Shrubshall & Free

Reviews

The Big Ending

“It’s nice to see a new British musical, especially one with an interesting, original central idea…‘The Big Ending’ [is] a fun, Charlie Kaufman-esque twist on the genre…The show shapes up well, with low-key performances providing a platform for the sudden moments of musical glitz and emotion and tunes that are on the adventurous side of catchy…The idea remains exciting, but if this is to go any further, writers Shrubshall & Free need to get some more money behind them.”
Kieron Quirke, Time Out Magazine, Mon Dec 4 2006

“What if your life was suddenly like a musical? With people bursting spontaneously into song at the office or slipping into slickly choreographed dance numbers in the street…? As an idea it has real potential and writers Shrubshall and Free take the premise and run with it, delivering some sharp song-writing and moments of well-pitched black comedy…it really shines, especially in a scene of raw reunion between Mel and his former girlfriend who he abandoned years before at the altar.”
Natasha Tripney, The Stage Newspaper, Nov. 2006

Around the Pond in 80 Days

“Can Phileas Frog (aided by his old friend Pass) get around the pond in 80 days? He’d better, because he has wagered his boss Fink that he can – the stake being Phil’s luxury lily pad. Phil plays fair to win the bet, but Fink doesn’t, sending the devious snake Fix along with Phil to betray him. Travelling by foot, boat and balloon, meeting dragonflies, toads, sticklebacks, newts and water rats, the intrepid adventurers face many trials and make lots of new friends, not least the beautiful Princess Phoebe.

Catchy songs, imaginative staging opportunities and numerous excellent frog jokes make this likeable, joyful musical a feast of fun for actors and audiences alike.”
Charles Vance, Amateur Stage, May 2007

“The show is full of catchy songs, imaginative and splendiferous staging…and numerous frog jokes…! Around the Pond will appeal to children and their families…This is ensemble theatre at its best.”
Lancaster Guardian

Some audience reaction from Musical Futures, Greenwich Theatre:

“Really enjoyable, great songs, dialogue, humour, and the children were well incorporated into the piece.”
“Delightful. Wonderful, humorous songs. Witty parody. Tuneful and engaging.”
“Absolutely brilliant! Funny; music was great; staging was great. The kids were great. Really fun, and good morals for kids.”

“Fantastic!!! Singing and acting were great, could not fault it.”

YEE - HAW!!

“This supremely silly show is destined to become a cult. It deserves to run and run.”
David Benedict ‘The Independent’

“A wacky parade of characters, a plot laden with surprises and very witty musical numbers…I laughed, stamped my feet and yelled with abandonment”
Time Out

“It’s a little gem…a fantastic performance from Nick Atkinson…you should rush to it.”
BBC London Live, Theatre Review“If you fancy a rip-roaring, thigh-slapping night out, then head on out to the best camp, cross-dressing Western farce that’s ventured as far east as Hoxton…The action is fast, the one-liner’s a whole lot quicker and slicker and the humour red-hot enough to fuel a cowboy’s campfire for weeks.”
Hackney Gazette

“What archetypal cowboys big John Wayne and Clint Eastwood would make of this camply comic caper I cannot guess, but its novel slant on Westerns sure do make an entertainin’ evening…! "If you like good-hearted fun, wild Westerns and line-dancing, this dizzy musical is the show for you!”
Croydon Advertiser

Click Here for full reviews published about YEE - HAW!!

Gay Poets In Mud

“Along the way, writers Peter Shrubshall and Richard Free send up The Great Escape, Pinocchio, Rudolph Valentino, the Russian Revolution, Lawrence of Arabia, Fiddler on the Roof, The Wizard of Oz and Marlene Dietrich…They are aided by a script that milks every pun and innuendo in sight, incorporates a memorably ironic celebration of British xenophobia and brings a new meaning to the phrase ‘behind you’”.
Highbury and Islington Express, 15 December 2000

"Hurrah! Peter Shrubshall and Richard Free, the splendid team behind the sublimely silly Yee-Haw!!, are back.”
David Benedict, The Independent

Article written for The Western Mail, July 2005
(by the way, it’s supposed to be tongue-in-cheek)

I hate musicals. Hate them with a vengeance. The asinine plots, the banal tunes, the preening cockiness of emoting in rhyme, the love duets, the ‘want’ songs, dream sequences, recitative, chorus lines, comic spots, character numbers and crummy encores - the whole stupid concept of ordinary people just bursting into song.

Sure, I can watch Guys and Dolls without being physically sick. West Side Story has some good melodies. The odd Sondheim is bearable. But don’t get me started on Webber – let’s not call him Lloyd-Webber as it implies a Welshness I don’t wish to credit him with – or any of the other purveyors of stale, half-baked musical fare. These folk deserve nothing better than our scorn…yet they invariably get our critical approval and our hard-earned cash. Where is the justice?

That’s why Shrubshall and I have vowed to tear this particular Playhouse – and Palladium and Palace – down. But rather than attacking from without, we have decided to mount our challenge from within. Yes, it is time to come clean: we write show tunes.

For the last 13 unlucky years, since my sister persuaded us to write an end-of-term show for St. David’s 6th Form College, we have toiled away at the trade. What can I say? We were down on our luck: Radio 4 had decided our comedy scripts were just too darn dangerous – they had characters speaking with regional accents and everything; BBC Wales had just pulled the plug on a film. We needed a gig. A musical? Sure, sis, we can do that.
It’s a rocky path and downhill all the way. You think, “This is the life – songs, sequins, showgirls!” You write a crazy, camp, cross-dressing, cowboy musical called YEE-HAW!! The Independent calls it ‘Show of the Year’, Time Out Magazine says it’s ‘the stuff that cults are made of’. Producers take you to the Groucho Club...they even return your calls.

The next show, Gay Poets In Mud, is chosen to be performed at Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre. A triumphant return home. Radio and press coverage galore. More shows, more success. Musical Futures at Greenwich Festival, finalists in the Chicago Stages festival, soirees with Sondheim. When will this heady ride stop?

Then you realise – nobody’s actually paid you anything. They love your stuff – heck everybody loves you stuff – it’s great stuff. It’s just not the kind of stuff people spend money on. Why don’t you get a show put on the West End stage starring Elaine Paige and that nice Michael Crawford off the telly? Why don’t you write a musical about the French revolution with cod-operatic songs and bathos in every line? But we write funny stories packed with ironic songs and acerbic dialogue. We don’t want to write that high-blow, overwrought tosh.So nobody pays you.

Some time later, Shrubshall and Free decide to strike back. They will write a show so lacerating it will bring the world of song and dance crashing to its knees. It’ll be called The Big Ending and will tell the story of a theatrical producer who loathes musicals yet makes tons of cash out of them. He’ll get a tumour on the brain. The tumour will make him hallucinate that everybody is bursting into song and dance. It will drive him mad and, just for the hell of it, kill him. It will be so good that it’s selected for Chicago Stages 2005 – one of the most prestigious festivals of its kind in the world.

And there we are. Our show opens in Chicago on August 12th. It’s our opportunity to do the greatest amount of damage in the home of musical theatre. We are all set. We have re-mortgaged our homes to afford the air fare. But will we be able to carry it through? Will we be seduced by the glamour? Will we abandon our principles and go, ‘an all-singing puppet version of Little House On The Prairie – we can do that’? In a musical, the protagonist would have a big, heartfelt song about doubts and fears and he’d resolve to carry it through to the end whatever the consequences…But like I say, I really hate musicals.

Free 2005

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Reviews The Big Ending “It’s nice to see a new British musical, especially one with an interesting, original central idea…‘The Big Ending’ [is] a fun, Charlie Kaufman-esque twist on the genre…The show shapes up well, with low-key performances providing a platform for the sudden moments of musical glitz and emotion and tunes that are on the adventurous side of catchy…The idea remains exciting, but if this is to go any further, writers Shrubshall & Free need to get some more money behind them.” Kieron Quirke, Time Out Magazine, Mon Dec 4 2006 “What if your life was suddenly like a musical? With people bursting spontaneously into song at the office or slipping into slickly choreographed dance numbers in the street…? As an idea it has real potential and writers Shrubshall and Free take the premise and run with it, delivering some sharp song-writing and moments of well-pitched black comedy…it really shines, especially in a scene of raw reunion between Mel and his former girlfriend who he abandoned years before at the altar.” Natasha Tripney, The Stage Newspaper, Nov. 2006 Around the Pond in 80 Days “Can Phileas Frog (aided by his old friend Pass) get around the pond in 80 days? He’d better, because he has wagered his boss Fink that he can – the stake being Phil’s luxury lily pad. Phil plays fair to win the bet, but Fink doesn’t, sending the devious snake Fix along with Phil to betray him. Travelling by foot, boat and balloon, meeting dragonflies, toads, sticklebacks, newts and water rats, the intrepid adventurers face many trials and make lots of new friends, not least the beautiful Princess Phoebe. Catchy songs, imaginative staging opportunities and numerous excellent frog jokes make this likeable, joyful musical a feast of fun for actors and audiences alike.” Charles Vance, Amateur Stage, May 2007 “The show is full of catchy songs, imaginative and splendiferous staging…and numerous frog jokes…! Around the Pond will appeal to children and their families…This is ensemble theatre at its best.” Lancaster Guardian Some audience reaction from Musical Futures, Greenwich Theatre: “Really enjoyable, great songs, dialogue, humour, and the children were well incorporated into the piece.” “Delightful. Wonderful, humorous songs. Witty parody. Tuneful and engaging.” “Absolutely brilliant! Funny; music was great; staging was great. The kids were great. Really fun, and good morals for kids.” “Fantastic!!! Singing and acting were great, could not fault it.” YEE - HAW!! “This supremely silly show is destined to become a cult. It deserves to run and run.” David Benedict ‘The Independent’ “A wacky parade of characters, a plot laden with surprises and very witty musical numbers…I laughed, stamped my feet and yelled with abandonment” Time Out “It’s a little gem…a fantastic performance from Nick Atkinson…you should rush to it.” BBC London Live, Theatre Review“If you fancy a rip-roaring, thigh-slapping night out, then head on out to the best camp, cross-dressing Western farce that’s ventured as far east as Hoxton…The action is fast, the one-liner’s a whole lot quicker and slicker and the humour red-hot enough to fuel a cowboy’s campfire for weeks.” Hackney Gazette “What archetypal cowboys big John Wayne and Clint Eastwood would make of this camply comic caper I cannot guess, but its novel slant on Westerns sure do make an entertainin’ evening…! "If you like good-hearted fun, wild Westerns and line-dancing, this dizzy musical is the show for you!” Croydon Advertiser Click Here for full reviews published about YEE - HAW!! Gay Poets In Mud “Along the way, writers Peter Shrubshall and Richard Free send up The Great Escape, Pinocchio, Rudolph Valentino, the Russian Revolution, Lawrence of Arabia, Fiddler on the Roof, The Wizard of Oz and Marlene Dietrich…They are aided by a script that milks every pun and innuendo in sight, incorporates a memorably ironic celebration of British xenophobia and brings a new meaning to the phrase ‘behind you’”. Highbury and Islington Express, 15 December 2000 "Hurrah! Peter Shrubshall and Richard Free, the splendid team behind the sublimely silly Yee-Haw!!, are back.” David Benedict, The Independent Article written for The Western Mail, July 2005 (by the way, it’s supposed to be tongue-in-cheek) I hate musicals. Hate them with a vengeance. The asinine plots, the banal tunes, the preening cockiness of emoting in rhyme, the love duets, the ‘want’ songs, dream sequences, recitative, chorus lines, comic spots, character numbers and crummy encores - the whole stupid concept of ordinary people just bursting into song. Sure, I can watch Guys and Dolls without being physically sick. West Side Story has some good melodies. The odd Sondheim is bearable. But don’t get me started on Webber – let’s not call him Lloyd-Webber as it implies a Welshness I don’t wish to credit him with – or any of the other purveyors of stale, half-baked musical fare. These folk deserve nothing better than our scorn…yet they invariably get our critical approval and our hard-earned cash. Where is the justice? That’s why Shrubshall and I have vowed to tear this particular Playhouse – and Palladium and Palace – down. But rather than attacking from without, we have decided to mount our challenge from within. Yes, it is time to come clean: we write show tunes. For the last 13 unlucky years, since my sister persuaded us to write an end-of-term show for St. David’s 6th Form College, we have toiled away at the trade. What can I say? We were down on our luck: Radio 4 had decided our comedy scripts were just too darn dangerous – they had characters speaking with regional accents and everything; BBC Wales had just pulled the plug on a film. We needed a gig. A musical? Sure, sis, we can do that. It’s a rocky path and downhill all the way. You think, “This is the life – songs, sequins, showgirls!” You write a crazy, camp, cross-dressing, cowboy musical called YEE-HAW!! The Independent calls it ‘Show of the Year’, Time Out Magazine says it’s ‘the stuff that cults are made of’. Producers take you to the Groucho Club...they even return your calls. The next show, Gay Poets In Mud, is chosen to be performed at Cardiff International Festival of Musical Theatre. A triumphant return home. Radio and press coverage galore. More shows, more success. Musical Futures at Greenwich Festival, finalists in the Chicago Stages festival, soirees with Sondheim. When will this heady ride stop? Then you realise – nobody’s actually paid you anything. They love your stuff – heck everybody loves you stuff – it’s great stuff. It’s just not the kind of stuff people spend money on. Why don’t you get a show put on the West End stage starring Elaine Paige and that nice Michael Crawford off the telly? Why don’t you write a musical about the French revolution with cod-operatic songs and bathos in every line? But we write funny stories packed with ironic songs and acerbic dialogue. We don’t want to write that high-blow, overwrought tosh.So nobody pays you. Some time later, Shrubshall and Free decide to strike back. They will write a show so lacerating it will bring the world of song and dance crashing to its knees. It’ll be called The Big Ending and will tell the story of a theatrical producer who loathes musicals yet makes tons of cash out of them. He’ll get a tumour on the brain. The tumour will make him hallucinate that everybody is bursting into song and dance. It will drive him mad and, just for the hell of it, kill him. It will be so good that it’s selected for Chicago Stages 2005 – one of the most prestigious festivals of its kind in the world. And there we are. Our show opens in Chicago on August 12th. It’s our opportunity to do the greatest amount of damage in the home of musical theatre. We are all set. We have re-mortgaged our homes to afford the air fare. But will we be able to carry it through? Will we be seduced by the glamour? Will we abandon our principles and go, ‘an all-singing puppet version of Little House On The Prairie – we can do that’? In a musical, the protagonist would have a big, heartfelt song about doubts and fears and he’d resolve to carry it through to the end whatever the consequences…But like I say, I really hate musicals. Free 2005 home