Restless Natives: The Musical
Recorded between rehearsals at Perth Theatre, with stars Kyle Gardiner, Finlay McKillop, Kirsty MacLaren and Alan McHugh, and producer Andy Paterson.
Well I am thrilled to be hearing about a brand-new musical theatre production that’s based on one of my all-time favourite films…
Restless Natives hijacked my heart as a kid when it was released in the mid-1980s, and its politics, its love, its humour, its Big Country soundtrack, and it’s gorgeous protagonists - the Clown, and the Wolfman - and Margot - have been loved by so many of us ever since…
Now the tale of the Highland Highwaymen - who hold up tour buses and charm everyone in sight - is coming to the stage, and touring Scotland. It’s kicking off at Perth Theatre as we speak, before travelling to Stirling, Aberdeen, Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow in May and June…
The new show is thanks to the film’s original creative team - director Michael Hoffman, producer Andy Paterson, and writer Ninian Dunnett, and it plays out to the tune of Big Country, alongside new songs from composer Tim Sutton, with lyrics from Ninian.
And it’s also thanks to a new Clown aka Ronnie, and Wolfman aka Will, and Margot… They were played in the film by Joe Mullaney, Vincent Friell and Teri Lally respectively, and this time around we’re seeing them brought to joyous life by Kyle Gardiner, Finlay McKillop and Kirsty MacLaren…
Sarah Galbraith reprises Ned Beatty’s role as Bender, and you can hear Sarah with Kirsty workshopping some of the new songs - as a sneak preview - throughout this episode. These are just rough recordings, but you’ll get the idea - and they sound wonderful already…
I grabbed a chat with Kirsty, Kyle and Finlay during rehearsals at Perth Theatre last week, but before that, I sat down with producer Andy Paterson, whose other film credits include Girl With A Pearl Earring, and Hilary and Jackie) - along with the brilliant actor, writer and panto legend Alan McHugh…
He loved the film the first time around, and now he’s starring as Chief Inspector Baird in the musical, tasked with ensnaring the Clown and the Wolfman. Alan had been in rehearsals too, and I was well impressed with his warm-up dance moves…
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