'Away with the Fairies' – A brand-new contemporary musical. 

 Fairies. Female led, Music, Magic. 

A  new musical theatre production – 'Away with the Fairies'–  is now in the first stage of being developed by a team of East Midlands/Humberside artists, led by Creative Director Martha Kent.

In this first phase of the Research & Development a new story has been written by playwright/poet Nicki Morley with Martha Kent for development of sequences of a potential future musical with a female led creative collective, as the first stage of the development of Fairies of the Underground as a fully realised musical theatre production, as Martha Kent explains:

"We wanted to try out an idea exploring fairies in a contemporary musical way in collaboration with a group of Midlands and Northern based creatives. Collaborative writing and creating music is at the forefront of this process. Constantly discussing, changing and developing ideas from both a narratively and musically perspective has been key when looking at developing a story from scratch. It has also been important to accentuate the skills of both Nicki Morley (co-writer) and Aaron Green (co-composer/music producer) of the show. Nicki has a strong interest in feminist mythology and adaptations of folklores and Aaron has strong influences in jazz piano and film scores and the story which we have come to, has really used these influences to their potential.


The story centre's around Lola and her journey of grief after the death of her grandmother, set mainly in the first act on the Underground.  After boxing up her grandmother's possessions, including the trinket box containing the fairies, she sets back to her normal life in London, where she accidentally drops the box, releasing the fairies. The fairies represent the four seasons - who become trapped in the underground, unable to return to their own natural world.  What follows is a study of the clash of two worlds, the natural/ancient world and the manmade industrial world of the 21st century.  The musical will explore themes of loss, grief, self-discovery and the psycho-geography of London, through a post-Covid lens.

Will Lola help the fairies get home?  Will the fairies help Lola on her own emotional journey to make sense of her place in the modern world? What happens when Lola discovers a secret which has been kept from her for many years? Through the telling of the story 'Fairies' will ask questions about how we are changing, both post-Covid as a society and how we are changing our environment as global warming starts to impact on the how and where we live in the 21st century.

The initial showing of scenes from 'Away with the Fairies' will be at: 

APRIL 25 - MANSFIELD PALACE THEATRE (6PM)

APRIL 26 - SPACE @ HUMBER STREET/HULL (6PM)

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Please note this is not a full production but a showing of ideas, music and concepts. There will be no lighting, limited costumes and set but a whole load of energy and ideas. Pay what you decide at the end.

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TICKETS HERE

As the project develops there are plans to encourage the formation of community choirs in Hull and Mansfield, to help create new pathways for musical theatre performers and create a lasting legacy from the project, as Martha Kent explains:

"We know it's an ambitious project - we're taking on some big themes - but we also want this project to have a lasting impact.  Thanks to the fantastic group of creative people we have on board, whose talent and determination has made this project so exciting to work on, we have a really original, heartfelt and ultimately uplifting new theatre production, that we are very proud to be developing in the Midlands.  But just as important, to everyone involved, is the chance to share our experience and help to nurture and encourage more people to find their creative voice.

Everyone knows the challenges facing the arts in the current economic climate, which is why we're determined to grasp this opportunity to showcase our talents and take the first step in developing Fairies of the Underground into a full musical theatre production that will be entertaining, provocative and inspiring.