One of the things keeping me sane during this period of time where commercial theatres have been shut down, is seeing the multitudes of new work happening online! I love seeing how theatre is being kept alive at a distance as much as I love new work, which is why I was so excited to be invited to watch Take Me Back!
The first act of this brand new musical by Dominic Gray and Ceola Daly was workshopped remotely with a cast of new musical theatre graduates, including Sarah Bailey (Meadbh), Lucy Rice (Lucia), Joseph Chadd (Matthew), Harvey Hoile (Robert), Molly Huddleston (Louise), Jessica Friend (Ensemble).
Take Me Back was presented on Youtube on August 15th in collaboration with The Grey Area and The Grad Fest. The streamed performance features video design by Savvy Hanna and sound design by Naoise O Cuinneagain.
The musical is focused around the question: if you could travel back in time, what would you go back for? A group of scientists have figured out time travel, and are finally ready for human trials. Three strangers are picked from thousands of applicants and begin their time travel journey, learning about the risks, deciding what they would go back for, and deciding if the risks are worth it.
I loved this musical!
Gray and Daly have created an interesting original story accompanied by catchy tunes to tap your feet to and characters that are likeable and easy to connect to. It’s also based on such a universal concept, making it easy for all audiences to relate.
Naturally, the workshop was staged over Zoom, but the performers and creatives brought the show to life wonderfully despite the limits of the platform. The cast connected wonderfully with the audience and with each other. This performance was an incredible opportunity to showcase these recent graduates who may have missed out on other performance opportunities due to the pandemic.
Take Me Back was a wonderful musical treat, and this workshop left me waiting for Act 2!
Who doesn’t wish they could time travel? Especially now when we’re all locked inside. The video of the Act 1 workshop is still available at https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dCdQ-PDYaA0.
Be sure to follow along @grayanddaly on Instagram for more updates!