Newcastle launch for spellbinding show
Schoolchildren to see Macbeth musical free at the Theatre Royal
A new musical is to premiere at the Theatre Royal next year and among the first to fall under its spell (hopefully) will be some 5,000 North East schoolchildren who will get in free.
And if you think that’s weird, you’d be right.
Weird is the name of the show being concocted by Michael Harrison, Wallsend-born producer of the Theatre Royal panto and many other hits.
He and his creative team have high hopes for their version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth from the perspective of the three witches – or “weird sisters” as they call themselves in act one, scene three.
This is when, in a storm on a “blasted heath”, they waylay battle weary Macbeth and predict that he will become Thane (chieftain) of Cawdor and subsequently King.
The current Thane of Cawdor lives and Malcolm is on the throne but Macbeth’s head is turned and much blood is duly shed.
A play part history and part supernatural horror is one of Shakespeare’s famous tragedies.
What, then, lies behind Michael’s ambition to turn it into what is already being described as “an electrifying pop-powered musical”?
“I’d read a newspaper article by Juliet Stevenson (the actress) about Shakespeare in schools and how it can be hard and not everyone understands it,” he recalled.
“Macbeth is challenging but a lot of school kids have to study it.
“Then I was talking to Nick Butcher, who I worked with on a show called The Little Big Things (based on the memoir of a young man paralysed in an accident) and is a great talent, about other things we could do.
“I said there must be a way of making Shakespeare easier for kids to understand, perhaps through something they do get such as pop music.
“We started riffing on that idea and came up with a version of Macbeth seen through the eyes of three of the most famous characters in Shakespeare.”
Nick then ran the idea past Kerri and Fraser Watt, Scottish siblings with multiple achievements in the music business, and they agreed to co-write it.
The Watts, Kerri a singer-songwriter and Fraser a producer based in Nashville, evidently enjoyed themselves.
“Expect a thrilling twist on a classic tale, a banging soundtrack and a lot of fun,” they say.
But no-one gets more excited about a new project than Michael Harrison, the lifelong theatre fan whose new production of Miss Saigon is also to open at the Theatre Royal in October.
The story of Macbeth would be told clearly in Weird, he promised.
“Macbeth himself will be very central, Lady Macbeth is there and there’s a brilliant scene with Banquo at the banquet (the appearance of Banquo’s ghost being key to the play).
“All the characters are well-rounded and developed but the witches will tell the story.”
But will these “secret black and midnight hags” be “wither’d” and have skinny lips and beards, as stated in the play?
“They might be beautiful,” teased Michael. And as for being weird: “There’s weirdness in all of us. Weird is actually the new cool.”
He promises a top cast but clearly much “toil and trouble” still lies ahead, which is where the Theatre Royal and those schoolchildren come in.
“I’ve got the songs and the script but what I really want is to test it in front of kids who might be studying it,” explained Michael.
“It’s not just a children’s musical – anybody should be able to come and see it – but that audience is important.
“And I thought if we could do it at the Theatre Royal that would be brilliant because it’s where I saw so much growing up, including musicals and lots by the Royal Shakespeare Company.”
Theatre Royal chief executive Marianne Locatori attended a script reading in London, apparently thought it was brilliant and backed the project.
As she now confirms, she’s “thrilled” to be collaborating with “one of the most successful and well-respected theatre producers in the UK to premiere a brand new musical”.
She calls this latest venture “a fantastic opportunity for our theatre and audiences in the city and region” and says it will help the theatre develop its relationships with schools, particular in economically deprived areas.
She said she shares Michael’s view that young people, especially outside London, should have many opportunities to engage with the arts.
The upshot is that when Weird premieres at the Theatre Royal from January 28 to 31 next year, the first performances, with more than 5,000 seats, will be free for schoolchildren.
Schools in postcode areas NE, DH, DL, SR, TS and CA can register interest from Monday, March 10 via www.theatreroyal.co.uk/weird - although with a lot of interest expected, this doesn’t guarantee tickets.
The final two performances on January 31 will be available to the public with booking opening on March 24 for Friends Plus members, March 28 for Friends, April 1 for Flexi Priority Plus and April 4 for everyone else via the Theatre Royal website.