Serious fun
Want to destroy the musical? Or reinvent it? Clare Bayley previews the 6th Birmingham Theatre Conference
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.If you wanted to eradicate the British musical from the face of the earth, David Edgar's Sixth Birmingham Theatre Conference on 7-9 April could present the opportunity. All the musical-makers will be there: Alain Boublil (Les Misrables) and John Caird, Charles Hart (Phantom of the Opera), Gwenda Hughes (Once on this Island), Richard Stillgoe. Let's hope security is tight.
Edgar, doyen of the political play, is an unlikely convener for a conference about musicals, but "Facing the Music" will explore the possibilities of the genre. Can musicals tackle serious subjects effectively, while still attracting the mass audiences so envied by "serious" theatre? Or are any but the most light-hearted subjects trivialised by the need for a show-stopping number every eight to 10 minutes - witness Out of the Blue, the musical about Nagasaki, Evita, even Miss Saigon, the Vietnam musical.
The conference was inspired by contributions at last year's conference made by Neil Bartlett, the artistic director who is aggressively mixing high art with musical populism at the Lyric, Hammersmith. Last week's sell-out production of A Chorus Line by the amateur group LT Players is followed this week by the re-opening of Cheryomushki, one of Shostakovich's lesser-known offerings which Bartlett is marketing as a musical comedy. "I hate the idea that there are certain kinds of art for certain kinds of people," Bartlett says. "I'm pursuing a radical commitment to reinventing audiences for contemporary theatre."
At the Birmingham conference, the commercial hotshots will be joined by poet and playwright Adrian Mitchell, playwright and librettist Michelene Wandor, composer Judith Weir and Graham Vick, director of productions at Glyndebourne.
n Facing the Music: at Birmingham University, Department of Drama, 7- 9 April; some places available (details: 0121-414 5998)
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments