The producers of The Buskers Opera, a brand new musical by Dougal Irvine (Departure Lounge, Laila, Britain’s Got Bhangra) and Park Theatre have announced the first ever ‘relaxed’ performance at the Park Theatre, to take place on Thursday 2 June 2016.
The producers of the show have launched a unique crowdfunding scheme in order help deliver this relaxed performance alongside their Arts Matter – Pass It On ticketing scheme, which will see at least a hundred tickets a week distributed to charities, youth groups and outreach programmes in the local area and around London. The Buskers Opera opens at Park Theatre on 28 April and plays until 4 June, with a press night on 5 May – the date of London’s mayoral election.
Producer Michael Peavoy said: “Very early on in the early development stages of The Buskers Opera it was clear that a piece of theatre about society, that asked questions of us all and how we operate, had to involve everybody. I knew we had to make sure that all felt welcome to take part in that conversation and question with us regardless of their personal or financial circumstance.
“Four years on, we hope we’re now making small steps toward achieving that goal. If we manage to get even a handful of people in to the theatre that otherwise wouldn’t have come, and we can give them a top class show that makes them think about the world, or even forget about the world for a few moments – then we’ll have done our job. Theatre is an incredibly powerful thing, that’s why we believe wholeheartedly that art matters and the best thing we can do is to pass it on. Hopefully there are enough people out there that will agree with us, get involved with our crowdfunding efforts and help us pass on some tickets, and come along to enjoy the show.”
Musical theatre legend David Burt –the original revolutionary Enjolras in Les Misérables in 1985 – joins the cast as Jeremiah Peachum, alongside comedian Simon Dylan-Kane (best known for regular appearances on Radio 4’s John Finnemore’s Souvenir Programme), who’ll play Mayor Lockitt.
Simon Dylan-Kane plays Mayor Lockitt in The Buskers Opera at the Park Theatre
Burt and Dylan-Kane will complete a line-up of British musical theatre talent including Olivier Award-winning George Maguire (Sunny Afternoon) as Macheath, and Lauren Samuels (Bend it Like Beckham, Grease, We Will Rock You) as Polly Peachum.
Other cast members include Natasha Cottriall (Into the Woods, Future Conditional) as Lucy Lockitt, John McCrea as Filtch, Maimuna Memon as Jenny Diver/Dissenter/Beggar and Giovanna Ryan as Susan/Beggar/Dissenter. Ishmael Gander will also be part of the company as Matt/Dissenter/Beggar, cast after a workshop with Cardboard Citizens, who have been making life-changing theatre with people who have experienced homelessness, or are at risk of homelessness, for nearly 25 years.
London 2012. The world is watching. Can the city deliver the greatest Olympics ever? Pulling the strings is media mogul, broadcaster and puppet master, Jeremiah Peachum. Together with his star of the show, Lockitt, the Mayor of London, they are perfectly placed to capitalise on Team GB’s gold and drive their political agenda across the finish line. Enter satirical street busker Macheath and his gang of dissenters ‘The Ninety Nine Percenters’…
The Buskers Opera is directed by Lotte Wakeham (Matilda, Sweet Charity, The Other School by Dougal Irvine), with musical direction by Sean Green, lighting design by Christopher Nairne, sound design by Andy Graham and musical staging/choreography by Lucie Pankhurst.
Anna Kezia Williams, a student at University of the Arts London, will design the set, following a competition and will be mentored by leading set and costume designer David Woodhead.
The world premiere of The Buskers Opera is presented by Michael Peavoy, Neil Marcus, Jamie Clark and Paul Tyrer for the Buskers Opera Ltd, in association with Park Theatre.
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