Tickets On Sale for 'To The Streets!' at Birmingham 2022 Festival
Ian Oakley is the musical director for ‘To The Streets!’ at the Birmingham 2022 Festival, A China Plate & Birmingham Hippodrome production.
“An uplifting new concert musical, inspired by the Bristol Bus Boycott, performed in parks across the West Midlands.
It’s 1963 and the Swinging Sixties have arrived: The Beatles release their debut album, the mini skirt is born and the Civil Rights movement is gaining ground in America. Back in the UK, the country is emerging from the Big Freeze. As temperatures thaw, tensions are running high in Bristol where the Omnibus Company refuses to employ Black or Asian drivers or conductors.
Paul Stephenson, an idealistic youth worker, takes to the streets to stand up for equality. Lorraine, a teenager, newly-arrived from Jamaica, joins the fight and, in so doing, finds her voice and becomes part of a movement that changes history.
With an explosive, feel-good score bursting with ska, calypso and rock ‘n’ roll… this is a story of standing up for what you believe in, allyship, and – ultimately – finding joy.”
Performances run from Friday 19th August to Sunday 28th August at Handsworth Park, Windmill Hill, and West Park.