LIPA's experiments in new musical theatre
A UK premiere staged by students from LIPA and funded by a successful crowd-funding campaign takes place at the Unity Theatre next week. A group of eight young directors from all over Europe will present the UK premiere of I Guess I Wish next Wednesday (May 9), billed as "an international collaboration aiming to push the boundaries of classical musical theatre". The show consists of eleven stories about people’s hopes and unrealised aspirations, with characters struggling to find out who they are and who they want to be. It premiered in the spring of 2011 at Yale University (where composer Jeremy Lloyd still studies) and has been performed in several venues across the United States. In an attempt to experiment with new musical theatre, the creative team has gathered a group of directors to bring these scenes to life and incorporate their different artistic visions into one production. The company includes theatre enthusiasts aged 19 to 30, and combines students from the LIPA with members of community theatre group What We Did Next. Produced by Lights Up Entertainment - a newly-formed company created by three students on the Music Theatre and Entertainment Management course at LIPA - the show has been financed through a successful online crowd funding campaign in which people from all around the world donated money in exchange for rewards (their video is very endearing and worth a quick watch too). This production of ‘I Guess I Wish’ will not only be the UK premiere of the show, but also its first international transfer. Tickets are £8 (£6 concs) from www.UnityTheatreLiverpool.co.uk, by phone on 0844 873 2888 or www.LightsUpEntertainment.co.uk.
