Build Your Own Utopia

Wednesday 18th March 2020 is a day in history for us to remember!

Despite extraordinary circumstances, a cancelled run, and a lot of uncertainty, the World Premiere of Build Your Own Utopia, a new original British musical by Richard Taylor and Douglas Maxwell, took place at St Peter’s Arts Centre to an audience, and was live-streamed online and reached an astonishing 3,000 views!

Our cast, creatives and crew have all been outstanding in their resilience and determination to present this show, and we are very grateful for everybody who has made this production possible, from the very beginning to the actual performance.

We don’t know what the future has in store for Utopia, but here’s hoping we may one day return to the island.

We would like to thank Mark Goggins for the opportunity to have this show commissioned for us; Richard Taylor and Douglas Maxwell for creating such an incredible show for us; Roger Haines and Jonny Cordingley for their work and support on the show; Dave Dossett for his unconditional support throughout this show and our three years at UCLan; and David Weeks and Jools Bennett for their amazing work on light, sound, and a lot of work backstage. We would also like to thank everybody who has had an involvement with this show.

Furthermore we would like to thank our audience, whether they were there for our performance or watching through a screen. Your support, love, and encouragement have been second to none, and you embodied all the positive themes of this show - friendship, solidarity, and community.

And finally, our cast. We are all so lucky to have been with each other on this journey for the past 18 months and to have been able to perform together on Wednesday. There is no group as strong, talented, passionate and brilliant who could have performed the show as well as they did, especially under such unfortunate circumstances.

Until we return,

“Here’s to us, so cheers!”

We’ll be back for Act 2 shortly!

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:
Recent events may mean you can’t come and attend the show. You still have the opportunity to watch it live with us! Make sure you like the “Build Your Own Utopia” page.
Thank you for the continued support X

Coronavirus Update:

Unfortunately, we have just received the news that no audience members from outside of UCLan will be permitted to watch tomorrow night’s performance.

We are very sorry to break such devastating news, especially for our hard-working and talented cast and their family and friends. This decision is out of our control, and really not easy to accept.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their support through such a rough time for us.

Coronavirus update:

Due to the PMs recent conference as well as UCLans recent action towards the COVID-19 pandemic the university campus will be shut from Thursday 19th March. This means we as a cast have been forced to only perform the show on Wednesday 18th. This is a decision that we really don’t want to make but it’s out of our hands! We have along with this decided to take away all the tickets that were reserved on Wednesday night to open them all up to the casts family. We are sorry to do this.

If you are coming to see us this week, please note that our performances contain flashing lights, frequent strong language, and moderate violence.
Have a safe voyage, and we will see you there…

Dave Dossett has been a part of the Uclan Music Theatre furniture since 2007 with his first production being Fiddler on the Roof. He has done numerous shows such as The Frogs, Songs From A New World, Just So & Sweeney Todd. He is also the accompanist for UCLan’s Chamber Choir when they go on their annual trip to France. Dave also freelances with numerous amateur dramatic groups doing shows such as Parade etc.
Dave has been with us for our entire “Three Years.” And it’s gonna be a blast to sign out with him next week. The entire cast would like to thank him for his continued support, love, and passion throughout this show and their time at UCLan.

Jonny Cordingley is a graduate of the Drama Centre London and has worked in a wide range of theatres across the country. He has also trained and worked at the Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow.

We are privileged and very lucky to have Jonny working on this show with us, with his vast knowledge and skill set of physical theatre and movement.

‘This is our utopia…’
Here’s some sneak peak rehearsal shots of our cast and crew in action.
Book your tickets at [email protected] to watch the show Wednesday-Saturday.
Check our social medias for ticket information and show details.
See you on the island…

We are very lucky to have Roger Haines, multi-award winning director and Olivier nominee, working with us throughout the rehearsal process. Roger’s illustrious career spans several decades, and he has directed numerous regional, touring, and West End productions.

Some of Roger’s more notable productions include Into The Woods and Assassins (Manchester Library Theatre); March Of The Falsettos (European premiere in London’s West End); Driving Miss Daisy (tour); Laughter On The 23rd Floor (West End with Gene Wilder, and national tour); Sophisticated Ladies (West End); Closer Than Ever (West End), and Baby (national tour).

Roger has also worked with Gary Barlow on Calendar Girls (national tour), and The Full Monty (national tour). Most recently, Roger revived his award winning production of The Go-Between starring Michael Crawford in the West End.

The cast of Build Your Own Utopia are privileged to be working with such a renowned director, and would like to thank Roger for all his work on the show.

TICKET UPDATE:

Reminder to get your tickets by emailing: [email protected]

From the initial workshops of Build Your Own Utopia to the final script, the cast have been very lucky to have worked alongside Scottish playwright Douglas Maxwell on the creation of the show.

Some of Douglas’ more notable works are Decky Does A Bronco (Edinburgh Festival and Tour); Mancub (national tour); Promises Promises (performed as The Promise in New York); and Yer Granny (National Theatre Of Scotland).

Douglas’ plays have been performed in the UK and Internationally, in countries such as Germany, Norway, China, the US, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Japan, France, Belgium, and South Korea.

Our cast are thrilled to have been working with Douglas throughout the process of creating Build Your Own Utopia, and can’t wait to bring his comedic, touching, and clever writing to life on stage.

Build Your Own Utopia has been specifically written for our cast, with music composed by the wonderfully talented Richard Taylor.

Richard’s past work includes a community opera in Hackney entitled Confucius Says, and many compositions for the Library Theatre in Manchester, and the Sheffield Crucible. Richard also composed the score for the original Whistle Down The Wind, and a musical adaptation of The Go-Between starring Michael Crawford (West End). Additionally, Richard penned the music and lyrics for a musical adaptation of Flowers For Mrs Harris (Sheffield Crucible).

The cast of Build Your Own Utopia are incredibly lucky to have had Richard working on the show with us from the very beginning, and writing such beautiful music for us to bring to life.

Our journey began in November 2018.
Yours will begin in one week.
Are you ready?

‘This is the most important thing that’s ever happened to me…’

The original cast & crew of Build Your Own Utopia!

MEET THE CAST

The Officer

“Don’t underestimate you-know-who....”

MEET THE CAST

The Other

“I’m way beyond any factual definition...”

“Here’s to us, so cheers!”

Happy International Women’s Day to all of the amazing women in our cast!! To celebrate the day we thought we’d give you our very first sneak peak of our talented ladies doing what they do best!

MEET THE CAST

The First Year

“It changed my life, it really did...”

TICKET UPDATE
*EDIT: we are now SOLD OUT for Wednesday Evening*
*EDIT: 4 for Thursday Evening*,
and Saturday Matinee is limited.

Make sure to book your tickets fast to avoid disappointment!

MEET THE CAST

The Outsiders

“Playtimes over. You’re all blind, my eyes are open wide...”

MEET THE CAST

The Outsiders

“Eyes down, take notes, here’s how it is...”

“There’s something going on...”

Here is the official poster for Build Your Own Utopia.

Thank you to Mitchell Hodson for his hard work.

MEET THE CAST

The Islanders

“It should be philosophical, not practical...”

The boat to our island is FULL on Saturday Night! Tickets are still available for our other shows, but make sure to get them quick before they go!

“Build it here,
Find your glory
And crown it with love”

Tickets are now available by emailing: [email protected].
The show runs from 18th-21st March
Evening performances are every day (7:30pm) with matinees on the 20th-21st March (2:30pm).
£12 for adults & £5 for concessions. Friday night & Saturday night all tickets are £12.
Please note that the performance contains frequent strong language,sexual references & moderate violence. Viewer discretion is advised.

Please email the above email address with the date & time you would like to come and watch and the types of tickets you require with a name ready to reserve it under.

The performance space is
St.Peters Arts Centre
Preston
Lancashire
PR1 2HE