Musical theatre as a genre can be a way to channel some big emotional storylines like a soap opera. There are also moments, if you strip away all the big sets, special effects and vibrant costumes, where it becomes a more intimate, yet simple experience to tell a story with no holds barred. This is where Have You Met Stan? A New Musical really seeks to succeed. Everything takes place in an Irish Pub in London called The Mooncoin, where we meet Sean. A barman, who is at the end of his shift and feels compelled to tell you the story of a lost love called Stan in a world where despite a so called acceptance, coming out is still difficult. Especially if you are not British and have everything against you.
Have you Met Stan? A New MusicalBart Thede wrote and created a well-constructed musical that told a poignant story of two young men who were trying to find their way in the world, yet somehow found each other. Thede took us on an emotional rollercoaster as Sean and Stan loved hard, played hard and pushed each other’s buttons as they tried to manoeuvre an open relationship. This was done in a way that was full of reflections of the past and how respective actions had consequences, much to Stan’s frustration as he was forced into this way of living, whilst keeping it hidden from his mother. Likewise, Sean avoided the truth that love was on his path by deliberately seeing other men and hiding how he truly felt.
Matty Molyneux and Jamie Douglass-Turner, who played Sean and Stan respectively, were really strong in their acting, singing and dancing choices to make these star-crossed lovers come to life. The only thing that let the show down a little was that the head-mics they used cut out occasionally, and both men seemed to in the more intimate and dramatic moments, go too quiet for us to hear some of the more hard-hitting home truths told as the story progressed. Whilst it didn’t affect the proceedings, a little more vocal projection to counteract the mild echoing acoustics would have really helped us get more of an insight into why things didn’t work well for Sean and Stan, rather than having to strain to listen in. Even those in the front row found it harder to hear what was being said.
Despite this, from start to finish, the whole company created a thought-provoking, insightful piece that explored love in its most complex form and was aided by the folkloric tones of the stage band, who provided the music. The songs in themselves were full of a glorious mixture of upbeat positivity and raw emotion as each new event was revealed. Particular highlights included Ghosted, sung by Molyneux (Sean), which was a relatable song for those who had been ignored after either a good time, or like our two lovers, one half of the couple did not appreciate being cast aside and took a stand before being reunited. Another was The Telephone Call, which gave Douglass-Turner (Stan) a platform to really explore the feeling of realising the need to emotionally dump onto someone he trusted, all he had been building up inside over a long period of time. This was a beautifully handled way of encouraging the need to be vulnerable in a relationship to grow into a new way of life. Even if it wasn’t fully appreciated.
The way that Molyneux and Douglass-Turner channeled their on-stage relationship was done in a way that they were close, but never really together. Both played with the idea of these characters being almost like ghosts in the way they reminisced about all that went before and created an emotional connection that was endearing and loving towards each other despite the circumstances. In many ways, even though we knew it was never meant to be, you wanted them to work it out. This is a hard feat to achieve in a scenario like this, and both actors should be proud of this achievement.
Have you met Stan? A New Musical is heartwarming, heartbreaking and yet optimistic about life. This is one to really keep an eye on as it develops further and grows into something special.
Sascha Cooper
Cast and Creative Team:
Writer – Bart Thiede
Director – Vivi Bayliss
Stan – Jamie Douglass-Turner
Sean – Matty Molyneux
Musical Director – Ellen and Bart Thiede
Guitar – Lucy Gowen
Drums – Georgia Ayew
Sound – Michael Creegan
A lighthearted yet tragic story of coming out, immigration, and bead-clenching Catholic mothers set to a toe-tapping pop-folk score
Step into the Mooncoin, a grubby Irish pub in an even grottier part of London, and meet our Séan. With the help of our fantastic pub band, he’ll tell you all about how he met Stan, a starry-eyed, hopelessly lost twenty-something from Poland.
Experience an Irish pub session like never before.
This event is the winner of Hannah & Elin’s Musical Theatre.