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IntroductionPart funded by Arts Council England, and developed in just six months, 'The Girl From Mars' is a jukebox musical based on Julia's experiences of growing up gay in rural Bedfordshire in the 90s: this was her soundtrack, these were her struggles...with added Sci Fi and 90s cultural references just for the hijinks!
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DevelopmentFrom just a few rehearsals with an incredible band of session musicans, two singers who'd never acted before, and two burlesque dancers, the show premiered with two dates at Brighton Fringe Festival in June 2016. The first show was attended by Saffron, lead singer of seminal 90s band Republica and inspiration for Nyah the eponymous Martian, who joined the cast for a rendition of her biggest hit 'Ready to Go'.
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TourFollowing its premiere, 'The Girl From Mars' embarked on a short tour visiting some of the best rock clubs on the circuit to explore how musical theatre can work in these venues; the show is set in a pub so the rock club environments lent themselves well to some semi-site specific work.
The positive reviews, exciting photos and general buzz around the show culminated in an invitation to bring musical theatre to the massive annual SHIIINE ON Festival, the biggest 90s Britpop and Indie revival festival in the world, in November 2016. Venues included: Picturedrome, Northampton; Roadhouse, Birmingham; Real Time Live, Chesterfield; Level III, Swindon; Craufurd Arms, Milton Keynes (for Musicians Against Homelessness); Wedgewood Rooms, Southampton; Crescent Theatre, Birmingham. Reviews"The Britpop Rocky Horror."
Brighton Fringe Festival, 2016 "The show is amazing. Your cast is fierce. Best of 90s songs with lots of swagger." Saffron, Republica, Brighton Fringe Festival, 2016 "Ace show. Just brilliant fun. We sang all the way through." Otherplace Productions, Brighton Fringe Festival, 2016 "I lost my breath and got a wet beard from laughing so hard watching these guys. Brilliant show." Shiiine On Weekender, 2016 Cast and CrewThe original cast of The Girl From Mars comprised:
Julia Collar - Sally Natasa Temperley - Nyah Niall Walsh - Leon Tracey Leeds & Christie Johnson - Agents T and C Lazarus Michaelides - Musical Director and Bass Felipe Amorim - Drums and percussion Adam Bradley-Cooper - Lead Guitar Adam Smith - Keyboards Emma Hosking - Stage Manager Rob May - Technical Manager |