New musical Painting The Town to be workshopped at New Wimbledon Theatre

New musical Painting The Town is to be workshopped at New Wimbledon Theatre.

From Visually Impaired writer Gerard McDermott, and in partnership with Extant, the UK’s leading professional performing arts company of visually impaired artists, Painting The Town is a new musical with accessibility at its heart.

Featuring integrated Audio Description, and taking inspiration from skiffle bands and 1960s pop music, Painting The Town celebrates and explores disability, mental health and working class identity.

The musical will have a workshop (23 January – 3 February) and sharing (2 – 3 February) at New Wimbledon Theatre.

Painting The Town features music and lyrics by Visually Impaired actor-writer Gerard McDermott (Much Ado About Nothing, Sheffield Crucible; Father Brown, BBC; Vera, ITV), with music and lyrics co-written by Carl Prekopp (Venice Preserved, RSC; Queen Anne, West End; Call the Midwife, BBC), and book by BBC/Radio Times Drama Award-winner Nick Warburton (On Mardle Fen, Eastenders and The Archers, BBC; Smoking Gun, Stephen Joseph Theatre).

The creative team is led by director Paul Garrington (Mamma Mia!, international tour; Whistle Down the Wind, West End; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, international tour), with musical direction by Colin Guthrie (Anatol, BBC Radio 3 and Gate Theatre; Coram Boy, Tower Theatre; Ulysses, BBC Radio 4), and the assistant director is Gillian Dean (Home Fires, ITV; Manor, National Theatre; Crystal Clear, Old Red Lion Theatre).

Helen Sheals (Downton Abbey, ITV; Silent Witness, BBC; Judy!, West End) stars as Sheila Harris; Abigail Climer (Grease, UK tour; Rock of Ages, UK tour; Sex Education and Matilda the Musical, Netflix.) is Sally Fields; Gary Lilburn (The Cripple of Inishmann, Broadway/West End; Bad Sisters, Apple TV; Belgravia, ITV) is Kenny Duncan; Robin Paley Yorke (Billy Elliot, Curve Leicester; Take On This, Barbican Centre; Evros|The Crossing River, Arcola, UK tour and Kampala International Theatre Festival) is Treacle Jones; and co-writer Carl Prekopp is Ted Shipley.

Lucy May Barker (Vardy v. Rooney: The Wagatha Christie Trial, West End; Mamma Mia!, West End, UK and international tour; Spring Awakening, West End) takes on the role of Val Slade; Tate-Elliot Drew (Henry V, UK tour; The Braille Legacy, Charing Cross Theatre; Into The Woods, Theatre Royal Bath) will star as Joe Hirst; and Jordan Louis-Fernand (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, UK tour; Stick Man, The Lowry; The Color Purple Concert, Cadogan Hall) rounds out the cast as Mark Bretherton.

It’s 1966 and change is in the air in a coastal town in the northeast of England. A cultural shift is afoot and the workers at the town council are yearning for more. Wages clerk Sally wants to break free of her toxic relationship, office worker Val dreams of a brighter future, council painter Mark is considering leaving town, and painter Treacle has a secret: he is Visually Impaired, which makes his work challenging. However, Treacle is not the only one harbouring a secret.

Emily Hunter Oulton, producer of Painting The Town, said: “With accessibility integrated into Painting The Town’s framework, the show has incredible potential to make a big impact on Disabled representation and accessibility in musical theatre.”