FINGS AIN'T WOT THEY USED T'BE

When I was asked to be the Musical Director for the Guildford School of Acting’s production of Fings Ain't Wot They Used T’Be back in December 2021, I jumped at the chance to help reconstruct this rarely seen piece of classic British musical theatre. After its initial West End run back in the 1960s, the score and band parts were lost, and all that remained were some basic song-copy versions along with a couple of handwritten pages. So the first task was to go back to the original recordings and transcribe the whole show from scratch.

Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be first opened in 1959 at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. It was written by Frank Norman, with music and lyrics by Lionel Bart, and directed by Joan Littlewood. Set in London’s Soho, it offered a snapshot of working-class and criminal life, inspired by Norman’s own experiences, and the original cast included Miriam Karlin, Barbara Windsor, and George Sewell. With its use of Cockney slang and focus on everyday characters, the show captured the mood of postwar Britain and went on to play an important role in shaping modern British musical theatre.

The Guildford School of Acting production was directed by Nicholas Tudor and was, on the whole, a faithful staging of the original. The song “Meatface” was given a new slant, to make it a grittier and darker interpretation, and a few of Miriam Karlin’s original keys were raised to make them sit more comfortably in the actress's voice. So, while it may have taken 50 years, it was wonderful to once again hear the score as it was originally intended.

The cast was made up of Naomi Ash (Myrtle), Miracle Chance (Margaret), Lauren Chia (Barbara), Georgie Freeman (Lil), Katrina Kleve (Betty), Rosie Needham (Rosey), Greg Bernstein (Norman), Hywel Dowsell (George), Alex Jordan-Mills (Horace), Chris Kiely (Tosher), Kiean Leigh (Honky-Tonk), Nick Martland (Fred), Robert Murray (Paddy), Ben Sell (Redhot), Thomas Wright (Sergeant Collins) along with Christina Bennington, Lucy Butler, Emilie Fleming, Francesca Peplow, Lizzie Rees, Jo-Anne van Steensel, Adam Samuel-Bal, Cellen Chugg Jones,

The creative team was Nicholas Tudor (Director), Roger Ness (Designer), Drew Varley (Choreographer), Declan Randall (Lighting Director), Paul McConkey (Sound Designer), Steve Hill (Musical Director & Orchestrator), and Stephen McCarthy (Music Preparation).

COME FROM AWAY

I'm excited to say that I'll be heading to Cornwall's Minack Theatre in May as Musical Director for the first outdoor production of Come From Away. This will be my second show with the Redruth Amateur Operatic Society Trust (RAOST), one of Cornwall's leading amateur companies.

The musical Come From Away is based on a true story. It follows the people of Gander, a small Canadian town that suddenly welcomed thousands of stranded airline passengers after the September 11 attacks. The show focuses on the friendships, culture clashes, and acts of kindness that grew out of that unexpected moment. It had a successful run at the Phoenix Theatre in London's West End, and so being the Musical Director for the first outdoor production is a real thrill.

I've been lucky enough to pick the brains of the original London production's Musical Supervisor, Alan Berry, about the show and the orchestration. Because it's very specific in terms of the musical style and sound, his knowledge of how the whole piece fits together has been such a help.

The director of Come From Away is Helen Hartshorne, and the sound designer is Nathan May. The production runs from Wednesday 25th May to Friday 29th May.

CINDERELLA - Derby Playhouse

It’s Panto time, and that means every theatre up and down the country will be opening its festive production. I’m taking a year off from pantomime this Christmas because I’ve been flat out with teaching Musical Theatre at colleges around Cornwall since last December. So, instead, I wanted to look back on one particular pantomime that I did, and which I am still so incredibly proud of.

In 2000, I was asked to be the Musical Director and Musical Arranger for the Derby Playhouse production of Cinderella. The Playhouse's pantomimes had always been so well received and reviewed, with audiences traveling from all over the area, and so it was a real pleasure to be asked to take over the reins in their 35th Anniversary year. It was to be the usual mix of pop songs plus new material, which I would end up writing during and after rehearsals.

Under the expert direction of Mark Clements and Hannah Chissick, the entire cast and crew created a truly unforgettable production that included the most amazing flying horse that I have ever seen in a theatre. The mechanical horse was built in-house by ex-Rolls Royce engineer Alan Jackson, and the sight of it flying out into the audience at the end of Act 1 was absolutely magical.

The end of Act 1 was the biggest section of music that I had to write for Cinderella, and it contained the transformation, a UV scene, and the flying horse. The tech for this section alone took us two days, but all of the hard work was definitely worth it. Unlike the shorter runs you find today, we played from 28th November 2000 to 20th January 2001! The Derby Playhouse would become the Derby Theatre in 2009, and I am so pleased that I got the chance to work at this incredible venue.

The cast was made up of Nicky Adams (Dandini), Pete Dunwell (Buttons), Caroline Head (Prince Charming), John Jardine (Baron Hardup), Laura Strachan (Cinderella), Juliet Prew (Fairy Godmother), Gary Sharkey (Ugly Sister - Abby) and Andrew Westfield (Ugly Sister - Fabby).

The creative team was Author Mark Clements (Author & Director), Hannah Chissick (Director), Steve Hill (Musical Director), Chris Crosswell (Design), Colin Mayes (Costume), Alexandra Stafford (Lighting), Nick Greenhill (Sound), Madeleine Loftin (Choreographer) along with Greg Hagger (Bass), Jim Fleeman (Drums) and Paul Brown (Guitar).