New musical celebrates Hailsham's rich heritage

The show runs on October 7 and 8 at 7.30pm, with a Saturday matinee at 3pm. Tickets are £10 per person. The production includes a professional cast of actors and singers with a band in the restored Hailsham Pavilion Theatre. The cast includes TV and theatre actor John Bowler as the narrator.

String’s writer Stephen Plaice explained: "Hailsham has been making rope for over two hundred years, and Marlow, a leading ropemaker, is still located in the town. String takes the intertwining ropemaking process as its central theme. It binds together different strands of time into a central love story that runs through one Hailsham woman's life. A blend of music from the First World War, mixed in with 60s pop and contemporary love songs, makes String highly suitable for young and old audiences alike."

Following last year’s Showcase Concert of songs from String, the musical will return as part of Hailsham Festival Extra, probably the most ambitious West-End style project the festival has ever undertaken in its 15-year history.

John Bowler, who will be narrating the musical, has previously appeared in many critically acclaimed theatre productions, as well as television work including DCI Banks, WPC56, Casualty, Peak Practice, The Bill and more.

Stephen Plaice, who also wrote all the lyrics, has had productions staged throughout Europe. He is currently writer in residence and professor of dramatic writing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he teaches the operamakers MA and also convenes the Guildhall Poets Critical Forum. He is one of Britain’s leading librettists and book-writers for Music Theatre.

Hailsham’s Tony Biggin has worked with Stephen to compose the music for the production. His compositions have been played by the London Philharmonic and other orchestras in many prestigious venues. He has composed work for television, radio, the theatre and concert hall.

The Mayor of Hailsham, Councillor Paul Holbrook, will be hosting a reception for invited guests on Saturday, October 8, before attending the performance of String. He said: “Hailsham and the surrounding area has such amazingly rich groups of performers and acting talent, and it is an honour for me to be attending a performance of String – The Musical and hosting a reception for invited guests beforehand. I am very grateful to the Hailsham Festival team for organising what is guaranteed to be an amazing show and I look forward to an evening of entertainment for us all on October 8. I hope as many people as possible book their tickets for one of the scheduled shows in October!"

https://hailshamfestival.co.uk/event/string/ or phone the Pavilion on 01323 841414.