Title Of Show

Southwark Playhouse Borough

A playful, inside look into the peaks and troughs of the process of making a show and trying out new ideas. A personable piece that transitions between the process and the finished product.

Can you make anything into theatre? Where does inspiration come from? This show answers these questions!

The 2004, three Obie award winning show, 'Title of show' was written by Hunter Bell and music/lyrics by Jeff Bowen. It was created to star in the 'New York Musical Theatre Festival' and the show itself is a show about making a show to present in a festival. It's transferred from Broadway to Southwark Playhouse Borough.

A writer, composer, actress, friend and a 'Larry' work together to create the next best musical. However, they have 3 weeks to write it! Will they create the show in time for the theatre festival?!

The show itself focuses on the group testing out creative ideas. It is a musical filled with whacky songs; that you will find yourself tapping along to. It's set in America and includes a variety of references to many classic Broadway shows; there is a whole song made up of playbills from Broadway shows and a monkey skiing... The piece shows that anything can be made into a good musical. Literally anything. It feels similar to 'Why Am I So Single', which is playing at the Garrick theatre at the moment, the aim of both of these shows is to make a show and display the creators process. 'Title of show' transitions from the present, where the show is being put on and the past where the group are collecting ideas. They break the fourth wall by saying witty remarks to the audience and this shows the original creators speaking through the show. The characters represent the creator's of the original show.

Some fantastic work by the director, Christopher D.Clegg, each scene transitions smoothly into the next and the movement of the four chairs between scenes signifies each character having their own place in the show. No character is blurred into the background, even the musical director of the show, Tom Chippendale, has a clear role in the show (called 'Larry' in the show). There are some scenes where the energy drops, such as the end of the vampire song and the dream scene, these scenes were awkward to watch at times and low energy. However, the cast have a great on-stage friendship, all contrast each other well and there are some really strong scenes. The song where musical director Larry is teaching Susan, played by Mary Moore, is a strong, comedic scene and it is clear the cast have worked hard to create comedy through their character's dynamics.

The most enjoyable on-stage relationship is between Abbie Budden's character Heidi and Mary Moore as Susan. The two have a clear distrust and distaste of each other. Their song together where they are finally alone and they try to form a bond; highlights and plays with the power struggle between the two. It includes pushing each other over, funny facial expressions and some insane vocals! Jacob Fowler plays writer Hunter and the contrast between his and Thomas Oxley's character Jeff is intriguing, they both bounce off each other and show how comfortable/close the two friends are. Jeff brings the Broadway classics and has the brains. Whereas, Hunter is the more creative and colourful character. The two's voices are very different, and Fowler's vocal skills truly shine in this show!

'Title of Show' is an enjoyable show if you have been a part of making theatre, because you can relate to the relationships and the ups and downs of the process. Whereas, if you don't have a deep understanding of theatre then there will be moments that are confusing. There are a lot of Broadway references and it's not as easy to resonate with all of them, as the show was first made for an American audience. For me, personally, it took me back to making theatre at university and reminded me of memories I had forgotten. It was a lovely experience. Though this is not the show for everyone, it's clearly not the aim of the show; as one of the final songs is about the writers aiming to be 9 people's favourite show, because it's better than being 100 people's 9th favourite show. It's refreshing to see the cast having fun clearly enjoying putting on the show; this is one for theatre lovers and theatre makers!

Get your tickets: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/title-of-show/#book-tickets