Miss Nightingale – The Musical
16 December 2015
by Visit Blackpool
The smash hit, original British musical Miss Nightingale – the musical by Matthew Bugg will finally have its Blackpool debut when it plays the Grand Theatre this Spring as part of the show’s fifth and final UK tour. This will be a dream come true for the show’s writer, Matthew Bugg, who spent childhood holidays in Blackpool and was determined to one day to see his work on stage at the Grand Theatre.
Miss Nightingale – the musical is an hilarious and heart warming tale of love, loss and hope brings the gay glamour and back-stage affairs of 1940’s London thrillingly to life.
In wartime people will do anything to survive and the biggest battle is to trust your heart. Feisty Lancastrian lass, nurse Maggie Brown struggles to find her big break as a singer. Her talented songwriter, George, is a Jewish refugee from Berlin. She longs for the bright lights. He hides a dark secret in the shadows.
Suddenly they are picked up by wealthy and closeted aristocrat Sir Frank. He needs a new act for his London nightclub and transforms Maggie into ‘Miss Nightingale’. Her outrageous costumes, saucy cabaret songs and racy love life create a scandalous new West End star.
Everything changes when George and Sir Frank fall secretly in love – but bootleg booze, blackmail and bombshells are a dangerous cocktail. And sometimes the truth proves even more explosive than The Blitz.
Miss Nightingale – the musical is written by West End composer Matthew Bugg.
Matthew said, “I am thrilled to be bringing Miss Nightingale – the music to Blackpool a city have such fondness for and so many happy memories from family holidays in the summer, to see the Christmas lights and more recently to visit the amazing Showzam! festival. I love the Grand, it’s one of my favourite theatres, so when we first staged the show back in 2011 I was determined to one day bring the show here and to finally tread the boards at the Grand. It’s only taken me five years to make my dreams come true and I can’t believe it’s really happening but roll on February! Such a great way to end our fifth and final UK tour.”
Miss Nightingale – the musical is the most successful genuinely new touring British musical in the last decade, not being based on an existing play, book, film or collection of pop songs. It has been enjoyed by tens of thousands of people across the UK and returns for its fifth and final farewell tour this Spring.
It is performed by a talented cast who not only act, dance and sing but also play all the instruments live on stage. Matthew Bugg’s critically acclaimed songs, from hilarious tongue-in-cheek numbers to tender ballads, wonderfully capture the glorious spirit of the 1940s.
Miss Nightingale – the musical is written by West End composer Matthew Bugg. His recent productions include: Dear Lupin, Murder in the Cathedral, And Then There Were None, Cirque Berzerk, Kindertransport, Volcano, Barefoot in the Park, Quartet, Some Like it Hotter, The Secret of Sherlock Holmes, Polygraph, The Father, League of Youth, Three Men in a Boat, and The Handyman.
The title role of ‘Maggie/Miss Nightingale’ is played by Clara Darcy (Propaganda Swing, Forever Young, Brassed Off, The Hired Man and Chicago). She is joined by Nick Coutu-Langmead as Sir Frank; Connor O’Kane as George; Christopher Hogben as Tom; Matthew Bugg as Harry; and, Tobias Oliver as the Stage Manager & Waiter.
The show is directed by Karen Simpson, Artistic Director Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds. Prior to this she was Artistic Director of Oxfordshire Theatre Company, Creative Development Director for Sheffield Theatres, and founded Action Transport Theatre Company. Her recent work includes: Labour of Love, and UK tours of Sign of the Times, Some Like it Hotter, The Incredible Doctor Guttmann and Twelve Miles from Nowhere.
Miss Nightingale – the musical tours the UK for the fifth and final time from 13 January to 20 February 2016. It is at the Grand Theatre Blackpool from Thu 4 – Sat 6 Feb 2016. Tickets are available from www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk or 01253 743 343.