SAMSON
A Brand New Musical
written and directed by Ashton Moore
for AFK Productions
5th July 2015
The Palace Theatre, Southend on Sea
A Brand New Musical
written and directed by Ashton Moore
for AFK Productions
5th July 2015
The Palace Theatre, Southend on Sea
There's a buzz going around town at the moment and it's vital that you get yourselves down to The Palace Theatre in Southend on 5th July at 7.30pm, because there's going to be a brand new musical sensation premiering here and it's going to be the talk of the town come Monday morning.
This musical is the work of just one man, Mr Ashton Moore. He has written the music and lyrics as well as creating some fabulous orchestrations, which I was fortunate enough to be able to preview (click here for full preview article).
Ashton took some time out before this preview to answer some of my questions about the production.
This musical is the work of just one man, Mr Ashton Moore. He has written the music and lyrics as well as creating some fabulous orchestrations, which I was fortunate enough to be able to preview (click here for full preview article).
Ashton took some time out before this preview to answer some of my questions about the production.
Ashton Moore, director and composer of Samson
Why Samson? Are you a particularly religious person or did you just think that Samson was a good biblical yarn?
I'm not particularly religious, I sit pretty squarely in the agnostic area of the spectrum, but I am totally fascinated by the Bible and other religious texts. When I decided I wanted to write a whole musical I went straight to the Bible and read through the Old Testament (all the blood and thunder makes for a very stageable story!). Samson was an easy choice for me because it is a recognisable story full of love, lust and betrayal - that has never been made into a musical. The story is in places weirdly specific and in others very sparse, so the challenge of fleshing the narrative out and providing motivations etc. seemed very exciting!
Is this the first time you’ve written a full length musical?
Yes it is indeed, although I have written quite a few jazz and musical theatre songs, some of which formed part of an original musical to celebrate the Palace Theatre's 100th birthday. I also wrote an instrumental score for a play a few years ago. Now I truly have the bug and, as well as Samson, I have three fully formed musicals (and most of their songs) in the works.
How long did it take you to write it?
I've been writing this show on and off for about 3 years. The first song I wrote was written in June 2012 and the most recent was written literally four months ago, after the cast had been organised and tickets were on sale!
Did you have a cast in your head while you were writing it?
I had certain voices in my mind as I was writing - Haydn Cox for Samson and Simon Bristoe for Kalliades, for example, but I've been very fortunate to have worked with people who have immediately jumped out to me as being perfect for songs I'd already written. I almost feel like I was writing for Sharon to sing Delilah before I even met her, as artsy as that sounds.
How long have you been in rehearsal?
We've actually only been rehearsing since early May - a lot of the learning has been done through the distribution of demo tracks and such. We have a cast of people who are fast learners but also incredibly busy, so a short rehearsal schedule was necessitated!
When we think of Samson, it’s usually all about the hair and muscles and Delilah; is there more depth to your production?
One way I think this realisation of Samson's story is quite unique compared to the operatic, artistic and cinematic interpretations it's inspired is that it tells Samson's story starting with his first wife - who was also a Philistine! I think it's really important to explore that, as he makes the same "mistake" later with Delilah which causes his downfall.
Also there are no muscles at all - Samson is blessed with strength from God but there is no reason (or Biblical reference) to indicate that he was actually muscly. His physical strength is all the more spectacular as it comes from a seemingly normal-looking man.
I've also fleshed out the story - the Bible makes no mention of any of Samson's people and his friends, so I've delved quite deeply into how they would feel and react to his various actions and decisions.
How long was Samson in the making?
So I started writing in June 2012, I've been writing in short bursts since then. I started actively planning a concert with my co-producer Mark roughly this time last year, and I cast it by invitation in November.
Who or what are your inspirations and influences?
I adore the music of Jason Robert Brown and Alan Menken, and in this project in particular I think you can tell the latter. There is a lot of Menken, Wildhorn and Boublil/Schoenberg-inspired material in this score, but there is also a fair amount of ethnic-style drums, gospel and heavier rocky elements which I think/hope make my style quite distinctive and unique!
What does the future hold for you?
In terms of the future, I am unsure! I am working my way up the food chain (and into London) as a musician and musical director, but I also intend to work on some of my other original musicals as I am very passionate about the ideas. Of course if anyone wanted to perform, produce or workshop Samson I would love to be involved in that process as well - add to that the fact that I have a very enjoyable and fulfilling full-time job at a local primary school, and that all equals an exciting - but unpredictable - future!
I'm not particularly religious, I sit pretty squarely in the agnostic area of the spectrum, but I am totally fascinated by the Bible and other religious texts. When I decided I wanted to write a whole musical I went straight to the Bible and read through the Old Testament (all the blood and thunder makes for a very stageable story!). Samson was an easy choice for me because it is a recognisable story full of love, lust and betrayal - that has never been made into a musical. The story is in places weirdly specific and in others very sparse, so the challenge of fleshing the narrative out and providing motivations etc. seemed very exciting!
Is this the first time you’ve written a full length musical?
Yes it is indeed, although I have written quite a few jazz and musical theatre songs, some of which formed part of an original musical to celebrate the Palace Theatre's 100th birthday. I also wrote an instrumental score for a play a few years ago. Now I truly have the bug and, as well as Samson, I have three fully formed musicals (and most of their songs) in the works.
How long did it take you to write it?
I've been writing this show on and off for about 3 years. The first song I wrote was written in June 2012 and the most recent was written literally four months ago, after the cast had been organised and tickets were on sale!
Did you have a cast in your head while you were writing it?
I had certain voices in my mind as I was writing - Haydn Cox for Samson and Simon Bristoe for Kalliades, for example, but I've been very fortunate to have worked with people who have immediately jumped out to me as being perfect for songs I'd already written. I almost feel like I was writing for Sharon to sing Delilah before I even met her, as artsy as that sounds.
How long have you been in rehearsal?
We've actually only been rehearsing since early May - a lot of the learning has been done through the distribution of demo tracks and such. We have a cast of people who are fast learners but also incredibly busy, so a short rehearsal schedule was necessitated!
When we think of Samson, it’s usually all about the hair and muscles and Delilah; is there more depth to your production?
One way I think this realisation of Samson's story is quite unique compared to the operatic, artistic and cinematic interpretations it's inspired is that it tells Samson's story starting with his first wife - who was also a Philistine! I think it's really important to explore that, as he makes the same "mistake" later with Delilah which causes his downfall.
Also there are no muscles at all - Samson is blessed with strength from God but there is no reason (or Biblical reference) to indicate that he was actually muscly. His physical strength is all the more spectacular as it comes from a seemingly normal-looking man.
I've also fleshed out the story - the Bible makes no mention of any of Samson's people and his friends, so I've delved quite deeply into how they would feel and react to his various actions and decisions.
How long was Samson in the making?
So I started writing in June 2012, I've been writing in short bursts since then. I started actively planning a concert with my co-producer Mark roughly this time last year, and I cast it by invitation in November.
Who or what are your inspirations and influences?
I adore the music of Jason Robert Brown and Alan Menken, and in this project in particular I think you can tell the latter. There is a lot of Menken, Wildhorn and Boublil/Schoenberg-inspired material in this score, but there is also a fair amount of ethnic-style drums, gospel and heavier rocky elements which I think/hope make my style quite distinctive and unique!
What does the future hold for you?
In terms of the future, I am unsure! I am working my way up the food chain (and into London) as a musician and musical director, but I also intend to work on some of my other original musicals as I am very passionate about the ideas. Of course if anyone wanted to perform, produce or workshop Samson I would love to be involved in that process as well - add to that the fact that I have a very enjoyable and fulfilling full-time job at a local primary school, and that all equals an exciting - but unpredictable - future!