Starlight Express opened for previews on 8 June 2024 at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre – a flexible theatre space in north-west London that holds up to 2,000 guests[1].
The production is described as a "completely new experience"[2] by a new creative team, rather than one that recycles the look and feel of past productions. Continuity is provided, however, by long-time director-choreographer Arlene Phillips, who serves as the production's "Creative Dramaturg".
This production’s opening marks Starlight Express's 40th anniversary (the original production opened in March 1984).
A cast recording of the production is scheduled for release on 8 November 2024.
Production Details[]
Background[]
The production was announced on 19 September 2023 by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2[3]. A press release followed that morning, alongside an Instagram post by Lloyd Webber[4] and coverage on many industry websites[5][6][7].
Details about the immersive staging suggested that the production draws on plans for a new production of Starlight Express at the NEC, Birmingham in 2021[8] which did not proceed past early planning stages. The "360-degree rotating"[9][8] technology from Imagine Nation, as initially rumoured for the cancelled 2021 Birmingham production, was also rumoured to be deployed in this production.
Story[]
The material develops the 2018 Bochum revisions, carrying over developments such as Momma replacing Poppa[5], but adding "lots of little changes"[4] and one "very, very big twist"[4]: "our steam engine is going to be very much an engine of the future", not a "dirty old coal-powered steam engine".[4]
Character Changes[]
In this completely re-imagined version of the show, the majority of familiar ensemble characters have been replaced with new characters taking similar roles. Ashley and Buffy have been replaced in this production by Tassita the Quiet Car, and Belle the Sleeping car as seen in the 2017 Workshop. However unlike the workshop, Tassita is now a male (he/him) coach.
The Freight Trucks were replaced by the Fuel Trucks:
- Porter - The Coal Truck (Red)
- Slick - The Oil Truck (Yellow)
- Hydra - The Hydrogen Truck (Green)
- Lumber - The Wood Truck (Blue)
The National Engines were replaced with engines that have no connection to any specific countries:
The ensemble no longer appear as Greaseball's Gang or Marshalls, using their colourful identities instead throughout the show.
Greaseball the Diesel is now a female character, using she/her pronouns, and is inspired more closely to modern pop stars such as "P!nk" rather than the "Elvis" influence seen before. She is still in a tumultuous relationship with Dinah.
Electra, the Engine of the Future is now explicitly non-binary, using they/them pronouns. They retain their familiar Components Wrench, Joule, Volta (male as in 2018), and Killerwatt.
Control appears onstage as a full character in this production, played alternately by both young girls and boys. Their mother also appears onstage, played by the performer playing Momma.
The score builds on the 2018 Bochum production, tweaking the lyrics of many songs and adding a new song, "Hydrogen".
The score has been re-orchestrated to be "relevant to the sounds that young people are hearing now"[10]. Orchestrator Matthew Brind says:
"Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Wilson [Co-Musical Supervisor] and I had fun hanging out in a recording studio, thinking about how the songs would feel if sung by contemporary pop singers. We started thinking: "What would Bruno Mars do with the song?" or "How would a Pink vocal inform the track?" ...Electra is very Lady Gaga. Greaseball has more of a P!nk-like influence, with a slightly rockier edge. As to giving the trains their own distinctive sound, Andrew had already done a lot of the work in that Greaseball has always been much more guitar-based and Electra's more synth-based. The parameters were already there, so it was just about bringing that into a modern, cool vernacular that would be relatable to a young audience and bring the show to a new generation."[10]
Design[]
The production's aesthetic differs greatly to the template set by the original production and developed over the years.
The set design is "more modern", "slick" and "poppy", set designer Tim Hatley says. "We don't have any brick and we're not in any grubby station yard... It's a little more Mario Kart-influenced."[10]
The costume designs by Gabriella Slade aim to "embody the spirit of the train" more than "look like trains". Influences are drawn from contemporary and futuristic fashion, Marvel superheroes and arena pop shows.[10]
Theatre[]
Performances take place in the "Starlight Auditorium", built within a large performance space at Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre. As Lloyd Webber explained: "we can do absolutely anything. It’s going to be around you, the seats will move" and there will be "lots of projection"[5].
The Set is shaped to suggest a steam engine, as with the South African production from 2013. The central performing space includes a revolving platform that also raises up. the main ramp upstage splits to allow entrances centre-stage. Steep ramps either side lead to an upstage balcony, and the aisles between the seats are race tracks, heavily used by the performers. Overall the result is an intimate performance venue, with even the back rows of the single, raked seating feeling not too far from the centre stage. About half the audience is immediately next to or surrounded by the aisles used by performers, creating an immersive experience.
The Auditorium layout was revealed in sneak peeks at the set model in a promotional video. All seats, when booking, contain the warning that "Entry to and from seats will be limited and restricted at times", as access is via the racing tracks used in performance.
Tickets went on sale for performances starting 8th June 2024, the seating layout being based on initial set design models. As the set was refined, further tickets were released and pricing bands modified to account for whether seats offered a premium view of the performance or not. Well after the initial ticket release, all performances in June were designated as "Previews" with a press night indicated to be 30th June. Initially some seats were advertised as "Moving"[4], however once the show opened it became apparent that rotating seats like those used in Bochum are not part of this production’s layout; no sections of seating move; nor does the set in its entirety move.
Musical Numbers[]
(Songs in italics are not included in the programme and are short recit scenes between major musical numbers.)
|
Act 1
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Act 2
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| Race 1 | Race 2 | Race 3 | Race 4 |
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|
|
|
Cast and Creatives[]
Creative Team[]
- Music - Andrew Lloyd Webber
- Lyrics - Richard Stilgoe
- Director - Luke Sheppard (&Juliet, The Little Big Things)
- Set designer - Tim Hatley (Back to the Future)
- Video designer - Andrzej Goulding (Life of Pi)
- Costume designer - Gabriella Slade (Six)
- Lighting designer - Howard Hudson (&Juliet)
- Sound designer - Gareth Owen (MJ the Musical)
- Orchestrations and musical supervision - Matthew Brind
- Musical Director - Laura Bangay
- Choreography - Ashley Nottingham (Pacific Overtures)
- Assistant Choreographer - Priscilla Osegie
- Associate Choreographer - Helen Siveter
- Creative dramaturg - Arlene Phillips
- Skate Coach - Luke Zammit
- Assistant Skate Coach - Jason Gray
Cast[]
The cast list and principal roles were announced on the show's 40th anniversary, 27th March 2024. At the time of the cast announcement, many cast members shared the news including their ensemble roles and covers; this information was however withdrawn in early April and a final list of cast appeared on the show’s official site in May.
Further stunt skater/scooter stunt performers were auditioned early April.
The September 2023 press release referred to "a cast of 40", with auditions starting "now"[5].
Alexander Brooks and Arabella Stanton left the show in September 2024, at the start of the new school year.
Understudies[]
- Rusty: Scott Hayward, Asher Forth and Pablo Gómez Jones
- Pearl: Ashlyn Weekes, Marianthe Panas and Lilianna Hendy
- Greaseball: Jessica Vaux, Catherine Cornwall, Emily Martinez and Lara Vina Uzcatia
- Dinah: Lilianna Hendy and Bethany Rose-Lythgoe
- Momma: Sharon Wattis, Deearna McLean and Jessica Vaux
- Electra: Asher Forth, Oscar Kong, David Brown, Red
- Belle: Bethany Rose-Lythgoe, Marianthe Panas and Lara Vina Uzcatia
- Tassita: Pablo Gómez Jones, Gary Sheridan and Charles Butcher
- Hydra: Gary Sheridan, Red, David Brown
- Porter: Sam Gallacher, Scott Hayward and Charles Butcher
- Slick: Deearna McLean, Jessie Angell and Catherine Cornwall
- Lumber: Jamie Cruttenden, Sam Gallacher and Pablo Gómez Jones
Rehearsals[]
Gallery[]
Press[]
- Instagram post by Andrew Lloyd Webber, 19/09/2023[4]
Transcript: “I’m really excited, because Starlight Express is returning to London next, next June. The announcement’s going to be made today. It’s going to have a very, very big twist, don’t think that steam is something from the past, it’s not about dirty old coal-powered steam engines. Oh no, no, our steam engine is going to be very much an engine of the future. All of you Starlight fans who remember it from the old days remember it was the first real immersive theatre show ever to play in London. Very, very proud of it then, and it’s going to be even more immersive and even more exciting now, let me tell you, some of the seats move, so it’s going to be quite something, quite something. I’m very, very excited. The music’s all going to be re-produced, and there are lots of plot twists, and lots of little changes, but it’ll still be Starlight Express, so I hope I’ll see you there.”
- The Guardian: ‘Steffi Graf went to see it 12 times!’ How we made rollerskating sensation Starlight Express. Interviews by Lyndsey Windship, 17th June 2024
Reviews[]
- Telegraph ***** - Dominic Cavendish "Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster makes a spellbinding return"[11]
- LondonTheatre1 ***** - Terry Eastham [12]
- The Stage ***** - Paul Vale “Barely stops moving”[13]
- Daily Mail **** - Patrick Marrion "A trainwreck? No, this is an ear-blasting scorcher of a revival"[14]
- Guardian **** - Arifa Akbar "Lloyd Webber’s bizarre juggernaut is bigger, camper and more OTT than ever"[15]
- Independent **** - Tim Bano "A neon fever dream you’ll watch with your mouth wide open"[16]
- The Times **** - Clive Davis "revamped classic will intoxicate your inner child"[17]
- Theatre Weekly **** - Greg Stewart "You might not always understand what's happening, but you'll have fun watching it all unfold"[18]
- London Theatre **** - Marianka Swain "All aboard this mind-blowing, tech-wizard thrill ride"[19]
- MickeyJoTheatre ****
- WhatsOnStage *** - Sarah Crompton "Not first class, but a technical rollercoaster ride"[20]
- Time Out *** - Andrzej Lukowski "In a lavish revival, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s roller skating trains opus is still a one-dimensional gimmick – but it’s an incredibly entertaining one"[21]
- i News ** - Fiona Mountford "Starlight Express is irredeemably naff. This new production of the 80s Andrew Lloyd Webber hit is slick but soulless"[22]
- Variety - David Benedict "Wobbly Revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Roller-Skating Musical Never Hits Stride"[23]
References[]
- ↑ Wembley Park Theatre Official Site
- ↑ lwtheatres.co.uk "Starlight Express", September 2023
- ↑ BBC Radio 2 Archive, Zoe Ball chats to Andrew Lloyd Webber, 19/09/2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 @AndrewLloydWebber Instagram post, 19/09/2023
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 What's On Stage, "Starlight Express to Return to London in new production", 19/09/2023
- ↑ londontheatrereviews.co.uk "Starlight Express to Open in London" 19/09/3023
- ↑ londontheatredirect.com "Starlight Express is Coming to London" 19/09/2023
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 theatrefan.co.uk "Starlight Express - New Immersive Production Planned", 5th March 2021
- ↑ Stage-Around, Imagine Nation, 2018
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Production programme, printed June 2024
- ↑ Telegraph, Dominic Cavendish. 30th June 2024
- ↑ LondonTheatre1, Terry Eastham. 30th June 2024
- ↑ The Stage, Paul Vale. 1st July 2024
- ↑ The Daily Mail, Patrick Marrion. 30th June 2024
- ↑ The Guardian, Arifa Akbar. 30th June 2024
- ↑ The Independent, Tim Bano. 1st July 2024
- ↑ The Times, Clive Davis. 30th June 2024
- ↑ Theatre Weekly, Greg Stewart. 30th June 2024
- ↑ London Theatre, Marianka Swain. 30th June 2024
- ↑ WhatsOnStage, Sarah Crompton. 30th June 2024
- ↑ Time Out, Andrzej Lukowski. 2nd July 2024
- ↑ i News, Fiona Mountford. 30th June 2024
- ↑ Variety, David Benedict. 30th June 2024