London College of Music Musical Theatre students performing at the University of West London
London College of Music Musical Theatre students performing at the University of West London

Inclusive storytelling: world premiere of new musical FABLE takes place at UWL

Intro

BA Musical Theatre students at UWL performed a new musical and snapshots of another production by esteemed musical stage writers and composers Kurt Kansley and Oliver Lidert at a recent Gala event at the Ealing campus.

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The UWL gala included the world premiere of FABLE plus cabaret snapshots from Confessions. FABLE is about a teenage girl with a stammer who is transported back in time to Delphi in ancient Greece where she meets Aesop. Confessions is a dark musical comedy set in the world of espionage and political intrigue. Students workshopped with Kansley and Lidert for four weeks to hone their skills before rehearsals with a full creative team.

Kansley and Lidert were introduced to the University’s London College of Music (LCM) by Charisse Beaumont and Roger Wilson from the organisation Black Lives in Music who received honorary doctorates from UWL last year for advocating for equal opportunities for Black people in the UK music industry.

The evening ended with a post-show reception in UWL’s Freddie’s Bar for students, their families, the creative team, staff and industry guests.

This has been an opportunity for our students to actively participate in the creation of new work alongside esteemed writers, which is invaluable for their professional development. It has provided a hands-on understanding of the creative process and an extraordinary opportunity for growth and creativity,”

said Course Leader Gillian Ford.

We have been telling the same stories for a long time that have been written, produced and performed by the same people. A new generation is coming forward that is hungry for a different way of storytelling,”

commented Lidert.

It has been fantastic seeing these students blossom and discover new things about themselves. This new generation of performers coming into the industry are well rounded, confident, kind and curious,”

said Kansley.

Musical Theatre student Amy Fullagar said:

We were given the creative space to give our ideas and bring the characters to life. We could not have asked for a better end to our course. It has been really rewarding and we are so proud of it.”

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