Contemporary musical in Rugby inspired by stories of people working in Warwickshire

Performing arts students are set to take to the stage in Rugby to perform a contemporary musical inspired by the stories of people working in Warwickshire.

A cast of 12 BA Hons Performing Arts students from Warwickshire College University Centre (WCUC), college group WCG’s Higher Education arm, will perform Working: A Musical next week.

It takes place at the college’s Platform Theatre across three evenings at 7pm from June 21 to 23.

The Tony Award nominated musical is adapted from Studs Terkel’s best-selling book of interviews with American workers, Working, which paints a vivid portrait of the roles that the world so often takes for granted, including the schoolteacher, office worker, the receptionist, the builder and the cleaner.

It features music by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Wicked The Musical creator Stephen Schwartz as well the legendary James Taylor and more.

Liam Clarke, HE Subject Leader Visual & Performing Arts at WCUC, said that the performance has encouraged students to use their own skills and artistic vision to transform the script.

He said: “Working: A Musical has been updated a number of times over the years, and the version we have chosen has enabled the students to adapt and contemporise it further, while localising it for the audience.

“We always encourage students to take initiative and use their creativity, and this musical has proved a fantastic opportunity for this.

“This version of the musical has a number of new songs, one of which has sections in Portuguese and is performed by the character. The student playing this part is Polish and she worked with her family to translate the song into Polish and said it was a fantastic opportunity to reaffirm her identity.”

Liam said the students have all worked incredibly hard on the show.

He added: “They should be extremely proud of what they have achieved, and we look forward to the upcoming performances.”

Tickets for the production are priced at £9.50 for adults and £7 for concessions and are available to book by clicking https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/warwickshire-college/working/e-pxjdmd