Stephanie Jayne Amies and Teddy Clements
The place is London, the date is 8 May 1945 and the biggest party in history has begun on a night that will be remembered forever: the night the war ended.
The city is buzzing with excitement as people hear the news. The streets fill up with people from all over the world singing and celebrating. Fascinated by the crowds, teenage Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret cannot bear to watch from afar. Disguised, they sneak out of the palace, blending in with the crowds and embark on an incredible journey filled with danger, decisions and new experiences on one glorious night that will change them forever.
British Youth Music Theatre’s production of The Night the War Ended, running at Theatre Royal Margate from 26-29 August 2021, boasts an acclaimed creative team: Stephanie Jayne Amies (music and lyrics), Teddy Clements (additional music, arrangements, musical direction), Nicholas Scrivens (book), Steven Dexter (book and also directs) and Julia Cave (choreography).
With soaring harmonies, powerful narrative this new original musical promises to sweep the audience along the streets of London and into the most magical night in London’s history.
Below the creative team tells Musical Theatre Review about how The Night the War Ended has been developed and what it’s like to work with the incredibly talented members of British Youth Music Theatre.
The Night The War Ended is about a very specific moment in British history, can you tell us about how the project came about and the real story behind the show?
When we began thinking about this project we knew we wanted to write a show with multiple strong female leads. The industry and youth theatre in particular has a higher ratio of female performers so we wanted to create something they could really connect with and take ownership of. The story itself came about because of the 75th VE Day anniversary last year.
What it’s been like to adapt this part of Royal history into a musical (especially when one of the main characters is the Queen (!) and other TV programmes and movies have also attempted to re-create the event)?
It has actually been a really interesting part of history to discover. There was such a feeling of unity and celebration on VE night, so it is as much about that as it is about the Royals themselves. It was admittedly quite daunting writing the character of the Queen, but really we just wanted to remember that the Queen and Princess Margaret were both young people too with dreams and aspirations just like the rest of us.
Have you worked on any similar shows before, inspired by historical events?
Steph [Jayne Amies] and Teddy [Clements]’s last musical before this was Compass, commissioned by the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton to commemorate the 400 year anniversary of the Mayflower ship leaving the UK and sailing to USA. It was also written for a youth theatre with a cast of over 100 young people.
Can you tell us a bit more about the collaboration involved in the writing of the piece?
The four of us decided we wanted to write together back in 2018. Steph and Teddy had worked alongside Nick [Scrivens] on their musical Obella at the Guildford School of Acting. Nick and Steven [Dexter] had worked together previously. The collaboration has resulted in a wonderful combination of skills and expertise. We’ve really enjoyed the creative nature of the writing process, despite the challenges that Covid presented.
What was it like to return to the project post-pandemic and finally bring it to life?
To be honest we never left the project, it has very much been written during the pandemic and has been influenced by the feelings of fear and grief we have all felt that would have also been prevalent during the war. Writing about the night the war ended has been a beacon of hope for us all. We met several of the cast on Zoom during the last year and were able to put some of the young people’s own hopes for the end of the pandemic into the writing. Being able to bring their words and our show to life after such a difficult period of time has felt quite overwhelming and has really highlighted how art is an important part of healing.
How have you found working with the BYMT company?
The young people have been an absolute pleasure to work with. Their joy and enthusiasm to be back on stage has been evident throughout and has made the whole process so much more meaningful. We really hope that the experience we’ve been able to give them has been as validating and fulfilling as it has been for us.
What are you working on next?
Well we will be continuing our work on this show! We all feel that there’s life in it yet and there are still things to work on to keep improving the writing. Individually, Steph and Teddy are in the early stages of working on three other new musical ideas and Steven is involved with filming his production of Pippin (currently running at London’s Charing Cross Theatre) for Stream Theatre, followed by directing a one man play, The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me.
- The Night the War Ended runs at Theatre Royal Margate from 26-29 August 2021
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