Leading independent theatre production company Metta Theatre has announced the release of the studio album for hip hop musical In The Willows.
Working in collaboration with new musical development specialists Perfect Pitch, the cast album which was produced remotely during October and November last year, is now available via Spotify, iTunes and other digital media.
The album release is accompanied by a new music video for ‘Head Above Water’ choreographed and starring deaf street dancer Chris Fonseca, one of the stars of the original production of the musical.
Written and directed by Metta’s artistic director P Burton-Morgan (Jungle Book, UK and International tour), with music and additional lyrics from award-winning composer Pippa Cleary (The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole) and ground-breaking hip-hop composer Keiran Merrick, In The Willows is inspired by Kenneth Grahame’s timeless novel.
Describing In The Willows, Burton-Morgan who won the Writers Guild of Great Britain Award for her work on the show said: “This is not Disney. These animal students are recognisably human, young and for the most part abandoned by the rest of society. Their teacher Badger is one of the few adults who believes in them and in their potential to achieve. They are by turns angry, lost, mischievous but ultimately searching for a sense of belonging – a new family made up of their fellow classmates.”
Perfect Pitch producer Andy Barnes added: “It has been a pleasure to partner with Metta Theatre to put this EP together during lockdown – a much-needed creative outlet for the team during a difficult time. We have been honoured to work with many fabulous performers, musicians, and a fantastic team of writers who worked tirelessly to ensure we found the right sound across a varied landscape of musical styles. We’re excited to share it with you.”
The 2019 production’s Badger and Toad, Clive Rowe (Guys and Dolls) and Harry Jardine (Shakespeare In Love) feature on the EP along with Hiba Elchikhe (Aladdin), Sharon Rose (Hamilton) and Tim Mahendran (& Juliet).
The release of the recording coincides with the announcement that Rowe has just been appointed as Metta Theatre’s new patron.
Commenting on his involvement with the company, Rowe said: “I’m incredibly honoured to have been asked to become a patron of the Metta Theatre company. Its drive, diversity, and constant pursuit of focused truthful work is a breath of fresh air and at its heart P Burton Morgan strives tirelessly to create new innovative and expressive work. I only hope that my patronage will in some way go to shine an even brighter light on this wonderful company.”
The creative team for the EP includes musical supervisor Mark Collins, orchestration consultant Renell Shaw and music producer and mix engineer Sam Featherstone. The musicians are: Richard Coughlan on bass, Luke Davies on trumpet, Joe Evans on drums, Will Robertson on cello, Curtis Volp on guitar and Corey Wickens on violin. Philip Clyde-Smith is the video editor, with Deepa Shastri providing BSL translation and Laura Goulden as BSL interpreter.
During 2020, Metta launched two other studio albums and music videos for the musicals The Rhythmics and Housefire and set up the environmental consultancy Metta Green.
Angela Thomas
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