The new British musical JANE premiers with public workshop performances that offer a first look of Act 1 from Fri 14 – Sun 16 February at The Other Palace Studio.
JANE, written by Matt Nalton (Jersey Boys, Beautiful) and Jodie Steele (Heathers, Bonnie & Clyde), is their debut new musical together about love, life and loss – following 15 years of the lives of a young woman, her mum, her lovers and her friends.
Jane has always faced trials and tribulations in her life, from when we meet her struggling at school at 15 years of age, to when she is getting her heart broken in her 20’s. Her best friend, Konnie, is her rock and always there to pick up the pieces and keep her laughing. She can’t live without him – or can she? How will Jane cope when it seems her life is crumbling around her?
Full casting has been announced for the workshop performances with Leesa Tulley as Jane, Maiya Quansah-Breed as Laura, Miracle Chance as Nicola, Rowan Macpherson as Henri, Alex Thomas-Smith as Konnie and Toby Turpin as the Narrator
Creatives include Martha Geelan (Babies) as Director and Cerys McKenna (Standing At The Sky’s Edge, Titanique,) as Musical Director, with orchestration by Evan Rogers (Nosferatu, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom).
Writers Matt Nalton & Jodie Steele say, ‘JANE is a story Jodie has carried with her for a long time. She approached Matt with the idea in 2023, as she knew Matt’s cinematic musical mind would make the show a heart-breaking hit. From that, the writing duo NALTON & STEELE was formed. JANE is driven by its modern musical landscape and its very raw, female-led, storyline which explores themes of grief, sexual abuse, sexual identity, strained family relationships and bullying. However, at the core of its being, is love, hope, determination and bravery.’
Paul Taylor-Mills, Artistic Director of The Other Palace, says: ‘Jodie Steele has been a longtime collaborator and I’m eager to see her move into this exciting role as a writer. In her collaborations with Matt Nalton, they have made a musical that speaks to our generation and explores important conversations around the world we currently live in. It’s brilliant that The Other Palace continues to support new musicals in their earliest stages of development and provide a platform to put new work in front of supportive audiences.’
Act 1 of JANE will be presented in a workshop format with scripts in hand, with limited tickets available to the public. Tickets are available from £16.50 from The Other Palace website.
Produced by The Other Palace and funded via the venue’s Development Fund, where 50p of every ticket sold in the Main House goes to fund developing new work.
