In September 2017, a public workshop of Starlight Express was performed at The Other Palace in London. Overseen by the original show's core writing team (Andrew Lloyd Webber and Richard Stilgoe) and long-term choreographer and director (Arlene Phillips), the workshop tested new material, characters and casting choices that would inspire the 2018 Bochum revisions.
Creative team[]
- Music - Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Lyrics - Richard Stilgoe
- Staging – Arlene Phillips
- Musical supervisor and director - John Rigby
- Lighting design - David Howe
- Sound design - Gareth Owen
- Musical assistant to Andrew Lloyd Webber - David Wilson
- Additional music – Alastair Lloyd Webber ("I Do")
- Additional lyrics – Nick Coler "(I Do") and Lauren Aquilina ("I Got Me")
Background[]
In 2017 Lloyd Webber watched a gala performance of Starlight Express in Bochum and found it 'unrecognisable as the Starlight Express that I remembered and I was involved with writing'. As he would go on to explain to the workshop audience in London:
'There had been tours and productions all over the world, and things had got changed, and it suddenly occurred to me that if there was ever to be a future for Starlight – [if] we're going to let it go on – that we needed to get the material back to its roots, back to the music and just see if there was a future for it...[1]
Arlene Phillips added that, to a contemporary audience, the 'overall tone of the show [appeared] a little bit sexist'[2].
On 11th August 2017, it was announced that Lloyd Webber, Stilgoe and Phillips would spend a week workshopping the material with a "carefully chosen" group of actors. At the end of the week there would be 3 public performances, with each containing further revisions made that day in response to audience feedback from the night before[3].
Tickets sold out in 7 hours. To meet demand, 2 more performances were added. Lloyd Webber, Phillips and Stilgoe attended, with Lloyd Webber and Phillips introducing each performance.
Staging[]
The public performances took the form of a semi-staged concert, without roller-skates, special effects and minimal choreography. This helped the creative team to focus on the material (rather than spectacle) and allowed them to make changes to the material in time for the next performance.
Control was performed live by Jude Harper-Wrobel, sitting above the action and playing with an iPad.
Notable changes to the material[]
The workshop process resulted in many new ideas. These included changes to the characters and the music. Despite Lloyd Webber's stated intent to take the show back to its roots, in terms of the material, the script used was predominantly the most recent, 2012 touring version of the show, with elements of the 1984 and 1993 London cast recordings influencing the musical numbers.
Lloyd Webber considered the workshop a success. Before the final performance, he told the audience that:
"I think we've worked out how to get the show back to the essence of what it's all about. And now if anybody does want to produce it again, we can all say: this is the score'.
Therefore the updates made to the Bochum production for its 30th anniversary in May 2018 were not exactly what was seen in this workshop.
Characters[]
The role of Poppa changed gender to Momma, played by Mica Paris.
The coaches Ashley (or Duvay, as seen in the most recent UK Tour) and Buffy were replaced by Tassita the quiet coach and Belle the bar car (not to be confused with the original Belle the Sleeping Car).
Many of the National Engines got new names: The French Engine became Coco (and also swapped gender from male to female); The German Engine became Rheingold and The British Engine became Brexit.
Electra returned to having 5 components, with the addition of a security truck, Kilowatt.
Hip Hopper 3 also changed gender, becoming female. During AC/DC, Volta appeared as male, but during the race the role is played by one of the female ensemble, so it is understood to be the limitations of the small ensemble rather than a planned gender switch for Volta.
Music[]
The "Overture" is heard, after Control's mother sings him the "Starlight Express" refrain as a lullaby, but shortly before the end of the Overture Control interrupts shouting "Stop this Boring music!", then leading into "Entry of the National Trains".
"Crazy" has been shifted to the second song, replacing "Call Me Rusty" / "Engine of Love". It is then used throughout the show as a motif surrounding Rusty, much as the "Call Me Rusty" melody is also heard throughout. Often it is in addition to, rather than instead of, the original motif.
A new song has been added, "I Got Me", with lyrics by Lauren Aquilina. This is the Coaches' introduction song, and used in reprise for "Dinah's Disco", "Rusty King of the Track", and as a coda to "I Do". Melodically the song closely resembles "Rolling Stock", with the opening line "I got me, and that's all I need" following the melody of "Don't stop now, you gotta keep it (going all night)". The lyrics focus on female empowerment and freedom, these characters are tired of being pushed around and disregarded and they can win on their own. In the context of introducing the coaches, this is somewhat out of place, and doesn't tell us anything about the individual characters as the original "A Lotta Locomotion" did.
All musical references to "Belle's Song" and "There's Me" have been removed from the score, with Caboose's motif being the "Wide Smile" melody throughout. Most references to "He Whistled At Me" / "Engine of Love" have been removed, except the melody is used as an introduction to "Make Up My Heart", giving Pearl a longer scene as she chooses between Electra and Rusty. Consequently Caboose's verse in "Freight" is re-written to the "Wide Smile" melody, which is one element of his change in character.
The "No Comeback" melody is heard more often in conjunction with the races, as each entrant in the heats introduces themselves singing that melody, beginning "Clear my track..." the exception being Momma introduces herself with the "I Got Me" melody.
"Starlight Express" is the "When the Night is Darkest" version, with new tweaked lyrics for the verses.
"The Rap" performed is an a capella development on the 1992 "Are You Ready?" version of number, with updated references such as "Swipe to the right" included and various small lyric tweaks.
"Wide Smile, High Style" is performed in the full 1984 London version including the CB radio references and using the name "CB" where elsewhere in the show he is referred to as "Caboose".
Cut Songs include "There's Me", "Belle's Song", "Girls' Rolling Stock"; "Right Place, Right Time" was only performed on the Friday night, and cut at the other performances.
Races[]
| Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 |
Cast[]
| Rusty | George Ure | Pearl | Christina Bennington |
| Greaseball | Oliver Tompsett | Dinah | Natalie McQueen |
| Momma | Mica Paris | Belle the Sleeping Car | Sabrina Aloueche |
| Electra | Liam Tamne | Tassita the Quiet Car | Laila Zaidi |
| Hopper 2 / Nintendo / Voltar (AC/DC) | Carl Man | Hopper 3 / Joule / Volta (race) | Divine Cresswell |
| Hopper 1 / Kilowatt / Rheingold | Michael James Stewart | Coco / Wrench / Gang | Parisa Shahmir |
| Dustin / Espresso | Anthony Selwyn | Flat-Top / Turnov / Purse | Jamal Andreas |
| Caboose / Brexit | Patrick Sullivan | Control | Jude Harper-Wrobel |