Young composer Laura Tisdall is the changing face of the West End. At only 24 she has already written her second musical, The In-between and now she is bringing it to the west end with little more than a concept album. such as Lauren Samuels and Hadley Fraser, stars of We will rock you and Les Miserables respectively. Now she is taking the internet by storm, promoting her play in hope to receive funding to turn it into a full scale production. With massive online support, interviews with the BBC and the successful West-end live, which showcased performances of her show, she is well on her way to attaining her goal.
The musical follows protagonist, Flix, an underachiever who lives with her older sister Alice. Since their parents death ten years ago the bond being the two has been strained due to Alice’s responsibility as a guardian preventing her from being a sister. Flix’s attitude to life is to expect nothing and give the same in return however her world is turned upside down when she steps through the wrong doorway and enters the In-between. In this world between worlds meets the guide Callicus and discovers problems on a far larger scale than her own. Its time for her grow up and become the hero she never believed she could be.
The album itself is beautifully constructed with Tisdall playing the entire score on her keyboard alone. The score is stunning and the variety of songs on the album showcase her skills as a composer which are complimented by the amazing range of talent singing on each track. “She’s my sister†is a upbeat opening to the show sung by Dianne Pilkington & Cassandra Compton. Its fast tempo and sarcastic lyrics illustrate wonderfully the tense relationship between Flix and Alice as well being impossible not to sing along to. “Someone to be proud of†is a stunning performance by the talented Lauren Samuels, with a breathtaking climax I can see it easily becoming the shows “Defying gravityâ€. However the song which stands out most for me is the heartbreaking “When I was nineteen†sung by Julie Atherton as the role of Alice. The melody is soft yet impacting and Atherton clearly delivers the raw emotions of her character, showing a girl who grew up to fast, desperate to still be there for her younger sister despite no longer having anything to give. It shows the depths of her personality and presents Tisdall’s ability to make you really connect with her characters.
In all the play is clearly a product of hard work and dedication on Tisdall’s part, the little of the story she has revealed is refreshing from the clichés which have crowded musicals for too long, and the fantasy element should prove an interesting production to watch. Though there are no confirmed performance as of yet, I am confident that her talent as a writer will get her funding soon and I’m sure we will be seeing the In-between on the West End by next year.
For more information about the play and to listen to the concept album visit : http://www.theinbetweenmusical.com/
Image reproduced from lornahannah.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/in-between-new-musical.html
© 2017, City Connect News. Copyright Notice & Disclaimer are below.
Follow