The Big Life

The Big Life at The Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London
Previews from 11 May 2005. Opens 23 May 2005 (at 7.00pm)
Mondays to Saturdays at 8.00pm, Wednesdays at 3.00pm and Saturdays at 4.00pm
Tickets: £10.00 up to £40.00
Box Office: 0870 890 1101

When the critically-acclaimed black musical The Big Life opens at the Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue in London on 23 May 2005 (previews from 11 May) it will enter the history books as the first ever black British musical in London's West End set in a black British community, a timely breakthrough for London, recently hailed by Nelson Mandela as 'a wonderfully diverse and open city'.

The Big Life tells the story of a group of friends arriving off the immigrant boat 'Windrush', in the post-war 1950s, all eager for a share of 'the big life'. A funny, sad, uplifting, joyous, rip-roaring, toe-tapping, tear-jerking white-knuckle-ride, The Big Life is a gigantic emotional roller-coaster, sweeping the audience back to the days when people from the Caribbean first came to Britain in any numbers in the hope of a better life.

There's never been a West End musical set in a black British community before, but this musical show transports the plot of Shakespeare's play 'Love's Labours Lost' to the harsh urban landscape of the post-war capital, and does it with infinite humanity, irresistible song and dance, and a fantastic sense of comedy. As one reviewer said of it, after its presentation last year at the legendary Theatre Royal, Stratford East, 'it united the critics and audience in acclaim.'

It could be claimed that The Big Life has been eight years in the making because that's how long ago Stratford East set up its Musical Theatre Writing Workshop to develop new talent for the genre. Paul Joseph, composer of The Big Life, joined the very first workshop, even though at the time he'd never even seen a musical. 'Joseph's music' says The Independent 'is shaded with a variety of popular root forms, including jazz, calypso, blues, soul and reggae.'

The Theatre Royal paired him with writer Paul Sirett, currently Literary Manager at the Royal Shakespeare Company, who had the idea of basing a musical on 'Love's Labours Lost'. The crucial third member of the team was first-time director Clint Dyer who guided it through a series of workshops and two productions at Stratford East over five years.

The result is a funny, joyous, feel-good musical, which, while not ignoring the social problems of the 1950s, is a tribute to the hopes and dreams of those immigrants who won through to a better life.

"A marvellous musical with the most tremendous heart….it is impossible to wipe a smile of pure pleasure from you face during the exuberant course of this marvellous musical. Funny, sexy, touching and tuneful, as well as being blessed with most tremendous heart" The Daily Telegraph

"The show has become even more timely as politicians pander to media frenzy about immigration and dazzlingly illustrates the cultural gain of grafting Caribbean sounds on to an inherited Shakespearean story" The Guardian