The Show
FANATICAL is a brand-new musical about love, creativity, and community. This show follows a group of passionate, dedicated fans determined to put on the best sci-fi convention ever, to celebrate cult comic and TV show Angel 8.... no matter what gets in their way.
FANATICAL is a collaboration between US playwright Reina Hardy and UK composer and lyricist Matt Board. The Stable have been working with Matt and Reina to develop the show and will be presenting the world premiere at The Playground Theatre, a new venue in West London, in November 2018.
Its a fantastic show but we need your help to bring the best possible version of it it to the stage.
Let's get ready to launch!
The Cast
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The cast will be lead by SUANNE BRAUN (Stargate SG-1, Mamma Mia, Onassis, Red Dwarf) as Trix and...
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AMY LOVATT as Lizette. Click HERE to check out Amy's amazing YouTube channel about all things musical theatre.
Stay tuned for updates as more cast members are announced!
The Songs
Here we have a behind the scenes look at a couple of numbers in rehearsal!
Look What I Made
Performed by Akiya Henry, Maimuna Memon & George Rae
You Should See her Fly
Performed by Izuka Hoyle
The Team
The Stable | Producers
Recognising the challenges in getting new musical theatre work staged, The Stable was established in 2014 to commission, develop and present innovative shows by emerging writers of exceptional talent
The Stable has commissioned 4 new musicals to date. Their work has been featured on BBC Radio 4's Front Row and The Stable have received a development grant from the Wellcome Trust, enjoyed a successful raise on Equity platform Crowdcube and secured support from ArtsForward to help develop their slate of shows.
For more information please visit www.thestablemusicals.co.uk.
Matt Board | Music & Lyrics
Matt co-wrote the book, music and lyrics to “Austentatious” which was a critical and audience favourite at the Landor Theatre in 2009, a New York Times pick of the 2007 New York Musical Theatre Festival, and has also been produced in Philadelphia and Calgary. Matt was a finalist in both the 2013 Search For A Twitter Composer competition and the 2014 Stiles and Drewe New Song Award and was commissioned by Comedy Central to write “Friends: The Opera” for a gala performance in London.
Matt’s other work includes music and lyrics for children’s musical “Ella and the Dragophant”, book, music and lyrics for the one-act two-woman musical “Two’s A Crowd”, which featured in the Perfect Pitch New Musicals Festival.
Reina Hardy | Book
Reina is a playwright. Her plays, which usually contain magic and sometimes contain science, have been seen across the US, including at Rorschach Theatre in DC, the Vortex in Austin, and the 2013 NNPN National New Play Showcase. She’s a Michener Fellow, winner of the 2014 KCACTF TYA Prize, finalist for the Terrence McNally Prize and the recipient of an Interact 20/20 Commission.
The Playground Theatre | Venue
The Playground Theatre is a new venue in West London run by Co-Artistic Directors Anthony Biggs and Peter Tate. Their mission is to work with both established and emerging artists in the UK and internationally. The ethos is one of cross-fertilization between different forms and different cultures with the aim of creating work that is bold and imaginative, while fully engaging the rich diversity of the community of which it is a part.
Shaun Kerrison | Director
Jim Henson | Musical Supervisor
Anthony Whiteman | Choreographer
PJ McEvoy | Designer
Original dramaturgy by Lotte Wakeham.
What We Need & What You Get
The show uses a live band, and we want to enhance this with chip and pin sampling technology to mimic 1980's gaming soundtracks and give FANATICAL a unique and authentic sound. As well as being INSANELY COOL, the use of this technical innovation is somewhat pioneering in musical theatre where we haven't seen this being done before!
Chiptune is a genre of music composed using the 8-Bit soundchips from the gaming consoles of the 80s and 90s. It takes the blips and bleeps from our favourite retro video games and ramps that playful, high-energy soundscape all the way up to 11. Chiptune has been a staple of the online composing scene for the past couple of decades but it's rarely been used in musical theatre before.
It's perfect to evoke the geeky world of Fanatical. If we meet our goal we will be able to fully realise the composer Matt's soundscape by providing funds for this technology as well as being able to hire additional band members to make the whole thing sound completely awesome.
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If you choose to get involved, we've got lots of rewards for you, from programme credits and social media shoutouts to season tickets and getting your very own song written for you - we've got something for every level of donation.
Special mention to our Pass It On perk where not only will you be helping the show, The Stable will also donate a ticket to someone who could not otherwise afford to attend in your name. For full details on this and all of our other rewards check out the perks on the right hand side.
