Evening 7.30pm
Part of Open@TheStudio
Open Floor: Musicals
Open Floor is The Studio’s brand-new scratch night, where theatremakers and theatre companies from Edinburgh and beyond can test brand-new ideas in front of a live audience for the first time.
From comedy to politics, movement to musicals, we’re opening the floor to work at the earliest stage of development so you, the audience, can help the artists explore what works onstage.
This time we’re jumping into the world of new Scottish musical theatre with host Finn Anderson and will be offering four musical theatre teams the opportunity to get their brand new projects up on their feet:
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O’Neill & Savage
Stay
Two people stand at the edge of a park pond with an urn and four years of unresolved history between them. After a botched scattering, something draws them both to stay, but can death rekindle the past? Stay is a new musical by Jonathan O’Neill and Isaac Savage that explores the themes of love, grief and hopeless romantics. @oneillandsavage
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Fraser Scott & David Fallon
Coming Back Around
Coming Back Around is a musical for our times, and times are hard. Sky lives in Glasgow with her boyfriend Declan. They are in love and are skint. Job interviews, energy bills, and Declan's best friend who won't move out, Coming Back Around is Sky's story; the one written for her and the one she wants to tell. @frsrsctt / @_davidfallon
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Lydia Davidson & Filip Holacky
Cracked
Cracked is about a woman who is struggling to cope with her grief after the loss of her grandmother. Her only focus is building a house of stained glass. Her grandma taught her the process and now she is desperate to finish the house against all odds. This is Davidson and Holacky’s first co-written musical after a number of collaborations since their first meeting at RCS in 2016. @mslydiadavidson / @fholacky
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Iona Ramsay & Bethany Tennick
Welcome to Serene
Welcome to Serene is a new musical created by Iona Ramsay and Bethany Tennick. The zany inhabitants of a once-thriving seaside town fight the rising tides as they welcome newcomer, Pia, into their midst. But they are faced with a choice that could save their homes, or cause Serene to disappear into the sea forever. The story is told by a cast of truth-evading players, lead by the maniacally upbeat Tourism Guide. Inspired by the traditions of epic theatre and British music hall, this whimsical show explores the intersection between capitalism, climate change, and the girlboss fallacy. @iona_mullen_ramsay / @btennick
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About our host
Finn Anderson
As a writer and theatre-maker, Finn consistently tackles complex themes and ambitious fusions of musical styles to challenge perceptions of what original Scottish musical theatre can look like. His musical Islander won Musical Theatre Review’s award for Best Musical, was nominated for the Off-West-End Award for Best New Musical, has been translated into Korean, Japanese & Polish, adapted for BBC Radio 4, re-imagined for screen with Dundee Rep Theatre and Eden Court Highlands, and captured in an Original Cast Recording released online in 2020. The New York premiere ran for 9 weeks Off-Broadway at Playhouse 46 in Spring 2022.
Finn is currently the Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer at The Lowry and Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester where is developing an original sung-through musical. @finn_anderson
Part of our Open@TheStudio programme
Dates
More about the artists
O’Neill & Savage
Jonathan O’Neill and Isaac Savage are a Glasgow-based musical theatre writing duo, who began their collaboration after having trained together at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. Their writing credits include: Bon Appétit and Tanya (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland); The Great Elf Escape: LIVE (The Ayr Gaiety/Fearless Players); Belongings (The Minster School, Southwell). In 2019, their song Home, was chosen to be performed at the New York Musical Festival as part of a song cycle, Head and Heart. The following year, two of their songs were finalists in the Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize, performed by Louise Dearman (Wicked, Evita, Guys & Dolls) and Lizzie Bea (Sister Act, Hairspray, Heathers) respectively. Most recently, they were awarded the prestigious Bruce Millar Graduate Fellowship by the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, allowing them to produce a workshop of their new musical, Stay, with support from the Dundee Rep Theatre. @oneillandsavage
Fraser Scott & David Fallon
David Fallon is an actor, musician, and composer. His first original musical, Life, Apparently debuted at Hoxton Hall in 2019. David is the composer and lyricist of Scouts! The Musical, a collaboration with Gigglemug Comedy and the Scouts. The show runs at The Other Palace Studio from 20th June - 2nd July 2023. Fraser Scott makes work in theatre and film. He was the co-founder of Kick the Door, whose shows include Thread at Renfrew Town Hall and LAND at the Edinburgh Fringe. Fraser most recently won the Young Scottish Filmmaker Award at the Glasgow Film Festival, where he is also part of the New Talent Mentorship Programme. @frsrsctt / @_davidfallon
Lydia Davidson & Filip Holacky
Lydia Davidson has written a number of musical theatre projects, most recently The Monday Men commissioned by The Gaiety, which is based on the real stories of a group of men living with dementia in Kilmarnock. She has also written work for Dundee Rep and English Musicals Korea. Filip Holacky is a Czech composer and writer who has won various composition competitions including C4’s Student Composition Competition 2017 and the Edinburgh Studio Opera Award in 2019. His work has been seen in Hong Kong and Orlando, Florida as well as frequently performed at the Royal Conservatoire Scotland/. This is Davidson and Holacky’s first co-written musical after a number of collaborations since their first meeting at RCS in 2016. @mslydiadavidson / @fholacky
Iona Ramsay & Bethany Tennick
Ramsay and Tennick have been writing together since 2019, starting as resident artists at Paisley-based company Kick the Door (‘Thread’, ‘A Walk in the Park’), they quickly discovered their natural ease when writing together and have been a duo ever since. Their show 'LAND' sold out at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022 and garnered 4 and 5-star reviews. Entering their fourth year as writing partners, they're keen to use their voices, and create work that is exciting, grounded, and pushing the boundaries of what musicals can be. @iona_mullen_ramsay / @btennick
Access
Capital Theatres aim to be accessible to all.
We are committed to making your visit to our theatres as comfortable and enjoyable as possible. All of our Front of House staff undergo disability awareness training and Dementia Friend Training and will be pleased to assist you should you require any information or help.
