• Quadrophenia: Zavvi recently announced an exclusive slipcase Steelbook release of, iconic, classic, legendary etc, Quadrophenia for October 2016. A fantastic collectable limited to just 2000 copies. With a couple of months until it is available Zavvi is saying it has already sold out, but steelbookbluray.com say “Pre-orders aren’t live yet, so ignore the ‘sold out’ button for now”.
• Crime and Punishment: Rock music is the perfect medium with which to express the energy, rebellion, and passion of its youthful characters, particularly the restless fury and alienation of the books ant-hero, Raskolnikov. Accordingly this new musical adaptation will feature specially written songs and favourite tracks by British rock legend, Toyah Willcox and her song writing partner Simon Darlow – Continue reading…
• Screen Relish: Screen Relish’s Saturday Screamer: AAAAAAAAH!: Aah, the precarious position of the alpha male. Oh should I say AAAAAAAAH!? Because that is the delightfully appropriate title of Steve Oram’s feature directorial debut – Continue reading…
• Fashion Scout: Typical Freaks: Typical Freaks is a bold, colourful and cenceptual fashion brand from London… Their most recent collection, shown as part of Fashion Scout’s ‘Ones to Watch’, took inspiration from British seasides Derek Jarman’s ‘Jubilee’ and Nigerian basket sellers – Continue reading…
• Evensi: Each month Future Film picks out a number of films that will excite, stimulate and inspire you!: In August, Future Film recommends one of the punk classics Derek Jarman’s apocalyptic fantasy JUBILEE to coincide with BFI Southbank’s celebration of all things punk – Continue reading…
Crime & Punishment: A Rock Musical – Interview with Director Phil Willmott
As part of London’s Free Open-Air Theatre Season, Crime & Punishment: A Rock Musical will hold its world premiere at The Scoop in London Bridge this month. Directed and adapted by Phil Willmott and featuring music by legendary rock legend Toyah Willcox, this revamped production will transform Dostoyevsky’s most famous and influential novel into a thrilling new musical. We sit down with director Phil Willmott to get the low-down on this adaptation of a classic with a tuneful twist.
London Calling: What attracted you to doing a rock-version of Crime & Punishment?
Phil Willmott: Well, we always try to do plays that reflect what’s going on in London society. Right now, we’re all very interested in what motivates these lone wolf killers to commit these terrible atrocities around the world. Crime & Punishment is very much about this, about a young man who sincerely believes that for the greater good and because of his beliefs that he is entitled to kill, so it feels very topical. And even though it’s a 19th Century Russian novel, the story is all about student angst, anger, and idealism so it seemed to really suggest itself to rock music as a sort of language for anger and alienation, as well as having a youthful energy.
LC: You’re using music by Toyah Willcox and Simon Darlow. What is it about their music that fits so well with this rock adaptation?
PW: Well in the 80s she was the punk princess. She was the person who took punk rock and sort of glamourised it and made it theatrical, while still retaining the kind of rawness, the anger and the energy of rock. So, because that’s my generation’s music, the first thing I did was to go back and listen to her songs and then I discovered that she is still recording and is still a best-selling recording artist so I got in touch with her and explained what I wanted to do and fortunately she said yes, that she’d love to come on board.
• Continue reading at London Calling.
Opening 31st August at The Scoop Theatre, London, Crime and Punishment, with songs by Toyah Willcox and Simon Darlow. Adapted and Directed by Phil Willmott
Crime and Punishment – The Rock Musical
Dostoyevsky and the music of Toyah Willcox and Simon Darlow
As the skies darken over The Scoop, so does our story. Published in 1866 Dostoyeksky’s Crime and Punishment is one of the most famous and influential novels in world literature. When an idealistic student kills a ruthless money lender, who terrorises the poor of St. Petersburg, the novel challenges us to ask if murder is ever justified.
Rock music works as the perfect medium to express the energy, rebellion and passion of the story. Fittingly this new musical production, adapted and directed by Phil Willmott, will feature specially written songs and favourite tracks by British rock legend, Toyah Willcox and her song-writing partner Simon Darlow.
From 31st August to 25th September, 8pm, every Wednesday to Sunday at The Scoop at More London. Captioned performance of both shows: Thursday 22nd September. Post show chats with the Company: Thurs 8th, 15th & 22nd September after Crime & Punishment.
A couple of newly revealed promotional images for Crime and Punishment. Click below for more info on this new rock musical.
Crime and Punishment: A Rock Musical – Dostoyevsky and the music of Toyah Willcox and Simon Darlow at The Scoop
London’s Free Open-Air Theatre Season is back as part of the London Bridge City Summer Festival, offering 40,000 free tickets for great theatre within the heart of London. Running since 2003, this is still London’s only ‘free to all’ annual festival of theatre. There’s no need to book so just turn up and take a seat.
This year, Gods and Monsters Theatre are shaking things up with a new rock musical of Crime and Punishment, with songs by the legendary Toyah Willcox. This newly revamped production of this 19th century masterpiece marks the increasingly important role Russia plays in London’s economy and the way our work, social and cultural life is enriched by a strong Eastern European presence in our capital.
Toyah was the Punk Princess of the 1980s with a song-writing career that has spanned thirty years and includes eight Top 40 singles and over 20 albums keeping her at the cutting edge of counter-culture.
• Continue reading at Frost Magazine.
Check out toyahwillcox.com for further info on Crime and Punishment…
Toyah Willcox adapts Dostoyevsky’s classic in a free outdoor musical
Er. Well look, if a musical version of Dostoyevsky’s 1866 masterpiece about a student who wrestles with his guilt after killing a moneylender – with songs by Toyah Willcox no less – were announced for the West End we’d probably break out into cold sweats pretty sharpish. But it’s a pretty impressive proposition as a bit of free outdoor theatre. It’s also a welcome change of pace for Gods and Monsters Theatre, whose annual shows at The Scoop had fallen into a bit of a predictable pattern of adaptations of Greek tragedies in the last few years. If you want to see the show, just turn up.
• Continue reading at Time Out.
Hot on the heels of the news that a new Willcox/Darlow song, Our Hearts Still Beat, has been recorded for inclusion in the forthcoming new film Extremis – to play over the film’s end titles – Toyah has tweeted that another new song – Fire Escape – again by Willcox/Darlow, has also been recorded for the, soon to open in London, rock musical Crime and Punishment.
London’s Free Open-Air Theatre Season is back as part of the London Bridge City Summer Festival, offering 40,000 free tickets for great theatre within the heart of London. Running since 2003, this is still London’s only ‘free to all’ annual festival of theatre. There’s no need to book so just turn up and take a seat!
• Continue reading at Concert News Online.
Toyah Willcox musical to play free open air festival
Based on Dostoevsky’s novel, Crime and Punishment receives its world premiere in August
A brand new musical retelling of Dostoevsky’s Crime & Punishment, will be staged at The Scoop in London this summer.
Adapted and directed by Phil Willmott, the musical will feature original music by Toyah Willcox and Simon Darlow, as well as some of Willcox’s well-known tracks.
Crime & Punishment: A Rock Musical will be part of the free open air theatre season, held annually at The Scoop, next to City Hall on the south side of the River Thames.
• Continue reading at What’s On Stage.
Toyah Willcox rock musical to run at open air theatre in London
A musical based on novel Crime and Punishment that features the music of Toyah Willcox will run at open air theatre the Scoop this summer. The show, from theatre company Gods and Monsters, runs at the Scoop near London Bridge from August 31 to September 25.
Crime and Punishment: A Rock Musical is adapted and directed by Phil Willmott and features songs written by Willcox and her writing partner, Simon Darlow.
Willcox said she was “excited that this collaboration will engage tens of thousands of people with this extraordinary novel in so fresh and enticing a way”.
• Continue reading at The Stage.
Gods and Monsters Theatre To Present Crime and Punishment: A Rock Musical
London’s Free Open-Air Theatre Season is back as part of the London Bridge City Summer Festival, offering 40,000 free tickets for great theatre within the heart of London. Running since 2003, this is still London’s only ‘free to all’ annual festival of theatre. There’s no need to book so just turn up and take a seat!
This year, Gods and Monsters Theatre are shaking things up with a new rock musical of Crime and Punishment, with songs by the legendary Toyah Willcox. This newly revamped production of this 19th century masterpiece marks the increasingly important role Russia plays in London’s economy and the way our work, social and cultural life is enriched by a strong Eastern European presence in our capital.
Toyah Willcox comments, Who could resist this chance to help introduce theatre-goers, great literature and steam punk all in the one show, performed for free to such a huge and multi- cultural audience, in this iconic, beautiful venue? The on-going work of Gods and Monsters to create vibrant, powerful productions that bring London’s diverse communities together under the stars is a perfect fit with my life-long philosophy of performance for all. Capturing the spirit of Dostoyevsky’s alienated characters has been a wonderful challenge and I’m excited that this collaboration will engage tens of thousands of people with this extraordinary novel in so fresh and enticing a way and is totally fitting with my musical work.
• Continue reading at Broadway World.
New Crime And Punishment musical part of London’s Free Open-Air Theatre Season
London’s Free Open-Air Theatre Season is back as part of the London Bridge City Summer Festival, offering 40,000 free tickets for great theatre within the heart of London. Running since 2003, this is still London’s only ‘free to all’ annual festival of theatre. There’s no need to book so just turn up and take a seat!
This year, Gods and Monsters Theatre are shaking things up with a new rock musical version of Crime and Punishment, with songs by the legendary Toyah Willcox. This newly revamped production of this 19th century masterpiece marks the increasingly important role Russia plays in London’s economy and the way our work, social and cultural life is enriched by a strong Eastern European presence in our capital.
• Continue reading at Live Theatre UK.
Songs from In The Court Of The Crimson Queen and Anthem will be included in the new musical Crime & Punishment. Toyah revealed further info on this in her most recent blog:
“Even though it hasn’t been officially announced yet I think it is safe to confirm that Simon Darlow and myself are over the moon that many of the songs from IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON QUEEN are about to be used in a theatre production of Dostoevsky’s CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, a steam punk version/rock musical of the novel which opens on the 30th August at the Scoop Theatre in London. It will run until the 25th Sept.
It is a free event, it is an open-air amphitheatre by the River Thames, but it will be on a first come, first served basis. It is going to be busy. They expect 40,000 people will see it as the event has been full to capacity in the past. It is part of the London Festival’s Russian Season.
Simon and I are writing three new songs for the piece. The writer/director Phil Willmott is also using some songs off ANTHEM.”
• Further info at toyahwillcox.com and freeopenairtheatre.org.
