Metta Theatre

Hagan, HouseFire explores the threat of the global climate and ecological crisis via a band of endangered animals who protest and spread their message through song.

A trio of endangered animals form a band Award-winning Metta Theatre is one of the UK’s to protest the climate and ecological crisis. leading mid-scale touring companies – making Just because they’re animals doesn’t mean this exceptional theatre and opera that represents is Disney. Leo the Snow Leopard lead singer and celebrates the diversity of our world. They is raging against the annihilation of their world, are known for combining emotionally Ginger the Orangutan on keys has her own tale powerful performances with imaginative to tell about how deforestation has destroyed theatricality and striking visual style. After their her family, while Alan the Elephant is keeping smash hit street-dance Jungle Book (Theatre time on the drums. But their newly formed band Royal Windsor & UK tour), circus-musical Little ‘HouseFire’ is under threat from their corporate Mermaid (Theatre By The Lake & UK tour) and capitalist manager who wants them to pander to In The Willows (Exeter Northcott & UK tour) the capitalist system they are so keen to Metta Theatre bring you another original British destabilize. On the face of it entering Britain's musical, following the release of the cast album Got Talent seems like a great way to reach of The Rhythmics in July 2020. Other more people with their message, although it productions include Mouthful (Trafalgar Studios) puts a strain on the already fractious and Arab Nights (Soho Theatre & UK tour). relationships between them, and is it all just Artistic Director and theatre designer Will too little too late...P Burton-Morgan, who earlier Reynolds has a MSC in Electrical this year won the Writers Guild of Great Brit- Engineering from Oxford University. He trained ain Award for musical theatre book writing for with the Carbon Literacy project and sits on the In the Willows – The Hip Hop musical (which London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham toured the UK in 2019), said “It's a beast of a Climate & Ecological Emergency Commission. subject matter - the climate and ecological Award-winning writer and Artistic Director P crisis - and the potential for descending into Burton-Morgan has a degree in Politics, earnest preaching is very real. But I hope Philosophy & Economics from Oxford we have created a rare thing; combining the University, and is a celebrated director and an painful urgency of the crisis with the inspirational public speaker and workshop political complexities, all wrapped up in epic facilitator. In 2019 Metta founded the banging tunes to rock out to. Plus it Sustainable Touring Group as part of the wouldn't be a Metta show if we didn't end inaugural cohort of the Arts Council England with hope! So there's also hope. Always.” & Julie's Bicycle Accelerator Programme for Eleanor Kane performs on the album as ‘Ginger Creative Climate Leadership, was an early the Orangutan’, Robin Simoes da Silva as ‘Leo supporter of Climate Declares Emergency and the Snow Leopard’ and Lemuel Knights as ‘Alan is a pioneer of sustainability in the UK theatre the Elephant’. sector. Full track listing is as follows: Not The New www.mettatheatre.co.uk Normal, Miles and Miles, Do Less, Don’t Push The World Away, Now We Start https://bit.ly/2UsUYPp contactus@loopmagazine.net Magazine 79