I’ve never really liked musicals.

It’s nothing to do with singing or dancing, more that I’ve never been that thrilled or excited about watching the same old shows rolled out along Shaftesbury Avenue year in year out.

Equally, the idea that a production could be running for longer than I’ve been alive with exactly the same score, identical costumes, and step-for-step staging seems to me like the total demise of creativity and inspiration. Therefore, the thought of working on a musical has always struck the fear of death into me. Fortunately EPIDEMIC is like no other musical that I’ve ever come across.

I first heard about the project just over a year ago when Old Vic New Voices were running workshops around South London. I didn’t really know what to expect when I turned up, apart from that the subject matter was public health - something I didn’t have a strong opinion on. After two hours of running around, debating the highs and lows of the NHS, changing my mind a lot, and bonding over a shared hatred of takeaway chicken bones I realised that this was something pretty special.

Alongside the workshop I attended, there were also interviews with people working in healthcare, workshops with local residents, discussions with scientific experts, a big debate with all of the above, and reams and reams of research. The core creative team were fully in the whole development process.

Not only has the script been developed with everyday Londoners, but the cast is made up of them too. From alternative therapists to financial analysts, and students to CEO’s the whole company (on stage and off) is made up of volunteers, many of which have never been involved in a theatre show before.

This production is bigger than anything I've ever worked on before, and the separate elements are definitely quite daunting to consider all together: a totally new script and score; a volunteer company of 43 performers, a live band, 59 backstagers and another 61 providing backing vocals; production values equal to any show you‘d see at The Old Vic and a professional production team to match; a “non-traditional” theatre venue which requires not only the set but also the stage and auditorium itself to be built; and over 1,600 free tickets to allocate for just 10 shows.

As a young producer with passion for new and participatory work, it’s incredibly exciting to be involved in a production with such huge ambition. A few people have asked me – why put in all this work for just 10 performances? If you need to ask that question, then you’ve missed the point of the show. The production is the focal point of course, but EPIDEMIC is as much about the process as the performance. I think Andrew Lloyd Webber could learn a thing or two about this new breed of musical.

As for never-changing face of musicals on Shaftesbury Avenue, for now I think I’ll leave them to it – I guess I’ve never really had any aspiration to produce on the West End for this very reason. But when shows like EPIDEMIC are the alternative, why would I ever want to?

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