New musical The Rhythmics to premiere at Southwark Playhouse in December

New British musical The Rhythmics will hold its world premiere at Southwark Playhouse this winter.

Aria Entertainment and Metta Theatre will bring the piece to the London venue from 2 December to 8 January, with a press night on Tuesday 7 December.

With book and lyrics by Metta’s Artistic Director P Burton-Morgan, and music and lyrics from Stiles + Drewe award winner Ben Glasstone (Reanimator), The Rhythmics explores the crisis of masculinity via a collection of oddballs belting their way through a thrillingly catchy guitar-led score.

Hapless single-dad Grey is in a rut. Teenage daughter Silva packs him off to revive his rockstar dreams, successfully auditioning for ‘Nick & the Rhythmics’ only to realise… he’s actually signed up for an All-male Rhythmic Gymnastics troupe.

Against the odds these burly blokes make it as far as the World Championships – twirling their ‘ribbons of fire’ – and along the way Grey finally learns to commit to life. Calendar Girls meets The Full Monty in this joyous new British musical.

P Burton-Morgan said: “So thrilled to finally share the world premiere of this original new British musical with live audiences. I can’t think of anything more uplifting to welcome people back into theatres than this heart warming and hilarious tale of community and connection. A tonic for our times; Ben’s joyous score is an absolute bop.”

The Rhythmics is directed by P Burton-Morgan, with choreography by Mark Smith, with Erika Gundesen as Musical Director, Ellie Vekerk as Musical Supervisor, James Nicholson as sound designer, Francine Huin-Wah as costume designer, Jane Deitch as casting director, and Will Reynolds as set and lighting designer.

A cast album for the show was created last year during lockdown under socially distanced rules in studios across London, Brighton and Glasgow, and released in July 2020. The album is available via Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, Apple Music and other digital platforms.

Like the music video Got Your Back, created to accompany the release of the album, the full production will also feature BSL integrated choreography from Deaf men Dancing’s Mark Smith, as well as captions throughout all performances, to make the show accessible for D/deaf and hard of hearing audiences.

For more information, www.therhythmics.co.uk