New musical Cautionary Tale, was deep in development when the Covid-19 pandemic struck and the production came to a halt. Now, the writers have decided to continue this incredible journey by giving people the opportunity to stage it in their own homes and share their recordings online.
For five weeks, the team behind the production will be releasing sheet music and backing tracks, Tik Tok choreography, character sketches and script extracts for you to record at home.
You can get involved by recording the weekly section by yourself or with friends and family, and share it online using #CautionaryTaleMusical to help make this musical a reality. In week six, the best of these recordings will be used to create a live Zoom version.
This new musical about growing up and growing glum, with book and lyrics by Rebecca Atkinson Lord (Founder of Arch468 and former Director of Theatre at Ovalhouse) and music by award-winning composer Rebecca Applin, could be a story about many different things.
Cautionary Tale could be a West-End style musical about learning to live authentically. It could be a modern parable about liberal values triumphing over authoritarianism. It could be a mash up of Roald Dahl, Tim Burton and Hilaire Belloc; about overcoming grief set in the landscape of a painting by LS Lowry. At its heart it’s a story about finding hope when all seems lost.
Cautionary Tale is the story of Gloaming, a town filled with perfectly ordinary, yet perfectly remarkable people. The inhabitants of Gloaming all have special talents and interests; the Hamingtons, for example, know the answer to any question you can think of, the Bittingworth sisters are so strong they can lift an elephant, and the Trockles can make pretty much anything you like out of knotted string.
Some talents can be pretty dangerous and it can be tricky to manage a town filled with such interesting people. One day, in the mists of time, the town elders decided that the best way to keep the town safe was to forbid anything that might be a bit too dangerous. The adults of the town have to suppress their talents and conform, but it’s hard to live a life of stifled potential.
There is one place where they can go to remember what it’s like to feel human: The Black Dog, an ordinary pub where it’s OK to be extraordinary. But there are consequences to breaking the rules and there are consequences to living lives without fun.
One day, the children of Gloaming wake up to discover that all the adults have turned to dust and blown away overnight; there just wasn’t enough joy left in them to hold them together. The children set off on a quest to find all the joy and talent and curiosity that was forbidden for so long so that they can rebuild their town with joy at its heart.
When: From 7th May 2020
Where: Join in by downloading the weekly packages
£: Free
More info: www.cautionarytalemusical.com
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