The four part series will feature the first live performances in a theatre with a band since lockdown and carried out with the strict social distancing guidelines.
Filmed between the 3rd and 6th June, this new series will begin broadcasting this Friday 12th June to highlight four new musicals that have been postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Available to watch on Youtube, In The Wings is a series of human interest interviews and live entertainment hosted in a London theatre, with composers, writers, and creatives of shows that have been postponed due to COVID-19.
Airing at 7.30pm each week, the Olivier award-winning composer Richard Thomas (Jerry Springer: The Opera; Made in Dagenham) will be joined by creatives from four upcoming new musicals that were postponed due to Coronavirus: No Limits; Legends of Arahma; Gretel! and Dorian: A Rock Musical.
Each episode will also feature a variety of performances of songs from those shows, as well as songs from already well-known musicals by a West End cast. The cast is set to include Dougie Carter (Les Misérables; Sunset Boulevard), Aaron Lee Lambert (Hamilton; Miss Saigon; Sweeney Todd), Steph Parry (Mamma Mia; 42nd Street) and Laura Pick (Wicked; The Sound of Music).
Filmed in accordance to social distancing guidelines, the programme schedule is as follows:
FRIDAY 12TH JUNE at 7:30pm
Episode 1: No Limits with Sam Thomas (Composer)
No Limits is an exciting new song-cycle by Sam Thomas that shatters the notion of falling behind in life – because there’s really no such thing. It follows characters as they dare to believe in themselves and strive for a better tomorrow. From confessing their dreams of becoming a rock star to catfish-ing their attractive neighbour, this powerful collection of songs sees characters let go of their anxieties, take leaps of faith and fight for what they’re worth. Featuring relatable stories of the heartfelt, soul-baring and even kinky variety, it highlights how we’re really all in the same boat, and that with enough self-belief, we can always overcome what’s holding us back. A show with heart, humour and a message we should all take on board.
FRIDAY 19TH JUNE at 7:30pm
Episode 2: Legends of Arahma with Joe Purdue (Composer)
Legends Of Arahma is an epic adventure tale by Joseph Purdue in which two clans, divided by war, decide the fate of their natural world. For years now the warlord Zoran has dreamed of conquering Arahma – some say she’s driven by the betrayal of an old friend, others tell a different tale. Word spreads that a young man named Copernicus Danbury has entered the world of Arahma. He is welcomed by the Kalani tribe, who embrace him as one of their own. Rumours reach him concerning his long lost father, and in his search for answers, he agrees to be trained in combat. If the prophecy is true, only Copernicus can defeat Zoran in battle and protect a beautiful green world from destruction.
FRIDAY 26TH JUNE at 7:30pm
Episode 3: Gretel! with Liv Ward (Writer)
It’s 1940s England: a country ravaged by war. When a young girl finds her mother’s abandoned storybook, Hansel and Gretel, she feels a glimmer of hope – but, faced with evacuation, her mother is too afraid to let her open the book and sink into the story, taking her attention away from her brutal reality. Inside the story, the characters are bored without an audience; growing irritable, restless and looking elsewhere. Only Gretel is desperate to connect to the real world to remind both mother and daughter the joy the story can bring. But up against an ambitious witch and some mischievous fairies, it’s going to take all her determination to succeed and rewrite her own tale. Can Gretel bring light and happiness to a lost child in a frightening world? ‘Gretel!’ is a tale of childhood, loyalty, and the power of fantasy to arm us against a dark reality. In a world where your past and future are written out in a storybook, it’s a reminder that we all have the power to create our own fate – for sometimes destiny could use a little help.
FRIDAY 3RD JULY at 7:30pm
Episode 4: Dorian: A Rock Musical with Henry Brennan (Musical Director)
Dorian Gray, the secret child of love and death is suddenly thrust into a confusing world. A world where love dare not speak its name, yet everybody is searching for it. On his search Dorian comes across the many mirrors of his soul. The dangerous and charismatic Lord Henry casts him into a hedonistic lifestyle; Sibyl Vane sees him as the Romantic lead and Lady Henry merely wants to prey on him. But it is the gentle society painter, Basil Hallward, who shows him as he truly is. On his quest to find his true identity, Dorian must decide if it is better to be loved or to be feared. When Dorian realises the painting is, in fact, a portrait of his conscience, he is horrified to see the level of corruption depicted on the canvas and decides to try to reverse time. “I would give anything for that – I would give my soul!” But is it too late?
The series has been co-produced by Justin Williams and Henry Brennan, with designs by Williams and video design by Ben Bull.
To watch the series from Friday 12th June at 7.30pm visit: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCY7yjTa4yMJ4kZR4Dr7RotA