REVIEW: Studio Cast Ep of 'In the Willows'

In 2019 the new musical In the Willows toured a dozen or so UK Venues to good reviews and although I missed the tour, I was delighted to hear the new six track EP that has just been released featuring some of the touring cast including one of my favourite musical comedy actors Clive Rowe as Badger. Written by P Burton- Morgan with music and lyrics by Pippa Cleary (who also wrote the musical version of The Secret diary of Adrian Mole) and composer Kieran Merrick, it is a modern energetic tale based on the Kenneth Grahame’s famous novel but transposing the characters to a British comprehensive school, The Willows, and the surrounding area. It gives the story a fresh real life setting and challenges a young audience to find their own voice and be open about who they are and their past. It is not to be confused with Julian Fellows Wind in the Willows Musical which is a more traditional retelling of the original stories.

Of course, on a six track EP the full story is hidden, and the characters hinted at rather than fleshed out, but it whets your appetite to see the full show when it next tours or transfers into the West End. No doubt during lockdown many new musicals have been developed and will be seeking finance to be fully staged but this one is surely ahead of the queue having already toured smaller UK venues and the EP shines a light on the exciting and distinctive musical style which seems to borrow from Hamilton and Six, two of the most recent West End stage successes.

The Corona Diaries: Sharon Rose

These recent times have been some of the hardest challenges we've faced and as a community, it hit us pretty hard. However during these difficult times, here at Pocket Size Theatre, we wanted to spread a little positivity and share some peoples experiences because we are all in this together. Each day we'll be speaking to our friends in the industry to share their experiences with you all so take a read and see how people are getting through these hard times.

Let's stick together, share the love and get through this as a community!

*Some information mentioned in this article may be out of date due to the progress of the current situation. Please keep that in mind when reading*

Sharon Rose is currently playing the role of Eliza in the London company of Hamilton, she was previously the standby to all three female roles in the show. Before Hamilton, she appeared in Beautiful: The Carol King Musical at the Aldwych Theatre; covering the role of Diana Ross in Motown the Musical at the Shaftesbury Theatre and played a Radio in Caroline, Or Change at the Hampstead Theatre. 

On Monday 16th March 2020, The Society of London Theatre announced the closure of all Theatres in London. This followed suit with regional venues. Where were you when you found out and what was your initial reaction? 

I think when the announcement was made official I was at home, it was a really big surprise when I saw they'd made that decision.

Can you tell us anything productive you’ve been doing?

I've tried to have as much rest as possible which I think is also being production because, as you know, when you're a performer in general on the West End, outside, on tour, whatever it is you might be doing, you are pretty much working full out every single day. Thats why I respect every single performer, no matter what you're doing especially if you're self-employed because you're going out there trying to find work for yourself. So this situation is kind of a blessing in disguise, even though there are a lot of unfortunate things that have come from it which we're all experaincing but I decided to rest and take some time for myself when I'm not doing 8 shows a week to just give myself a break, giving my body and mind a break and I think that's as important as being additionally creative and working out. Having said that, I have been working with an incredible PT. Her name is Thalia Burt you can find her on Instagram. I've also been writing which is something I've always wanted to do so that exciting! I've not discovered any hidden talents yet, I think I'm going to save that for month two!