New Plays, Books & Musicals
Our regular up-to-date selection of recently published books as well as new or re-released plays and musicals, many of which are now available for amateur performance.
Show listings are not proof that respective titles are available for amateur performance. Please make appropriate enquiries with respective licensors.
CONCORD THEATRICALS
E: licensing@concordtheatricals.co.uk
E: customerservices@concordtheatricals.co.uk
W: www.concordtheatricals.co.uk
F: ConcordShows | T: @ConcordUKShows
Samuel French
HADESTOWN by Anaïs Mitchell
Full-Length Musical / F5, M3 / Fantasy / 978 0 573 70885 5 / £10.99
This intriguing and beautiful folk opera delivers a deeply resonant and defiantly hopeful theatrical experience. Following two intertwining love stories — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of immortal King Hades and Lady Persephone — Hadestown invites audiences on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Inspired by traditions of classic American folk music and vintage New Orleans jazz, Mitchell’s beguiling sung-through musical pits industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love.
HEATHERS THE MUSICAL by Laurence O’Keefe, Kevin Murphy
Full-Length Musical / F9, M8 / 1980s, Westerberg High School, Ohio / 978 0 573 70382 9 / £10.99
Heathers The Musical is the darkly delicious story of Veronica Sawyer, a brainy, beautiful teenage misfit who hustles her way into the most powerful and ruthless clique at Westerberg High: the Heathers. But before she can get comfortable atop the high school food chain, Veronica falls in love with the dangerously sexy new kid J.D. When Heather Chandler, the Almighty, kicks her out of the group, Veronica decides to bite the bullet and kiss Heather’s aerobicised ass… but J.D. has another plan for that bullet.
Brought to you by the award-winning creative team of Kevin Murphy (Reefer Madness, “Desperate Housewives”), Laurence O’Keefe (Bat Boy, Legally Blonde) and Andy Fickman (Reefer Madness, She’s the Man). Heathers The Musical is a hilarious, heartfelt, and homicidal new show based on the greatest teen comedy of all time. With its moving love story, laugh-out-loud comedy, and unflinching look at the joys and anguish of high school, Heathers will be New York’s most popular new musical. Are you in, or are you out?
IN THE HEIGHTS by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegría Hudes
Full-Length Musical / F6, M6 / Contemporary, Present Day / DIG0000000438 / £4.00 (digital perusal score rental)
In the Heights tells the universal story of a vibrant community in New York’s Washington Heights neighbourhood – a place where the coffee from the corner bodega is light and sweet, the windows are always open and the breeze carries the rhythm of three generations of music. It’s a community on the brink of change, full of hopes, dreams and pressures, where the biggest struggles can be deciding which traditions you take with you, and which ones you leave behind.
ONE GOOD TURN by Una McKevitt
Full-Length Play / F4, M2 / Present Day / 978 0 573 13270 4 / £9.99
Brenda wants Frank to do his exercises, Aoife wants to go to a wedding of all things, Fiona doesn’t know what she wants and Frank is looking for the gun.
One Good Turn brings us a family on the brink who are keeping the show on the road any which way they can. It is a wry and life-affirming exploration into the ups and downs of family bonds.
SIX by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss
Full-Length Musical / F6 / Present Day, 16th Century – Elizabethan
This title is not currently available for performance. To be informed as soon as it becomes available in the future, please submit a license application.
The Electrifying New Musical Phenomenon! From Tudor Queens to Pop Princesses, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the mic to reclaim their identities out of the shadow of their infamous spouse, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into an exuberant celebration of 21st-Century girl power.Nominee:
- Five 2019 Olivier Awards, including Best New Musical
- Winner! 2019 Whatsonstage Award for Best Off-West End Production
- Winner! 2019 BBC Radio 2 Audience Award for Best West End Musical
Rodgers and Hammerstein
PAL JOEY by Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, John O’Hara
Full-Length Musical / F4, M2 / 1940s – WWII / DIG0000000500 / £4.00 (digital perusal score rental)
The penultimate Rodgers & Hart collaboration introduced the first anti-hero to propel a musical. Joey is an opportunistic cad, but he always seems to land on his feet. He elbows his way into a job at a seedy Chicago nightclub and is soon juggling the affections of a naive chorus girl and a wealthy society dame who just happens to be married. Once Joey has charmed the socialite into setting him up in his own joint, he ditches the chorine and is riding high, playing the big-time operator. When a punk threatens to spill the whole business to the socialite’s husband, she decides that she’s bored with Joey anyway, dumping him and the club. Having had a taste of his own medicine, you’d think Joey would head back to the sweet kid who really loves him. Wrong. Some things never change, but you know what? He’s still on his feet.
SHOW BOAT by Jerome Kern, Oscar Hammerstein II, Edna Ferber
Full-Length Musical / F8, M9, 1 Girl / 1920s, 1910s – WWI, 1900-1910, 18th Century / DIG0000000522 / £4.00 (digital perusal score rental)
Spanning the years from 1880 to 1927, this lyrical masterpiece, centered around the Mississippi show boat Cotton Blossom, concerns the lives, loves and heartbreaks of three generations of show folk and their lifelong friends. Show Boat follows the story of the Hawkes family, including the captain’s naive daughter Magnolia, who wants to be a performer, as she marries a gambler and moves with him to Chicago. When his debts compound, he deserts her and their young daughter. Magnolia’s selfless best friend Julie, a performer on the Cotton Blossom, faces arrest on charges of miscegenation, which is illegal, and she spirals into despair. The passing of time reunites Magnolia and her now-grown daughter with Magnolia’s estranged husband, who returns offering a second chance at familial happiness.
Tams Witmark
BARNUM by Cy Coleman, Michael Stewart, Mark Bramble
Full-Length Musical / F3, M2 / 1835 – 1880. America and major capitals of the world / DIG0000000360 / £4.00 (digital perusal score rental)
P.T. Barnum, the Greatest Showman on Earth, combines razzle-dazzle with charm and brass to sell “humbug” to cheering crowds. A joyful and moving musical portrait of the nineteenth century’s greatest show-biz legend, Barnum is a colorful, dynamic spectacle with heart. Cy Coleman and Michael Stewart’s rousing score includes “There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute,” “Join the Circus,” “The Colors of My Life,” and “Come Follow The Band.”
Concord Theatricals has collaborated with Subplot Studio to create high-quality artwork that complies with your license. Promoting your show has never been easier!
PORGY AND BESS by George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, Dorothy Heyward, Ira Gershwin
Full-Length Musical / F4, M4 / Charleston, South Carolina. The early 1930s
Known worldwide as a masterpiece and an “American Folk Opera,” Porgy and Bess® was George Gershwin’s final work for the musical stage. Based on DuBose and Dorothy Heyward’s play Porgy, Porgy and Bess® combines elements of jazz, classical, and American folk music. Musical numbers include “Summertime,” “A Woman Is a Sometime Thing,” “My Man’s Gone Now,” “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’,” “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” and “I’m On My Way.”
TITANIC by Peter Stone, Maury Yeston
Full-Length Musical / F14, M23 / The RMS Titanic, between 10 – 15 April 1912 / DIG0000000299 / £4.00 (digital perusal score rental)
Titanic is available for licensing in two versions:
- Titanic (Original): Designed for a large cast, with 14 lead roles and at least 23 supporting roles. Presented on Broadway with a cast of 37 performers.
- Titanic – Ensemble Version: Designed for a total of 20 actors, with performers doubling or tripling on roles.
Concord Theatricals has collaborated with Subplot Studio to create high-quality artwork that complies with your license. Promoting your show has never been easier!
The sinking of the Titanic in the early hours of April 15, 1912, remains the quintessential disaster of the Twentieth Century. A total of 1,517 souls – men, women and children – lost their lives (only 711 survived). The fact that the finest, largest, strongest ship in the world – called, in fact, the “unsinkable” ship – should have been lost during its maiden voyage is so incredible that, had it not actually happened, no author would have dared to contrive it.
But the catastrophe had social ramifications that went far beyond that night’s events. For the first time since the beginning of the industrial revolution early in the 19th Century, bigger, faster and stronger did not prove automatically to be better. Suddenly the very essence of “progress” had to be questioned; might the advancement of technology not always be progress?
Nor was this the only question arising from the disaster. The accommodations of the ship, divided into 1st, 2nd and 3rd Classes, mirrored almost exactly the class structure (upper, middle and lower) of the English-speaking world. But when the wide discrepancy between the number of survivors from each of the ship’s classes was revealed – all but two of the women in 1st Class were saved while 155 women and children from 2nd and 3rd (mostly 3rd) drowned – there was a new, long-overdue scrutiny of the prevailing social system and its values.
It is not an exaggeration to state that the 19th Century, with its social stricture, its extravagant codes of honor and sacrifice, and its unswerving belief that God favored the rich, ended that night.
The musical play Titanic examines the causes, the conditions and the characters involved in this ever-fascinating drama. This is the factual story of that ship – of her officers, crew and passengers, to be sure – but she will not, as has happened so many times before, serve as merely the background against which fictional, melodramatic narratives are recounted. The central character of our Titanic is the Titanic herself.
Peter Stone
Musicals: Youth & Teen Editions
AMÉLIE: TEEN EDITION by Craig Lucas, Daniel Messé, Nathan Tysen & Daniel Messé, Jean-Pierre Jeunet & Guillaume Laurant
Full-Length Musical / F5, M7, 1 Girl / 1970s & 1990s Paris and the mind and imagination of Amélie Poulain / 978 0 573 70865 7 / £10.99
Amélie is an extraordinary young woman who lives quietly in the world but loudly in her mind. She covertly improvises small but surprising acts of kindness that bring joy and mayhem. But when a chance at love comes her way, Amélie realizes that to find happiness she’ll have to risk everything and say what’s in her heart. Be inspired by this imaginative dreamer who finds her voice, discovers the power of connection, and sees possibility around every corner.
Nick Hern Books
T: 020 8749 4953
W: www.nickhernbooks.co.uk | E: info@nickhernbooks.co.uk
F: NickHernBooks | T: @NickHernBooks
Alexander Technique for Actors: A Practical Course by Penny O’Connor
Theatre book / 978 1 848 42758 7 / £14.99 (£11.99 direct from publisher)
Written by an experienced teacher of the Alexander Technique, this comprehensive, supportive and highly practical book takes you step by step through a series of eleven guided lessons, each exploring different elements and principles of the technique. With dozens of exercises and assignments to help you immediately put what you’ve learned into practice, and featuring illustrations throughout, this is the ideal introduction to everything the Alexander Technique has to offer – and its potential to benefit not just your work and career, but your entire life.
‘Penny O’Connor’s approach to the Alexander Technique is mindful and meaningful. She brings great skill, experience, wit and humanity to her work. I have learnt a great deal from her.’
Jeannette Nelson, Head of Voice, National Theatre.
Getting, Keeping & Working with Your Acting Agent: The Compact Guide by JBR
Theatre book / 978 1 848 42941 3 / £8.99 (£7.19 direct from publisher)
Perfect for any talented and committed amateur actor looking to make the leap into working professionally, this empowering, informative guide explains everything actors need to know about agents – how to find one, what they do, and how to work with them effectively to help you succeed if you want to make acting your career. Also included are invaluable tips on how to write a great CV; obtain attention-grabbing headshots, showreels and voicereels; prepare for and excel at auditions; embrace social media; protect your mental health; and much more.
Hamilton and Me: An Actor’s Journal by Giles Terera. Foreword by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Theatre Book / 978 1 848 42999 4 / £16.99 (£13.59 direct from publisher)
A unique, personal account of researching, rehearsing for and performing in the London production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash-hit musical Hamilton – by Giles Terera, the actor who won an Olivier Award for his performance as the West End’s Aaron Burr. It offfers an honest, intimate and thrilling look at everything involved in opening a once-in-a-generation production – the triumphs, breakthroughs and doubts, the camaraderie of the rehearsal room and the moments of quiet backstage contemplation – as well as a fascinating, in-depth exploration of now-iconic songs and moments from the musical, as seen from the inside.
‘Masterful and excellently written… offers audiences and readers the chance to not only be in the “room where it happens” but also to smell the sweat, feel the pulsing hearts and hear the resonance… deserves a permanent place on aspiring musical theatre performers’ bookshelves’
The Reviews Hub
How Plays Work (revised and updated edition) by David Edgar
Theatre book / 978 1 839 04031 3 / £14.99 (£11.99 direct from publisher)
In this fascinating masterclass for playwrights and playmakers, distinguished playwright David Edgar examines the mechanisms and techniques which dramatists throughout the ages have employed to structure their plays and to express their meaning. This new edition brings the book right up to date with analyses of many recent plays, as well as explorations of emerging genres and new innovations in playwriting practice.
‘An essential accompaniment for anyone fascinated by the craft of dramatic storytelling’
John Yorke
Learning Your Lines: The Compact Guide by Mark Channon
Theatre book / 978 1 848 42971 0 / £8.99 (£7.19 direct from publisher)
This accessible, systematic guide will teach you how to memorise your lines quickly and effectively, and let go of the fear of forgetting them – helping you build confidence and focus, and reducing anxiety and stress around auditions, rehearsal and performance. Discover dozens of tips, tricks and techniques, along with exercises and examples to illustrate how they work in practice.
What Country, Friends, Is This?: Directing Shakespeare with Young Performers by Max Hafler
Theatre Book / 978 1 848 42803 4 / £14.99 (£11.99 direct from publisher)
A highly practical, comprehensive guide to exploring Shakespeare with young people, or indeed performers of all ages – ideal for directors, youth-theatre leaders, workshop facilitators and teachers. Beginning with a series of workshops that introduce the skills and principles of voice and acting, this book sets out, step by step, how to use devising, develop short scenes, explore soliloquies, and unlock the themes, characters, stories and language of the plays. There is also useful advice on preparing for a production, editing and transposing the text, rehearsing scenes, and fostering an ensemble.
‘A must-own… full of exercises and advice to explore’
Teaching Drama on Max Hafler’s book Teaching Voice: Workshops for Young Performers
Music Theatre International (Europe)
T: 020 7580 2827
W: www.mtishows.co.uk | E: shows@mtishows.co.uk
F: mtieurope | T: mtieurope
Hans Christian Andersen Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser. Book by John Fearnley, Beverley Cross and Tommy Steele
Countless generations of children have been raised on the fairytales of Hans Christian Andersen. From “The Ugly Duckling” to “The Little Mermaid.” Now with music by legendary composer Frank Loesser, Hans Christian Andersen is a musical storybook that brings the timeless tales (and the man who created them) to life onstage.
A struggling cobbler in Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen is better at making stories than shoes. As he discovers his potential as a storyteller and writer, he ultimately gets the help he needs from the people who love him to make a future for himself.
A family-friendly show with generous ensemble roles for both adults and children, Hans Christian Andersen is a timeless treasure. It is based on the 1952 film starring Danny Kaye and features classic songs such as “I’m Hans Christian Andersen,” “Thumbelina,” “Anywhere I Wander,” and more!
A KILLER PARTY: A Murder Mystery Musical Music by Jason Howland. Lyrics by Nathan Tysen. Book by Kait Kerrigan and Rachel Axler
A Killer Party: A Murder Mystery Musical is an online, performance-ready show based on the successful streaming musical. This hilarious and irreverent send-up of the classic Murder Mystery features an all-star creative team that includes music by Jason Howland (Little Women), lyrics by Nathan Tysen (The Burnt Part Boys), and a book by the illustrious Kait Kerrigan and Rachel Axler.
MTI’s licensable version of this online show is a 90-minute, single piece designed to be pre-recorded and edited together for a streaming production shown on the showtix4u.com platform.
When Varthur McArthur, the artistic director of a failing theater in Duluth, invites his troupe of disgruntled actors and collaborators to the first read of an “immersive murder mystery dinner party,” no one knew that he would be the victim. Or did they? Enter the eager, determined, and untested Detective Case. After sequestering the guests into separate rooms (because, you know, social-distancing), she gets down to finding out whodunnit, uncovering secret affairs, life-long grudges, backstage drama, and a lot of musical theater song and dance. Sifting through lies and red herrings and a truly baffling murder mystery script left by the deceased, Case vows to find the truth and secure her future as a great detective.
A-Wop Bop A-Loo Bop: A jukebox celebration of the early days of Rock & Roll! Book by Mark Brymer and John Jacobson
A-Wop Bop A-Loo Bop takes us back to the late 1950’s as Rock & Roll is taking the airwaves by storm. Roberta “Ruby” Lester and her friends are spunky teenagers with dreams of making it big in the music business. But sometimes dreams don’t go as planned. When the local radio station announces that “Rock‘n’Roll has got to go”, the kids take a stand for the music they love.
A-Wop Bop A-Loo Bop offers plenty of roles, along with a flexible ensemble you can tailor to your casting needs. Featuring hit songs like ‘Rock Around The Clock’, ‘Jailhouse Rock’, ‘Tutti Frutti’, ‘Up On the Roof’, ‘The Loco-Motion’, ‘I’m Sorry’ and ‘Land of 1000 Dances’, this new jukebox musical will get a whole new generation of rockin’ around the clock!
Surface Press / BANDCAMP
W: rosebiggin-keircooper.bandcamp.com
E: surfacepress@gmail.com
WILD TIME: a radical novelisation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, Rose Biggin, Keir Cooper
Novelisation
Paperback, signed paperback, e-book: rosebiggin-keircooper.bandcamp.com/releases
Ebook (Amazon): www.amazon.co.uk/Wild-Time-Rose-Biggin-ebook/dp/B08GY1NL4L
Both funny and sexy on an astronomical scale. The Perfect Summer Read!
Rose Biggin and Keir Cooper’s Wild Time “breaks as many rules as it can”, sparking rave reviews, a must-read for those looking for an hilarious new twist in the tale that packs a punch.
As the theatre industry opens up this season we are seeing many productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream (one of the world’s most beloved plays), as theatres around the UK welcome back their audiences.
Two award-winning theatremakers have made a “theatrical novel” Wild Time, a witty riff that rewrites the action of Dream, and begins a conversation about the sexual politics of this famous and frequently performed piece, in a wholly unique way.
Their theatrical bookclub at Camden People’s Theatre made the Guardian’s hotlist and Lyn Gardner’s Pick of the week.
Authors Rose Biggin and Keir Cooper offer us a mischievous ride into myth and magic, taking liberties with Greek gods and literary idols as if nothing is sacred.
A witty reinvention of Shakespeare for 21st Century politics and sex-positivity. An ideal world to get lost in this Summer.
The Duke of Athens and the Amazon Queen are getting married in the morning. It’s going to be a big one, and everyone’s invited. The King and Queen of the Fairies arrive into ancient Athens, ready to be guests of honour at the party of the age.
There’s a gifted new Changeling in town — a uniquely talented human who’s attracting some attention. Titania has plans, Oberon’s wound up about it, there’s a long night ahead and naturally it all comes down to who does what. The planets have their own ideas, and elsewhere, deep within the forest, we see a leatherworker and part-time male stripper rehearsing a play that’s ahead of its time…
This is A Midsummer Night’s Dream as you’ve never known it before. A punk revision of Shakespeare’s narratives of pleasure and power, WILD TIME is a new world composed of erotic and theatrical acrobatics, taking liberties with Greek gods and literary idols like nothing is sacred. It’s funny, it’s sexy, and you’ve got a front row seat.
“WILD TIME is a genuinely intoxicating night in the woods. Generous and witty, sexy and extremely smart, it torments Shakespeare with such lascivious glee and trips nimbly through the theatrical canon… To see the universe expanded out in prose, but also subverted and punked and stripped down and re-focussed is a constant joy. I’ve never read anything like it.”
Stewart Pringle, Dramaturg, National Theatre.
“A lusty reimagining of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, WILD TIME spins you at arm’s length in the middle of its heated embrace. Transgression is at its heart: this new version does its best to rip off the shackles of its originator, but pays homage to it too by breaking as many rules as it can – just as Puck and his cohorts are wont to do. It’s like being in a really fun, messy party where I want to be friends – and maybe more – with them all… erotic and direct, joyful and funny, WILD TIME entices as much as it shocks. There are dangerous pleasures to be had here… if you’re bold enough.”
Honour Bayes, Writer & Critic
“Funny and mischievous, WILD TIME is a delightful reinvention… a treat for lovers of theatre and the fantastical”
EJ Swift
“Boldly experimental and daring, not to mention fabulously entertaining… One of the most remarkable aspects of this book is the way it honours its source material: the bawdiness, the humour, the word play, the theatrical chaos – they’re all here, all mined knowingly and inventively and to delightful effect. The authors’ willingness to be bold and innovative in terms of language and form adds extra verve, and their understanding of and appreciation for *theatre* in every sense of the word results in a work that almost demands to be adapted for the stage. The poetry, humour and sheer joy… a book that will raise a sorely needed smile as these dark days encroach.”
Nina Allan
Rose Biggin & Keir Cooper are two experimental theatre artists who work with radical adaptation, literature and histories: between them, productions include a Don Quijote remix (**** Guardian, Time Out Critics Choice), queer flamenco-theatre on the Spanish Revolution, and a performance of poledance and electric guitar, feat. live art veteran Penny Arcade.
WILD TIME is their debut novel. Rose’s short fiction has been published by Jurassic London, Abaddon Books & Egaeus Press.
Their second theatrical novel has been funded by Arts Council England and is currently in development.
Neville Teller
T: 01625 879508
W: www.nevilleteller.co.uk | E: teller.neville@gmail.com
MORE AUDIO DRAMA by Neville Teller
£11.99 paperback / £4.99 ebook (Amazon)
Neville Teller’s generous second helping of plays for audio. Charging no performance rights or royalties, More Audio Drama author Neville Teller gifts ten beautifully crafted literary classic adaptations for radio and audio to podcast producers looking for prepared audio scripts.
Following the success of the author’s unique first collection of ten radio plays published in 2019, veteran audio dramatist Neville Teller returns with his second helping of plays – More Audio Drama – to delight lovers of radio drama as well as producers, actors and podcasters everywhere.
In these 10 plays inspired by literary classics, Neville’s expert and finely tuned writing skills are displayed to full effect. Whether you are a podcast producer seeking fully realised audio drama scripts, or one of the worldwide listening audience who love radio drama with its power to create images in the mind’s eye, More Audio Drama is a book to treasure and enjoy.
Neville is a veteran radio dramatist, with more than 50 BBC radio plays under his belt and scores more produced and broadcast across America by the San Francisco-based Shoestring Radio Theatre.
Back in 2019 he published his first collection of ten radio plays, Audio Drama. They have been so welcomed that he decided to make another ten available. Here they are – 10 more of Neville’s plays for radio and podcast, all of which have been produced and broadcast. As in his first book, these scripts are offered to podcast producers with no strings attached. The books on which they are based are all literary classics in the public domain. No performance rights are required.
Whether you are a podcast producer seeking fully realised audio drama scripts, or one of the worldwide listening audience who love radio drama with its power to create images in the mind’s eye, More Audio Drama is a book to treasure and enjoy.
Neville says: “These easy-to-read radio scripts provide lovers of radio drama with the chance to create in their own minds the sort of radio drama that they enjoy. As for the worldwide community of podcast producers, here are 10 audio-ready scripts, offered with no strings attached.
“No royalties, no performance rights.”
Neville Teller is a veteran radio dramatist, with more than 50 BBC radio plays under his belt and scores more produced and broadcast across America by the San Francisco-based Shoestring Radio Theatre. Back in 2019 he published his first collection of ten radio plays, Audio Drama. They have been so welcomed that he decided to make another ten available. Here they are – 10 more of Neville’s plays for radio and podcast, all of which have been produced and broadcast. As in his first book, these scripts are offered to podcast producers with no strings attached. The books on which they are based are all literary classics in the public domain. No performance rights are required. Whether you are a podcast producer seeking fully realised audio drama scripts, or one of the worldwide listening audience who love radio drama with its power to create images in the mind’s eye, More Audio Drama is a book to treasure and enjoy.
JOHN WATERHOUSE
T: 01625 879508
W: jcwaterhouse.co.uk | E: john@jcwaterhouse.co.uk
What goes on in the Pantheon by John Waterhouse
Full-Length Comedy / F6, M6 (or 3m, 3f with doubling)
Free preview script via Stage Scripts at shop.stagescripts.com
The Greek Gods have enjoyed centuries of relative stability under the rule of Zeus, notwithstanding a few affairs and shenanigans along the way. All seems well apart from the fact that Artemis, Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt (as well as chastity) has not been seen for a while.
Karen, a holiday-maker climbing Mount Olympus, enters a portal accidentally left open by the messenger God Hermes on a trip down to the underworld of Hades. Karen bears a strong resemblance to Artemis, albeit with much shorter hair, and the rest of Gods assume she has simply changed her appearance a little (which Gods can do).
Having quickly learnt there are dire consequences for mortals who enter the Pantheon, Karen decides to pose as the missing Goddess. This suits Hades perfectly, who has Artemis a prisoner in his underworld kingdom, as he plots to challenge the power of Zeus on Olympus.
STAGE GHOSTS AND HAUNTED THEATRES by Nick Bromley
Available at lnpbooks.co.uk/product/stage-ghosts-and-haunted-theatres and for Sardines readers at a special price of £8 + £2 p&p by using code: GhostClub8
Despite the mind fog of these Covid times, can you, like me, just about remember the 16 March 2020? That’s when the first lockdown started and shows, even those that had survived multiple cast changes, came to a grinding halt.
I’m a freelance Company Stage Manager and like the vast majority of my fellow workers in the business had to accept I had even more time on my hands than usual.
The belief things would improve in a couple of months turned from hope to despair at times but I was cheered by a consistent story in the theatre’s trade papers and websites.
It seemed that though actors and audiences had vanished, there was still one thing performing nightly as long as managements had paid their electricity bills. It was that age old symbol of stage superstition, the Ghost Light. Every theatre now seemed to have one defiantly alight, keeping the dark shadows of dread and emptiness at bay.
Their stories made me want to emulate them. I wanted to do something positive to help lift my spirits and an idea began to form. As I couldn’t partake in shows or watch live performances, what about dead ones? It so happened that I had been collecting ghost stories of the theatre for most of my career and I saw this as an ideal opportunity to tell some of them. There was no lack of variety. After all, if I added up all the casts of Les Mis, Phantom, Mamma Mia! and The Mousetrap, they still couldn’t top my Chorus Line of ghosts.
I started going through my collection and quickly realised it would be unfair to only concentrate on past performing phantoms. I needed to broaden my outlook more widely. And so I added stories from backstage and also from the auditoriums. After all, spectral spectators abound throughout the land.
My list of sightings and experiences grew and grew and to accommodate a selection of the best I decided to divide my book in two. Starting in the West End, it visits many playhouses where multiple hauntings have been reported including the Adelphi, the Haymarket and Wyndham’s.
An interval is next where individual stories are related, and afterwards the book goes on tour around the country, before ending of course with a finale set in the most famous haunted theatre of them all, the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.
The end result is entitled Stage Ghosts and Haunted Theatres. It’s an illustrated paperback with a foreword by Richard O’Brien of The Rocky Horror Picture Show fame. It covers over fifty theatres and includes a host of terrors and apparitions that have been seen, felt, heard and even smelt. Those lonely lights onstage may be beginning to be turned off now as shows are cautiously re opening, but that does not mean the ghosts themselves have ever left the buildings…
