Bugsy Malone: The Musical Programme

FROM THE DIRECTOR I’d first like to thank Catherine Howe, Antoinette Keylock and the wider team involved in spearheading the campaign to get this very ambitious joint production between Bedford Girls’ School and Bedford School, agreed and in motion. Since its inception, the project has been a true collaboration and staff, from both schools and The Quarry Theatre, have worked tirelessly to ensure its success; their names are credited in this programme and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank them once again.

‘Bugsy Malone: The Musical’ is synonymous with entertainment, merriment and, for lack of a better word, silliness. The play also deals with mature themes such as substance abuse, use of violence and unfulfilled ambition; it is this contrast that I wanted to explore with the cast whilst also retaining the sense of fun! Working with students from year 10 to the Upper Sixth has allowed the exploration of some of these key themes and we have been able to rehearse details to enhance the actor’s characterisation; for example, we have played with Fat Sam’s dependency on alcohol and allowed it to become a key action for Toby (see if you can count how many times his character visits the bar!); we have also tried to highlight the competition between Polly’s Blousey and Emmie’s Tallulah and we’ve aimed to hint at the undercurrent of violence in the whole play. That being said, if you take away all of the aims and objectives, if you strip the story back to its roots, you’ll find it’s very simply a love story - Blousey and Bugsy overcoming the circumstances around them to find each other, and fall in love.

The students have been an absolute joy to work with and I’ve been struck by the talent of the cast and crew. I’m proud of the production we’ve all created together; it looks good, sounds good and hopefully, makes you, our audience, feel good.

Enjoy the show.

Craig Stratton

FROM THE MUSICAL DIRECTOR Having been fortunate enough to be in the ‘pit’ under the effervescent Musical Director extraordinaire Mr Bantock for ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ in 2019, I was excited to start working as MD for ‘Bugsy Malone’. This has been a truly collaborative project from the start and I am thrilled to have spent many hours working alongside our colleagues from Bedford Girls’ School in order to have brought this production to the stage.

It has also been a pleasure to direct a band which consists mainly of pupils from both schools – what a privilege to work with such committed and positive young musicians! From the outset, the band has understood that our aim has been to replicate the sound and tightness of a professional pit band and I have no doubt you will be impressed with their achievements. The Bugsy score is certainly catchy and entertaining, however the challenge, over and above the usual suspects such as tuning and ensemble, has been to capture the stylistic details. The use of the banjo and the ‘honky tonk’ piano in particular nod to the era of Dixieland and Ragtime and over the course of the project, the pupils have learnt to play with stylistic agility, transforming themselves from the big band playing in Fat Sam’s Speakeasy, to the sultry, more intricate sounds of the small group in ‘Tomorrow’. We’ve added a few effects from the original movie score to enhance the sound of the band which we hope you enjoy!

A huge thanks must go to Dominic Keating-Roberts for so superbly coaching the singers, I’m sure you agree that they sound fantastic.

Dominic Childs

CAST Bugsy Malone Blousey Brown Tallulah Fat Sam Dandy Dan Leroy Smith Knuckles / Radio Announcer Fizzy Captain Smolsky / Bronx Charlie O’Dreary Cagey Joe / Snake Eyes Razamataz Shake Down Louis / Roxy Robinson Ritzy / Tillie Doodle / Flash Frankie

Josh Cooke Polly Taylor Emmie-Rose Stephens Toby L’Estrange Charlie Lawrence Zachary Wasterfall Murray Silk Isabel Baker Daniel Hudson James Pinkey Alex Gentry Harry L’Estrange Giles Halsey Sarah Pepper Ella Bowis

CAST Yonkers / Velma / Reporter Laughing Boy / Pop Becker / Priest Seymour Scoop / Barber / Shady / Waiter Babyface / Pickett / Looney Bergonzi / Bar Man / Butler Lena Marelli / Dotty / Waitress Oscar De Velt / Violinist Marbini / Paperboy / Reporter Bangles Louella / Showgirl 4 Loretta Showgirl 3 Showgirl 2 Undertaker

Isabelle Cochrane Freya Arnold Michael Robertson Henry Gillham Lauren Blower Angus Timmins Ariadna Whittle-Queral Izzy Harrison Lily Amber Robertson Erin Schofield Mellor Natasha Miller Sophia Osbourne Jada Stephenson

BAND Flute Clarinet 1 Clarinet 2 Alto Sax Bassoon Trumpet Trombone Guitar Bass Guitar Drums Piano Honky Tonk Piano

Keya Badheka & Francesca Davies Sophie Wesson Isaac Prince Hugo Hodgson & Korede Alagbe Amy Thompson Daniel Hutchins Max Leung Gideon Chan Bjorn Bantock Josh Jeganathan Hanja Bantock Harry L’Estrange

CREW Director Musical Director Vocal Director Assistant Director Choreographer Set & Costume Designer Set Construction Lighting Designer Deputy Lighting Designer Sound Engineer Deputy Sound Engineer Sound Operative Stage Manager Deputy Stage Manager Stage Hands Head of Props

Craig Stratton Dominic Childs Dominic Keating-Roberts Antoinette Keylock Lesley Bream Jasmine Middleton Jasmine Middleton & Emily Elsom James Tearle Charlie Faulkner Anthony Darmanin Jacob Foster Ollie Knowlden Emily Elsom Max Melvin Francesca Isherwood, Izzie Sutton, Lily Kotecki, Rosie Ludgsen, Millan Verwoert Gemma Wallington

Follow Spot Operatives Sound Deputies AV Operative Flyman Wardrobe Deputies Photography

Elio Lepore & Tireni Salako Imogen Blower & David Shirley Joe Travis Ruairi Cassell Nova Aellen & Durotimi Bey Mark Lewis

Thanks to

Dani Boughey, James Pharaoh, David Baxter

NEW JAZZ COLLECTIVE Playing in the Quarry Foyer Toby L’Estrange James Pinkney Kieran Hamel-Henn Hugo Hodgson Korede Alagbe

Harry L’Estrange Oliver Yates Fred Dickson Aryan Sohanpal

WITH THANKS Our Friday night performance of Bugsy Malone is dedicated to the Bedford School Parents’ Guild on their Centenary to thank them for all their support over the years. We are particularly grateful to them for their £10,000 gift to the Quarry Theatre, which has enabled the school to purchase and hire costumes for school productions since the Theatre opened in 2015.

Over the years, the Guild have helped provide items, including kit, for Rugby, Cricket, Hockey and Chapel Choir tours, purchased sports equipment, bought books and computers for the library, and more recently, supported the School’s Parent Partnership. Most of the money raised by the Guild is through sales of good quality, second hand items through the Nearly New Shop, which is run by parent volunteers.

The Bedford School Mothers’ Guild held their first ever meeting on 7th March 1922 as a service in the Bedford School Chapel. One hundred years later, and since renamed the Parents’ Guild (The Guild), it is still going strong and continues to support both parents and pupils.

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