Different Hats

Thankfully my work diary wasn’t as up-ended this month as it was over Christmas, and everything went ahead as expected, with the odd covid-related dash to cover a show thrown in here or there for good measure. Notably, I played my first performance on the Keys 2 chair at Dreamgirls - a show that I have wanted to play for YEARS - as well as Keys 1 of Bedknobs & Broomsticks, returned to the Chicago tour in Birmingham to fill in on the piano chair for a week, and revisited the score of Matilda the Musical in preparation to play/conduct the West End run on occasion from February onwards. Pretty much every week has involved some “first show nerves” somewhere, somehow, and I feel as though I have been practising for one very very very long musical these past few months! But I really wouldn’t have it any other way right now, especially as I get to play some beautiful scores, with great musicians and singers, and see loads of friends & familiar faces for the first time since the pandemic hit.

Much of the month, though, was dedicated to rehearsing and workshopping a brand new musical by creative duo Ollie Hancock & Ed Payne. They had tasked the third year cohort at Edge Hill University with a script and score for The Girl In The Hat, a passion project of theirs over the past few years that had never been staged before. The true story of fashion icon Isabella Blow and her demise, it was a fascinating process brought to life with incredible costumes and hats by the in-house wardrobe department helmed by the fabulous Dawn Summerlin. The photo below is one of several designs used throughout the performance:

The students lapped up the entire process, and I think surprised themselves with what they were all truly capable of. It will be fascinating to see what happens with the piece in the future, especially as musicals about the fashion industry are few and far between.

February sees the students back to earth with a bump as a new semester full of new modules, lectures and assessments gets underway. I am dividing my time largely between Edge Hill in Lancashire and the Cambridge Theatre in London as my involvement at Matilda the Musical increases somewhat. Thankfully I have found a lovely place to stay just north of London to ease the ‘commute’ across the country for these next few weeks/months! Hopefully the M6 will be kind and my little BMW stays in one piece.