Contents
- 1 What’s next? Timeline and expected activities/events relating to Fidel the musical
- 1.0.1 NOV 2015 Song Submission (next deadline is 3/4/2017 for selected song themes)
- 1.0.2 JANUARY 2016 X-Factor style event
- 1.0.3 APRIL-JULY 2016 Mayflower Theatre workshop
- 1.0.4 July 2nd 2016: Hasta La Victoria being performed at Send a Piano to Cuba charity gig in London. see https://www.evensi.uk/gala-concert-send-a-piano-to-cuba-bolivar-hall/176454947
- 1.0.5 JULY 15th 2016 Mini performance of ‘Fidel’ at Bitterne Park Sixth Form theatre
- 1.0.6 JULY 23rd the Hub Theatre, Southampton. Extracts from Fidel: A musical by the people for the people’ will be performed
- 1.0.7 SEPT 24th 2016. Fidel the Musical at Film Festival in London.
- 1.0.8 OCT 8th 2016: Extracts from Fidel the Musical being shown at NW Film festival at Liverpool Plaza Theatre 5pm.
- 1.0.9 Nov/Dec 2016: crowd-funding to raise money to put on full performance https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/fidel-a-musical
- 1.0.10 21st Nov: read-through at Nuffield Theatre
- 1.0.11 Feb 2017: We’ve set up a multi-stakeholder co-operative as th enew legal vehicle for the musical. Contact us if you’d like to join
- 1.0.12 June 5th 2017: Hasta La Victoria avialable to buy online
- 1.0.13 16th Nov 2017 (date tbc): the first full production of ‘Fidel’ at Iris Theatre, Covent Garden
- 1.0.14 2017/2018 ‘BOOK’ complete
- 1.0.15 2018: we hope to find a production company to partner with us or take it on and apply for funds for a tour.
- 1.0.16 AND NEXT: The film!
- 1.0.17 A film for the people by the people
What’s next? Timeline and expected activities/events relating to Fidel the musical
NOV 2015 Song Submission (next deadline is 3/4/2017 for selected song themes)
Songs submitted 6/11/2015
JANUARY 2016 X-Factor style event
An X-factor style event is being held at Turner Sims Concert Hall, University of Southampton on Sunday 24th January where the finalists perform and we ask the audience to choose which ones should be in the musical with the help of a professional panel of musicians and songwriters. We want everyone to have a fun evening and learn a little about Cuba in the process. A free Cuban cocktail/Cuban beer is included in the adult price and soft drinks and light refreshments are available for the under 18s. The bar is also open for extra drinks. Television coverage is likely. Will we discover the next Andrew Lloyd Webber? Will we hear the next Don’t Cry for me Argentina? ‘Will Southampton’s scholar’s Fidel the musical prove to be the next Evita?’ (Mathhew Reisz, Times Higher Ed). Be part of the Fidel the Musical journey. Click on https://www.turnersims.co.uk/events/fidel-the-musical-gala-event/ or ring Turner Sims 023 8059 5151
APRIL-JULY 2016 Mayflower Theatre workshop
Mayflower Musical Youth Theatre will be recruiting a group of young people aged 13 – 18yrs with a passion for Musical Theatre to work with the creative team on workshops to develop this brand new piece. Over the sessions the young people will explore the show with the writer and work on staging some elements of the piece. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in a brand new piece of musical theatre at the very beginning. For more information see https://www.mayflower.org.uk/Engage/Young_People
The project will take place over 10 weeks and will culminate in a short show back performance of an extract from the piece at Bitterne Park 6th form. Places are strictly limited so please contact Engage@mayflower.org.uk for more information or to reserve a place.
July 2nd 2016: Hasta La Victoria being performed at Send a Piano to Cuba charity gig in London. see https://www.evensi.uk/gala-concert-send-a-piano-to-cuba-bolivar-hall/176454947
JULY 15th 2016 Mini performance of ‘Fidel’ at Bitterne Park Sixth Form theatre
JULY 23rd the Hub Theatre, Southampton. Extracts from Fidel: A musical by the people for the people’ will be performed
SEPT 24th 2016. Fidel the Musical at Film Festival in London.
OCT 8th 2016: Extracts from Fidel the Musical being shown at NW Film festival at Liverpool Plaza Theatre 5pm.
Nov/Dec 2016: crowd-funding to raise money to put on full performance https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/fidel-a-musical
21st Nov: read-through at Nuffield Theatre
Feb 2017: We’ve set up a multi-stakeholder co-operative as th enew legal vehicle for the musical. Contact us if you’d like to join
June 5th 2017: Hasta La Victoria avialable to buy online
16th Nov 2017 (date tbc): the first full production of ‘Fidel’ at Iris Theatre, Covent Garden
2017/2018 ‘BOOK’ complete
Expect to be able to provide score, lyrics and script to participating schools and musical then ready for a professional production – possibly a tour in the first instance.
2018: we hope to find a production company to partner with us or take it on and apply for funds for a tour.
AND NEXT: The film!
Like the musical, this will be a film by the people for the people, check out concept and draft scripts on https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B2G5aqfn-brQRmdlbDFvVl9nQlE&usp=sharing
Title: ‘The true story of the making of Fidel the Musical’.
Alternative title: ‘Fidel Castro, my new boyfriend’.
Genre: rom-com with a twist. The script has fun with the idea of what it would be like to have a benign dictator make everything come right. Fidel is used as a mouthpiece to highlight some alternative views of how we can address the issues that face us.
Plot outline
GGs distress at the break up of a serious relationship and her disappointment that her partner failed to keep his promises of love leads to her becoming inspired by finding that Fidel Castro made a promise to the Cuban people in 1959 after the revolution that he stuck to through thick and thin over five decades. During a research trip to Cuba about Cuban health care, she discovers all about Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution becomes what is known as a ‘Fidelista’ – someone who loves Fidel.
She is inspired by what she had learned and also by the prejudice she encounters against Fidel, to write a musical about Fidel to put the record straight. However she doesn’t expect Fidel Castro himself to turn up and start demanding input into the script and getting upset about what is written and what is left out. We are not sure until the end to what extent Fidel has appeared as a magical figure or if she has gone a bit mad.
Soon Fidel is a constant presence in her life, causing havoc wherever they go, but keen to put right all the issues he sees upsetting her and her friends, benign dictator style. Once the musical is written, actors from all over compete to be the one chosen to play Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Fidel has firm opinions about who should play him and his revolutionary comrades in the musical and interferes in both the casting and directing. What happens at the end? You’ll have to read it and see.
A film for the people by the people
Although it is fully structured, I’ve only fully written half of the script because I thought it would be a great idea to seek input from others about the kinds of issues they care about before writing any more so the script draws on issues that most concern a wide range of people. For example I have a scene where Fidel goes to an open mic night with GG and her friends. He tries to give a straight speech but the audience think he is a stand-up comedian. The more they laugh the angrier he gets, which makes them laugh even more. But the issues he rants about will be based on what people care about most. It will be a film script for the people by the people! I have created a Facebook page for people to input what they care about and concerns them that a benign dictator on the loose could fix! I will make a few amendments and promote it shortly. I’ve already got feedback from many about what makes them mad and managed to include these in the plot. Let me know, what can Fidel fix for you?
https://www.facebook.com/IfIwereawellmeaningdictatorIwould/?ref=hl