Saturday 6 November 2021
Music & Lyrics by Jack Godfrey
Book & Additional Lyrics by Ellie Coote
Commissioned by Vicky Graham
The development of this concert performance is supported by HOME Manchester
Earth. Humanity. 200,000 years in the making.
https://dundeerep.co.uk/whats-on/this-is-a-love-story
A new pop musical tells the 200,000-year love story between Earth and Humanity, from first sparks to today’s abusive relationship via infidelities of astronomical proportions.
The show uses the language of pop music to shine a fresh light on our relationship with the planet with the high-energy score by Jack Godfrey (42 Balloons, Babies) and razor-sharp lyrics by Ellie Coote (42 Balloons). Performed by two actors with a live on-stage band and continuous creative captioning, the presentation of this work continues Dundee Rep’s commitment to developing and platforming the most exciting and innovative new musical theatre writing.
This one-off concert performance at Dundee Rep on Saturday 6 November, also streamed live online at Rep Studios, marks a significant moment in the creative development of this original musical, commissioned by Vicky Graham Productions and developed with support of Arts Council England and HOME Manchester. Now further developed at Dundee Rep Theatre this REP STUDIOS live stream, scheduled during COP26 will be the first opportunity for audiences to experience the show in a concert setting.
Co-Creators of the show Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote said “We’re really excited to have our first public showing of THIS IS A LOVE STORY at a theatre which is so passionate about new musical theatre. We’re so excited to see how live and digital audiences will respond. This concert version will also give us an opportunity to experiment with creative captioning for the first time, which is a massive part of our vision for the show. We hope that the show will get people talking about the planet and our future, and inspire people to think about their role in the world.”
Dundee Rep’s Artistic Director Andrew Panton said: “COP26 is a hugely important moment in history and is it is exciting to be so near the epicentre of that as it happens in Scotland. We hope that THIS IS A LOVE STORY can draw more people’s attention to it. Recent pop musicals like SIX and Our Ladies have proven incredibly popular among a really broad audience and we think there is a real opportunity to open up the conversation around climate change which can be daunting for lots of people to think about and discuss. We hope this show will provide an accessible and entertaining way for people to engage with the conversation about the future of our planet.”
Producer Vicky Graham said: “Now is the time to for artists and audiences to engage with the climate crisis. I can’t wait to share Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote’s fun, fresh and entertaining work with audiences for the first time, and to work with our partners and talented creative team to embed sustainable practice and creative access into the development of the show.”
THIS IS A LOVE STORY will be further developed ahead of a premiere in 2022, to be announced.
Climate Beacons for COP26 is a Scotland-wide collaborative project between climate change or environmental organisations and arts, heritage or cultural organisations to stimulate long-term public engagement in the lead-up to and following COP26. Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre are thrilled to be part of this new initiative together with V&A Dundee, The James Hutton Institute and Dundee Museum of Transport as one of the seven Climate Beacons for the Tayside area. Building on Dundee’s reputation as a city of design, the Tayside Beacon will use design-led-thinking as a means to create and deliver innovative forms of public engagement focused on the climate crisis, finding sustainable ways for Tayside communities to take action. New productions like THIS IS A LOVE STORY with environmental themes are a key part of the picture, providing imaginative ways to stimulate debate, discussion and change. THIS IS A LOVE STORY is proud to be participating in the beta trial of the Theatre Green Book.
