LONDON CALLING
Musical Hair set to take capital by storm
A young Linwood man’s hit production of top musical Hair is to transfer to London.
As revealed in the Paisley Daily Express, Joe Houston, 26, set up Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester just a year ago. And since that time, the musical theatre venue has been pulling in the crowds.
Now, its production of Hair, famed for its great tunes and nude scene, is to open in London’s West End.
Joe, who runs Hope Mill with fiance Will Whelton, said: “Our vision when we opened Hope Mill was to give North West audiences the chance to see new musical theatre in Manchester before it played anywhere else.
“And that’s what we’ve achieved with Hair and what we hope we can do with many more productions.
“The support we’ve had in the year since we opened has really been amazing and given us the confidence to keep trying to push the boundaries to make sure Hope Mill is offering the chance to see high quality productions before they appear anywhere else.
“We love the juxtaposition of being in an old cotton mill in Ancoats and specialising in all these colourful, musical, riotous productions.”
Hope Mill’s Hair, co-produced with Aria Entertainment ’ s Katy Lipson and Senbla’s Ollie Rosenblat, will transfer to off-West End Venue The Vaults in October .
This is particularly fitting as 2017 is the 50th anniversary year of the musical.
Joe and Will say they see it as genuinely relevant now as it was in the 1960s, with its themes of protest, youth and war.
This year’s production of Hair, directed by Jonathan O’Boyle, will run at The Vaults from Wednesday, October 4 to Sunday, December 3.
And, just as when it played at Hope Mill, it will offer the audience a completely “immersive” experience which will continue after the show with a late bar and a busy programme of club nights, 60s nights, live bands, and one-off nights including the Gala Night on October 17 celebrating the actual off-Broadway opening of Hair 50 years ago. Hope Mill has won many plaudits. In January, it was shortlisted for Fringe Theatre of the Year 2017 by prestigious industry publication The Stage and named a 2017 must-see place to visit by the San Francisco Chronicle.
In October 2016, Joe and Will won the Hospital Club 100 award for contribution to theatre and performance.
Hope Mill’s production of musical Parade, co- produced with Aria Entertainment, has been shortlisted for Best Musical in the Manchester Theatre Awards.
The support we have had since we opened has been really amazing