West End veteran Arlene Phillips will direct a semi-staged version of new British rock musical Myth: The Rise and Fall of Orpheus at The Other Palace in March.
Previously entitled 27 when the show received its world premiere at London’s Cockpit Theatre in September 2016, the re-titled rock musical will be presented in concert-style workshop form for nine performances from Saturday 10 until Saturday 17 March.
Written by actor Sam Cassidy, the son of one of the founder members of Phillips’ dance troupe Hot Gossip, Chrissy Wickham, the show is inspired by the so-called ‘cult of 27’, the urban myth related to the deaths of a number of major music stars including Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Amy Winehouse at the age of just 27.
Commenting on the London return for the revised and re-worked piece which revolves around the self-destructive life of fictional rocker Orpheus, Phillips said: “We were inspired by the recent workshop performances of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express and believed this method of presentation would be invaluable to the development of Myth: The Rise and Fall of Orpheus.”
First time writer, Cassidy added: “It’s true that musicals are not written, but rather rewritten, and this is a fantastic opportunity. In 2016, we opened a completely new British rock musical and enjoyed a very successful six-week season at the 170-seat Cockpit Theatre.
“We had great audiences, with many people seeing it more than once, but we were not completely happy with elements of the production. I’ve since looked at the book, revised the storyline, dropped some songs and added new ones. This latest run will give us the chance to see how this new version works with the chance for audiences to give us feedback.”
Angela Thomas
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