SCRATCH NIGHTS X MUSICAL THEATRE
Wednesday 15 November 2023
Curated in collaboration with Associate Artists Stan Hodgson and Meghan Doyle. An evening of new and experimental work from four new musical theatre artists who are definitely ones to watch.
We were delighted to present the following line-up of artists:
THE POPSTAR by Ella Langley & Stephen Hyde
ERIC THE MUSICAL by Ste Reid and Paperwork Theatre
TERMINAL SOUND by Jack D’Arcy
TIT SWINGERS by Abey Bradbury and Sam Kearney-Edwardes
There were also two presentations by bursary recipients, Edy Hurst and Sophia Harari.
THE POPSTAR
by Ella Langley & Stephen Hyde
Evie will stop at nothing to manifest superstardom. When she witnesses a celebrity crime scene, her unceasing ambition soon catapults her into the spotlight. But she has to walk an increasingly corrupt path to keep it shining on her.
Succession and Breaking Bad meets Barbie and SiX. A heart-pounding soundtrack of chart-inspired bangers thrusts us into an opulent pop industry as our story pulls it apart to examine its underbelly of entitled corruption
About the Artists:
Ella is a writer and director from Stockport. She collaborated with Tony award-winner James Graham on Sketching for Wilton’s Music Hall (published by Methuen Drama, 2018). Her play Girls Will Be Girls sold out The Oxford Playhouse studio and Edinburgh Fringe venue. Incoming Festival selected her next Edinburgh Fringe show Have I Told You I’m Writing A Play About My Vagina for their tour to Bristol Tobacco Factory, New Diorama and HOME Manchester. Ella is a Creative Facilitator, and currently runs multiple creative programs in Stockport.
Stephen is a Cumbrian writer and composer. He is co-founder & composer of music theatre company leo&hyde. His pop opera The Marriage of Kim K opened the Arcola Theatre’s Grimeborn festival in 2017 and his shows have since played across the UK at venues including The Lowry, The Hope Mill and The New Diorama. He has been commissioned by the National Theatre, and has twice been shortlisted for the Cameron Mackintosh Resident composer scheme. Stephen also co-founded touring Shakespeare company The Three Inch Fools, with whom he has written a number of original actor-musician shows including The Gunpowder Plot and Robin Hood.
Instagram: @ellagangly
Instagram: @stephenhyde27 // @leoandhyde
www.stephenjghyde.com
Eric the Musical
by Ste Reid and Paperwork Theatre
Gigging alongside the Beatles in 1960’s Britain, Eric and his bandmates from ‘The Moths’ dream of ‘making it big’ but Eric’s crippling anxiety is holding them back. In his heart of hearts, Eric knows that his song ‘How I Love Loving You’ is the key to their success - if only he could get someone to listen to him. Decades later, Eric has passed away and his son discovers countless cassettes of the song when clearing out the house. He walks over to the cassette player and hits play. For the first time, Eric's lyrics and harmonies fill the room.
About the Artists
Ste Reid is a musician, singer and frontman of the Liverpool based rock band, The Mono LPs. Championed by BBC Introducing and 6 Music, we’ve played across the UK (Kendal Calling Festival, Brighton’s The Great Escape and Liverpool’s Sound City) and beyond, playing at Fosnsvag Rock festival in Norway.
Based in Liverpool, Paperwork Theatre create bold theatrical experiences which are joyful, adventurous and full of humanity. Established in 2014, the company stage live and digital experiences in unusual places, community owned spaces and traditional theatres. Most recently Paperwork created and produced DEEP BLUE, a raw, tender and comic exploration of what it means to belong, punctuated by an original indie-rock soundtrack which was programmed for the Liverpool Everyman Theatre in October 2022.
@monolps @PaperworkT
ERMINAL SOUND
by Jack D’Arcy
Terminal Sound is a work in progress gig-theatre piece written and composed by Jack D’Arcy
‘The Engineer’ has been brought into the home recording studio of a legendary artist, tasked with finishing his final album. All that has been left behind are copious, incomprehensible notes and cassette tapes. It’s his job to work through and complete this swan song—an album doused in morbidity, religiosity and sardonicism. As ‘The Engineer’ moves from mixing to recording, from tweaking to writing the songs, he begins to question who’s final album this really is.
About the Artist
Jack is an actor and musician from Salford, Greater Manchester
A graduate of National Youth Theatre’s award-winning REP Company 2022-23, Jack has just finished working on 'Bakkhai' dir. Maisie Newman, where they played Dionysos and contributed additional music and sound alongside composer Ben Osborn
Jack’s work blurs lines between musician and actor and they’ve performed in many hybrid roles with companies including The Pappy Show, the National Youth Theatre, CONTACT and HighRise Theatre among others.
Recent acting credits include: Doctors (BBC), Gone Too Far! (Theatre Royal Stratford East), Much Ado About Nothing (Duke of Yorks Theatre), Handel & Hendrix (Somerset House) and others.
Recent sound design and/or composer credits include: Bright.Young.Things. (Storyhouse Chester) GASH Theatre Needs Some Space (Assembly Festival, Edinburgh Fringe) and The Concrete Jungle Book (The Pleasance)
Training includes: National Youth Theatre REP Company, CONTACT Young Company and ArtsLab (North Wall Arts Centre)
Instagram & Twitter: @j_a_c_k_d_a
www.jackdarcy.xyz
TIT SWINGERS
by Abey Bradbury and Sam Kearney-Edwardes
A new Punk Gig Musical - with added pirates
Anne Bonney and Mary Read - polyamorous queer pirates that got the title of Hellcats of the Seven Seas for their various vicious and notorious crimes…but you probably know them best as them female pirates that fought with their tits out…
Well now they’re tired of living in the shadow of Blackbeard and Captain Kidd and Calico Jack - the Tit Swingers are here to write their own sea shanties and become the immortal legends they know they deserve to be.
Oh, and bring some earplugs…it’s gonna be loud…
About the Artists
WRITER/PERFORMER - Abey is a Queer and Neuro-Divergent Theatre Maker and an Award Nominated Writer/Composer. My previous work includes JULIE: The Musical (UK Tour), Wolf, BEANSTALK! and work with Lamphouse Theatre, Cream-Faced Loons and Derby Theatre
WRITER/PERFORMER - Sam is a Queer actor and musician, most recently playing Julie D’Aubigny in the UK Tour of JULIE: The Musical. Along with Abey, Sam is part of Jezebel Folk Trio - performing and writing feminist folk music around the North
COLLABORATER/PERFORMER - Sophie is an actor-musician, multisensory artist and stage manager. Recent credits include blasting off Into space with Kitchen Zoo in "The Tinfoil Astronaut" at The Albany and Arc Stockton, touring multisensory theatre alongside learning disabled artists at DIY Theatre across Salford and Greater Manchester and dancing on her aerial silks as Gerald the Giraffe in "Giraffes Can't Dance" at Leicester Curve
Instagram - @TitSwingers / @abeybradbury / @sam_k_e
Twitter - @TitSwingers
www.legasp.co.uk/titswingers
BURSARY RECIPIENTS
Edy Hurst is a Musical Comedian based in Manchester. Appearing on BBC Radio 4, Next Up Comedy and a Finalist in the Musical Comedy Awards, he's performed across the country combining stand up, loop pedals and comedy songs. After completing a national tour of the lofi-preboot-scifi comedy rock opera Edy Hurst's Comedy Version of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of H. G. Wells' Literary Version (Via Orson Welles' Radio Version and Steven Spielberg's Film Version) of the War of the Worlds earlier this year, he is currently developing a new show as part of the Lowry Developed with Artists.
Edy has used the bursary to explore: untitled Musical Theatre project.
"Brilliantly written comedy rock songs" Phil Nichol (Everybody's Talking About Jamie)
"Delightfully Silly Songs" Wee Review
"Bursts with Comedic Joy" The Skinny
Sophia Harari is a poet, writer, performer, and storyteller exploring themes of isolation, theological theory, quantum potential, the multi-heritage experience, queer intimacy and personal development. Their work is a series of conversations. With themselves, with the intangible, with those they love, with those they don’t know, and on occasion with truth itself.
Sophia has used the bursary to explore: Ascension
An intimate look at the inner world of someone ready to let go of living. In the style of Neo-Soul and R&B, we are brought on a journey that begins at contemplating the end, through song we reflect on what brought us to this moment and what is keeping us in this moment.