House Call from Allegro
Amateur musicals company seek Our House director
By Thom Dibdin
Allegro, the Edinburgh-based amateur musical theatre society, are accepting applications for the post of director for their forthcoming production of Our House.
The production will be staged at the Church Hill Theatre in October with rehearsals starting in late May.
The successful applicant will be joining returning musical director Finlay Turnbull and choreographer, Caroline Howie.
Formed in 1977 from the then Barclay Bruntsfield Drama Group, the original intention of the company was to “bring lesser known or rarely performed musicals to the attention of audiences for amateur theatre in Edinburgh”. Recent years have seen productions of The Wedding Singer, Copacabana, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and, in October 2013, Sweet Charity.
Our House, the Madness musical, was winner of the 2003 Olivier Award for Best New Musical. A touching tale of life and love, heartbreak and comedy, right and wrong, it is set in London’s Camden Town in the mid 1980s.
In true Jukebox Musical style a whole swathe of Madness songs are filleted into the show – Our House, Baggy Trousers, My Girl, Embarrassment, Driving in My Car, The Wings of a Dove, Night Boat to Cairo and, if course It Must Be Love.
It’s a tricky show to stage, with the plot centering round a split door moment when Joe Casey has to decide whether to run away or face the music. It’s his 16th birthday and he and his girlfriend have broken into a brand new luxury apartment for an evening of swanky living.
The musical follows the two courses his life might have taken had he stayed to face the music when the police arrive at the scene, or if he had bunked the law by making a run for it. The tricky part in staging the musical is keeping the two strands distinct. The recent touring production – ironically at the Festival Theatre while Allegro was at the Church Hill with Sweet Charity – was not the success it might have been.
Anyone interested in taking on the challenge and helping Allegro make a rather better fist of it, should send their CV to: info@allegromusical.co.uk. This is also the email for further information. Closing date for applicants is January 10.
Rehearsals start late May/early June and rehearsal nights are Mondays and Thursdays at Bruntsfield Evangelical Church, Bruntsfield. The post is not paid, however a spokesman for Allegro told Æ the director is entitled to a small honorarium, which is usually negotiated at the interview stage.
Further details of Allegro on their website: www.allegromusical.co.uk
The DVD of the original West End production, staring Suggs, and the vocal arrangements are available from Amazon. Click on the images below for links.
ENDS
