Musicals:
The weird and wonderful
Musicals: The Weird and the Wonderful
Wednesdays 10.15-12.15
Starts 21st January
18th February is a Holiday
(David Price)
9 week course £81.00
From political intrigue to fairy-tale fantasy, horror, satire and outright eccentricity, the musical has always been a bold and experimental form. This course explores some of the most fascinating — and occasionally baffling — examples of the genre, uncovering the surprising themes and ideas hidden beneath the show tunes and sequins.
We will look at:
🎙️ Musicals and world politics
How Evita, Call Me Madam and Chess tackled political figures and global tensions — and whether they truly captured their subjects.
🧛♂️ Horror transformed for the stage
From parody in Rocky Horror and Little Shop of Horrors to the darker worlds of Sweeney Todd and Jekyll & Hyde.
✨ Fairy tales reinvented
From the playful twists of Frozen to Sondheim’s Into the Woods, where magic, morality and a broken fourth wall collide.
🎼 Rodgers & Hammerstein — beyond the sunshine
A look at their lesser-known works, controversies, and the surprisingly dark corners of their classic musicals.
🎩 The delightfully odd
Including The Producers, Hello, Dolly!, Paint Your Wagon and even musicals inspired by industrial disputes (yes — really!).
Through clips, discussion and context, we’ll discover how musical theatre has always been a home for sharp ideas, daring themes and wonderfully weird storytelling — proving there's far more to the genre than chorus lines and happy endings.
