'The Musical What I Wrote' ... the writer's story
"We have all heard of the term ‘poacher turned gamekeeper’: the person who goes over to the other side? Well I think I have landed slap-bang in the middle of that adage. Having adjudicated, criticised, written about musical theatre for several years solid I have done the unmentionable and undoubtedly ensured that my dear departed ancestral predecessors of theatre criticism are turning in their circle seats – the musical theatre critic has written a musical. I can almost hear the thunder of feet rushing for a ticket and then the ‘Letters to the Editor’ winging their way from ‘Mr shocked and surprised’, not to mention ‘Ms Indignant’ as pounds of flesh are carved, dirt well and truly dished from those I have given my judgement on in the past.
Now I have put my head above the hardboard, emulsion bathed, stage-weighted parapet, I may as well bare my soul!
In 2005, pure chance – as is always the factor in these types of stories – led to my meeting with Ian Crabtree. He was assistant MD for a production of The Scarlet Pimpernel and I was playing the lead role in it. But it was not until towards the end of the production that we began to chat about what we did in the real world beyond the proscenium arch. Ian told that me that he wrote music; I told him that I had written scripts: end of conversation.
Thankfully, Ian did not leave it at that and he rang me to ask if I would have a read of an idea that he had for a musical.
The piece was at that stage unnamed, but I agreed to him calling ‘round to my house for me to have a read and a listen.
If you held a gun to my head I could not tell you the detail of it, but the concept of it caught my imagination.
The only thing I can remember of his original sketch-notes of a script was a character that carried a meat pie around and who spoke to it. As I drank my cup of tea I wondered whether I needed to remove any of the crystal on display near to where he was sat in our lounge for safety, in case he had what Healthcare Professionals probably call an ‘episode’.
Who was I to know what was good, bad or indifferent? But in my trademark brusque way, I applied my brutal honest opinion and said “This is rubbish”; you can see that there was no way I was ever going to have a change in career to be a counsellor.
Thankfully, some higher being with a tad more common sense than me was watching over us that wet Saturday afternoon and subliminally urged me to listen to his music: I was immediately hooked – not so much on his actual songs, but the style of the writing. I instantly recalled producing a magazine article some time before in which I had mused that a successful musical had to do a certain number of things in the first ten minutes (and I have to admit, I did not invent this) so as to ‘catch’ the audience. It had to establish the main characters, the premise of the plot and at least one key tune in the first ten minutes to grab and importantly, maintain the attention of the observer. OK, I did not care for the story but the tune was already invading my head. I had only heard it once and I was humming it.
As I listened to Ian speaking I could also hear my diary saying “don’t be stupid, you haven’t got the time.” Thankfully, the diary and common sense lost.
Over the next several months I started sketching out the ideas for the plot and the characters. Ian for his part would email me (what DID we do before email and Broadband?) sample pieces of music and the odd song but neither of us seemed to be making a huge amount of progress apart from running up a huge mobile ‘phone bill every month. I think the issue was (as is sometimes the case when writing), that you find it hard to face reality and admit that you are beaten by an idea. Inspiration can be a one way street and sometimes, you have to admit on your journey that you have irretrievably lost your way.
Then on the 19th July 2006, I got an email from Ian with a link to a website which simply said:
"Well, we've not finished yet but hey-ho! Some good stuff here and a good opener ... thirteen family members, a court, a Witchfinder, and other characters - I hear BIG chorus numbers! ‘Witchfinder - A Musical In Two Acts’ By Crabtree & Roche … Mmmm. Are you coming around tonight?”
That night, our problem child was laid to rest and Witchfinder was born.
During that night we started talking and by 1.00am I had in my head 75% of the plot and the characters.
Thankfully, I had rediscovered that one way street and I now knew where I was going. Within weeks, the storyboard was done and I had written the first character descriptions for a cast of between 30 and 40. What was more, I had become absorbed by the story and the history of what happened in a village called Pendle, Lancashire in 1612. Friend had turned against friend as hysteria had gripped a small community. Interestingly, an account and court record had been prepared and published – a researchers dream come true. However, we talk about a one sided and biased press in the 21st century. This was nothing compared to the court record which was published by its author, Thomas Potts, a Clerk of the Assizes, in 1612.
It was entitled ‘The Wonderful Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster’ and was probably one of the only surviving contemporaneous accounts of a 17th century witch trial. But it was written in a very strange style i.e., one sided. It seemed to fawn over the judges and the system that had propagated the fear, suspicion, hatred, bigotry that surrounded the phenomenon of Witchcraft, fuelled no doubt by the Inquisitions in Europe and the witch hunts that had been taking place there. Add to that the beliefs of James the First and his own publication on Demonology which appeared around the same period in which we saw the release of the King James Bible: an explosive mixture indeed.
And on the subject of explosive mixtures, it was also clearly a hotbed of politics and prejudices. Bear in mind that the Gunpowder Plot had recently been uncovered, religious intolerance was riding the crest of a wave and superstition was its bed mate. Being poor and being different was not the thing to be in 1612. Being poor and Catholic and living in Lancashire with colloquial ways and odd customs and practices that were different, put you at a severe disadvantage. Add to that, simple people with simple ways – country ways – and a limited education (or indeed, none at all), it did not assist in dispelling rumours, petty jealousies, fears and importantly, myths; it was another ingredient in our explosive mixture. For a writer looking for a hook, I had just found one and somebody had kindly put a big juicy worm on it.
The only thing in our mix which was not there was love and it was that realisation which finally saw the story of Witchfinder – The Musical being born and the final piece of the jigsaw put in place. I decided to introduce fiction into the fact which allowed the story to become an adaptation rather than a true historical representation. And why shouldn’t it be? Are you telling me that every musical play ever produced which was based on a historical event was an accurate history lesson? That Les Misérables is an accurate historical representation of the main figures of the student unrest that it depicted? I don’t think so. This was no different and the weaving of fact with fiction, history with histrionics was an intriguing and powerful blend; Witchfinder had got me mixing my own dramatic and musical concoctions!
The pieces were therefore in place: a group of simple village people with a strong and honest religious belief were caught in the middle of a power struggle, pawns in a game in which religious intolerance, suspicion and fear would wash them away in a wave of hatred. Friend would turn against friend, old disputes would come to the fore … scores would be settled. And in the middle of it all, two people from different backgrounds, different worlds – and different sides in the fight, would find a thing in common which defied all that was going on: they would fall in love.
The outcome would, could, only be one sided and our story mirrored history with the tragedy of the resultant executions. Were they witches? Did they practice black magic? Had they actually done anything wrong? Who knows, but one thing is certain: there were no winners and that is what Witchfinder The Musical set out to explore and in it, added other possibilities for the audience to consider. It might not get the History Professors giddy, but we hoped the theatre goers and conspiracy theorists would have a field day watching it.
Yes, it might be a sad story and yes, many may feel it is not the right subject matter for a musical play. But I have come to the conclusion having spent several years reviewing 'musicals' that the world of theatre is awash with light, fun, throwaway nights out and I/we wanted to write a piece that told a story about issues that can effect all of us and with which an audience could make an emotional connection.
Add to all of that the beautiful music Ian was able to weave into the story and it truly brought the characters and the story to life. We binned so much that we were not happy with because our specification for the piece was that strict: if it ain’t good, it’s out. I vividly remember one Saturday evening sat at the computer and considering the emotions that might be flying through the mind of one of the characters, Alizon Device, a historical figure who was executed as a witch. What would she be feeling, how would a lonely and ostracised person feel, alone and unloved? In 15 minutes I had written the lyrics for one of the main songs, Reborn in You; I emailed it to Ian. Two hours later he emailed me back the song; bizarre how things can work considering the months of nothing.
In addition to that we needed to appeal to those who would look to stage it. Therefore, we ensured that vocal ranges were achievable, the number of parts available would satisfy the companies who complain that there is nothing in a show to do; chorus numbers would be sufficient to keep everybody happy and importantly, the story, the characters, the script, would be weighty enough to keep actors and audience alike absorbed.
Sadly, prior to the rehearsals commencing for the premiere, Ian and I parted company professionally. Some partnerships are not meant to continue and this unfortunately, was one of them. But in the best traditions of theatre, the show went on ... and how it went on.
The world premiere took place in April 2009 at the George Lawton Hall, Mossley, Greater Manchester. With an amazing review and scores of audience members re-booking seats for a second and even third performance, the buzz around the piece has been phenomenal.
It has still not all sunk in: spurred on by that positive and talented Mossley company and the invaluable assistance of co-director, Nigel Marland, we achieved the impossible and staged the world premiere of a new musical. And none of this would have been possible without the talent and committment of the orchestrator and arranger of the score, Gavin Meredith.
The feedback we have had thus far has been more encouraging than we could have hoped for and the completion of the studio recording of the cast album (with the full orchestra) has sent the journey in a whole new direction.
Now add to that, the involvement of David Waters and Stage Scripts Ltd (Theatrical Publishers and Rights Holders), Witchfinder The Musical will hopefully find a new life, new companies and new audiences to touch and inspire.