desmond O’Connor
The Award winning writers of Failed States present a darkly comic new musical, taking a satirical stab at the cash-rich/time-poor culture of modern capitalist life. Set in a surreal government office that values its statistics more than its staff, Slow Motion Suicide asks what happens when our work-life balance topples off the scales.
TICKLEDOM
Book & Lyrics by John Manders
Music & Lyrics by Matt Brind
When the evil Ice Witch Fluella brings a frosty chill to the happy flower land of Tickledom, removing the laughter from the Sunflower King and Queen and freezing their memory with a wicked spell; two brave adventurers, Prince Tarragon and Basil, join the feisty Princess Violet and her friend Marigold to embark on a perilous journey to find the magical Forget-Me-Not flowers. For both adults and children alike, with an array of witty and wonderful characters, this family musical will sweep you through a spectrum of musical styles and genres leaving you toe-tappin’ and singin’ all the way home.
TIR NAN OG
Winner of the DressCircle.com Award for Best New Musical – Edinburgh Fringe 2007
Music & Lyrics by Dave Anderson
The semi-autobiographical tale of a middle-aged, lost and disappointed human being who sets off on a voyage of discovery as an entertainer on a North Sea ferry and soon finds herself undergoing strange trials and adventures, from the mean streets of the red-light district in Amsterdam to a drifting boat full of slaughtered migrants, and one endlessly dying child.
TWO’S A CROWD
Music & Lyrics by Matt Board
Felicity and Amber are two young friends sharing their first flat together. They awake on the morning after their housewarming party, hung over and dimly aware that something dreadful happened last night. Was it something to do with Felicity’s ex, or Amber’s boss?To find out, the two girls re-enact the entire party – guests, music and all. As they pick their way through an evening of old friends and old issues, they soon discover how big a crowd two people can be.
