Ride - A new Musical

 



Winner of a VAULT Festival Show of the Week Award 

an Offie’s OFFCOM Award 

and title song nominated for the

 2020 Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize


‘RIDE’ transfers to the West End for two special semi-staged 

workshop performances starring Gemma Sutton and Bronté Barbé

Garrick Theatre, Monday 21 June  at 3pm & 8pm


One woman. One bicycle. One hell of a story.

 It’s 1895 and Annie Londonderry has returned victorious to America, hailed as the first woman to ever cycle around the world. She’s pioneering, she’s plucky, and she’s pitching her story to the New York World. But she can’t do it alone. Joined at the eleventh hour by unwitting secretary Martha Smith, the two begin to share Annie’s unbelievable adventures. But before long, the cracks begin to show, and Annie is forced to confront a past she’d rather leave unexplored.

The incredible true story of a young woman with big plans, and an even bigger imagination bursts into life in this new musical by JACK WILLIAMS (Music & Lyrics) and FREYA CATRIN SMITH (Music, Book & Lyrics), who also co-directs with ADAM

LENSON (‘Public Domain’, Vaudeville Theatre).

It stars GEMMA SUTTON (‘Kate Draper’ in ‘Girl From the North Country’ in the West End, ‘Young Sally’ in ‘Follies’ at the National Theatre, ‘Charity’ in ‘Sweet Charity’ at The Watermill) and BRONTÉ BARBÉ (‘Ado Annie’ in ‘Oklahoma’, Chichester Festival Theatre, and ‘Carole King’ in ‘Beautiful’, UK tour).

GEMMA SUTTON – Annie Londonderry

Theatre includes: ‘Kate Draper’ in GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY (Gielgud Theatre, West End/Toronto), ‘The Girl’ in BLUES IN THE NIGHT (Kiln Theatre), ‘Young Sally’’ in FOLLIES (National Theatre), ‘Charity’ in SWEET CHARITY (The Watermill Theatre), ‘Angel’ in THE RINK (Offie Award for Female Performance in a Musical – Southwark Playhouse), A CHRISTMAS CAROL THE MUSICAL (LMTO), ‘Fran’ in STRICTLY BALLROOM (West Yorkshire Playhouse/Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto), ‘Marian’ THE GO BETWEEN (Apollo Theatre), ‘June’ and Louise in GYPSY (Chichester Festival Theatre/Savoy Theatre),  ‘Julie’ in CAROUSEL (Arcola Theatre), Roxie in Chicago (Leicester Curve), Drunk (Leicester Curve/The Bridewell), Amber in Hairspray (UK tour), Me and My Girl (Kilworth House), ‘Enid’ and u/s ‘Elle’ in  LEGALLY BLONDE – THE MUSICAL (Savoy Theatre), Gone with the Wind, Imagine This (New London Theatre), A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, MACBETH, LADY BE GOOD, THE BOY FRIEND (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre) and CHILDREN WILL LISTEN (Theatre Royal Drury Lane). For television, her work includes WEST SIDE STORIES (BBC), GYPSY: LIVE AT THE SAVOY THEATRE (BBC/PBS), DOCTORS (BBC) and CILLA (ITV). 

BRONTÉ BARBÉ – Martha Smith

Bronté’s work in theatre includes ‘Ado Annie’ in OKLAHOMA at Chichester, starring as ‘Carole King’ in the first UK tour of the musical BEAUTIFUL, ’Jane’ in the concert version of GIRLFRIENDS at the Bishopsgate Institute, ‘Nadine’ in Drew McOnie’s production of THE WILD PARTY at The Other Palace, ‘Light Bulb Seller’ in STRIKING 12 at the Union Theatre, ‘Helen/Vinnie’ in THE DONKEY SHOW (Proud London) and ‘Princess Fiona’ in the UK tour of SHREK, and ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ before this. She started performing at a very young age in her hometown of Macclesfield. In 2010 she was selected as one of the final 10 in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s search for Dorothy - ‘Over the Rainbow’. Following this, Bronté attended Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts where she gained the Gyearbuor Asante prize for Acting and graduated with first class honours. After finishing Mountview she made her professional debut as ‘Odette’ in CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS (Riverside Studios). Other credits include: CALL THE MIDWIFE, YEARS AND YEARS (BBC), ‘Sharon’ in COOL RIDER - THE GREASE 2 CONCERT (Lyric Theatre, West End) and cast recording, MOMENTOUS MUSICALS UK Tour, ‘Penny Pingleton’ in HAIRSPRAY (Kuala Lumpur/Singapore) and the role of ‘Megan’ in the BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER workshop directed by Jerry Mitchell.

JACK WILLIAMS – Music & Lyrics

Jack Williams is an award-winning composer and lyricist. His musicals, co-written with Freya Smith, include RIDE (winner of VAULT Festival’s Show of the Week Award); THE LIMIT (winner of VAULT Festival’s People’s Choice Award and Origins Award for Outstanding New Work) and PART A (Edinburgh Fringe Festival sell-out show). He has been a finalist for both the Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Prize and MTI Mentorship Award.

FREYA CATRIN SMITH – Music, Book & Lyrics and Co-Director

Freya Catrin Smith is an award-winning composer and lyricist, focusing on telling female-led stories. Her work with writing partner Jack Williams (as Bottle Cap Theatre) includes RIDE (VAULT Festival sell out and award winner 2020); THE LIMIT (VAULT Festival sell out and award winner 2019), and song-cycle PART A (Edinburgh Fringe sell-out show). In 2021 Freya was 

awarded an MGCFutures Bursary, and in 2020 she was a finalist for the Cameron Mackintosh Composer Residency and the Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Prize. 

ADAM LENSON – Co-Director

Adam is a London based director, dramaturg, producer and musical theatre specialist. He is the founder of ALP Musicals where he curates SIGNAL - a series of in-person and online concerts of new work - and develops new musicals including PUBLIC DOMAIN (World Premiere, Southwark Playhouse and Vaudeville Theatre); THE FABULIST FOX SISTER (World Premiere, Southwark Playhouse); STAGES (World Premiere, VAULTS Festival) and SHIFT+ALT+RIGHT (World Premiere, Online). 

ALFRED TAYLOR-GAUNT – Choreographer

While training at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts on a full scholarship, Alfred was commissioned to create CHAOS AT THE KEATON CAFÉ (Bloomsbury Theatre) and JABBERWOCKY (New Wimbledon Theatre) for the National Youth Ballet, where he was mentored by Olivier Award winning director-choreographer Drew McOnie. Since graduating, Alfred has received 

multiple Arts Council England grants and developed 12 original musicals, working with the leading London musical theatre colleges. He created and choreographed the five-star comedy dance sensation DERRIÈRE ON A G STRING (Sadler’s Wells).

LIBBY TODD – Designer

Libby is a Set and Costume Designer working across Theatre, Dance and Live Events. Recent design projects include: ALYSSA: MEMOIRS OF A QUEEN! (Vaudeville Theatre);  PUBLIC DOMAIN (Vaudeville Theatre); YOU ARE HERE (Southwark Playhouse); BRING IT ON (Urdang Academy); THE FABULIST FOX SISTER / PUBLIC DOMAIN (Southwark Playhouse livestream); TOP OF THE TOKS (TikTok livestream event); STAGES (Vault Festival); IN THE HEIGHTS (Urdang Academy); DERRIERE ON A G STRING (Sadler’s Wells Studio); F*OFF (National Youth Theatre); AFTERGLOW (Southwark Playhouse).

SAM WADDINGTON – Lighting Designer

Designs include: PUBLIC DOMAIN (Vaudeville); MAGGOT MOON, THE POLAR BEARS GO, GO, GO!, SEESAW (Unicorn Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing (Cambridge Arts Theatre); IT NEVER HAPPENED (ArtsEd); WASTED, THE COUNTRY WIFE, SUPERHERO (Southwark Playhouse); TOP HAT, ANYTHING GOES, LEGALLY BLONDE (Upstairs at the Gatehouse); 35MM: A MUSICAL EXHIBITION (The Other Palace); THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (Landor Theatre); JOY (Theatre Royal Stratford East); and RAZ (UK Tour).As Associate/Assistant Lighting Designer: A CHRISTMAS CAROL (Lyceum Theatre, Broadway/The Old Vic); MARY POPPINS (Prince Edward Theatre);  LIFE OF PI (Sheffield Crucible); BACK TO THE FUTURE (Manchester Opera House).

MACY SCHMIDTT – Orchestrator

Macy Schmidt is an Egyptian-American Orchestrator & Music Director based in NYC. She is currently working on Disney’s re-imagined UK tour of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST alongside the show’s original creative team. Recent projects include: TINA (Broadway); the upcoming Disney revival of AIDA; the musical adaptation of Chelsea Clinton’s SHE PERSISTED (Music Supervisor) and the acclaimed RATATOUILLE: THE TIK TOK MUSICAL (Orchestrator), for which her work was praised by The New York Times for its likeness to a “classic Disney Act I finale in the brassy manner of Alan Menken.” At just 23 years old, Macy recently founded The Broadway Sinfonietta, an all-female-identifying, majority women-of-color orchestra showcasing BIPOC women musicians on Broadway, which quickly caught the attention of national press.


DEUS EX MACHINA PRODUCTIONS – Producer & General Manager

DEM Productions was formed in 2014 to produce new writing and acclaimed revivals of plays and musicals. Productions include: SUE TOWNSEND’S THE SECRET DIARY OF ADRIAN MOLE AGED 13 3⁄4 - THE MUSICAL (Ambassadors Theatre, West End); DUST (Nominated 2019 WhatsOnStage Award for Best New Play and Best Off West End Production, Trafalgar Studios, New York Theatre Workshop); the European Premiere of Stephen Schwartz’s WORKING (Nominated 2018 WhatsOnStage Award Best Off West End Production and 2018 OffWestEnd Award for Best Production, Southwark Playhouse); first major UK revival of SPRING AWAKENING (2019 WhatsOnStage Award for Best Regional Production, Hope Mill Theatre); the world premieres of KARAGULA (Styx/Soho Theatre); CLICKBAIT, FOUR PLAY and SENSE OF AN ENDING (Theatre503) and six other play revivals. DEM won the 2016 OffWestEnd Award for Best Producer and also provides production accounting services to a range of clients including Hartshorn and Hook, Aria Entertainment, and MZG Productions. External general management includes THE WILD PARTY (The Other Palace), and THE RINK (Southwark Playhouse).


DEM Productions Presents

RIDE

A New Musical 

By Freya Catrin Smith and Jack Williams

A semi-staged workshop production


Directed by Adam Lenson 

and Freya Catrin Smith


Starring Gemma Sutton 

and Bronté Barbé


Garrick Theatre

2 Charing Cross Road

London 

WC2H 0HH


Monday 21 June 2021

at 3pm and 8pm

Tickets from £15.00

Duration: 75 minutes no interval


Age recommendation: 12+


Box office: 0330 333 4811

www.nimaxtheatres.com



SOCIAL MEDIA


@DEMProduction5

@NimaxTheatres

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