Full Cast Announced for FAT TONGUE at Riverside Studios

Award-winning production company FLENGWIN are back, and this time they're developing a brand-new musical at Riverside Studios in July 2023.

FAT TONGUE is a gig-theatre-pop-rock musical exploring identity, healing through music and growing up in the West Midlands. Following a lonely teenager who overcomes a debilitating stammer through singing and writing music, the piece explores themes of trauma, death and friendship.

"It's for people who have ever felt outside of the curve, and wanted to belong or haven't wanted to belong. It's for those who are trying to work it out..."

The semi-autobiographical piece is directed by Christa Harris (Back To The Future, Les Enfants Terribles) and is written and performed by Dylan Wynford.

Wynford - with support from director Christa Harris and Creative Producer Joe Rose - will undergo a rigorous development process for this new piece of theatre. The piece will be workshopped at Riverside Studios in advance of two work in progress sharing's on 28th and 29th July.

Joining the cast are Brenock O'Connor (Sing Street, Alex Rider) and Jacob Loveman (A Christmas Carol, The Jungle Book) and Olivia Arnold (Peter Pan, Pride In London).

Watch an exclusive acoustic performance of the title number from Fat Tongue below.

Wynford, whose work has featured at The Other Palace, Bush Theatre and Iris Theatre, is a non-binary creative from the Midlands. They said;

"I've been a writer for about 9 years now, and I think FAT TONGUE has always been at the back of my head. It centres upon all of the themes I've explored over the past 9 years. It's about identity, music, grief, friendship - and I'm going through a period of my life where all those themes are prevalent and I want to explore them more. FAT TONGUE does that.

If you're a person who grew up in love with music, any kind of music, if you joined a band, or learnt an instrument, or had a great group of friends - through music or otherwise - you should come and see it. It's for people who have ever felt outside of the curve, and wanted to belong or haven't wanted to belong. It's for those who are trying to work it out.

I'm looking forward to working with some amazing creatives; some old ones, some new ones. I've been playing some of the songs in the show for a long time - the oldest song in the show I wrote when I was 15 - and it's going to be amazing to hear it with a fresh pair of ears and a new context."

It's all about the process. These sharing's will be presented as work in progress, giving audiences a first look into the project, the material and the process it has undertaken so far.

Audiences will be encouraged to have their voice heard, to ask questions and to feedback their thoughts on the sharing and material presented. This is, of course, optional - you may just want to observe, listen and enjoy.

Wynford added: "There's been an eye on the detail, and we've taken time to make sure everything is ironed out properly. A lot of praise needs to go to flengwin. They're a real force of nature in getting shows together in a kind and caring way.

And now we're providing an opportunity to see a show at its earliest stage, which is a really cool and amazing thing. To see a show that may be huge in a few years' time - to say you saw it in its third draft - when it was a bunch of actors and dreamers in school uniforms at Riverside Studios.

For anyone who loves theatre, who loves musicals, who loves process - it's a cool thing, and it's worth coming along to be a part of FAT TONGUE's journey."

Tickets are available from £6.50.

For more information and to book your tickets, https://www.flengwin.com/fat-tongue.

FAT TONGUE is presented by FLENGWIN, a creative workhouse that produces ambitious projects with brilliant humans. We co-create work that responds to the world around us, that is authentic, and is driven by change. You can find out more by visiting flengwin.com.

(Tickets: £10 full price, £6.50 concessions)

Creatives

Dylan Wynford - Writer and Performer
Christa Harris - Director
Bobby Standley - Technical Director
Alex Parker - Musical Supervisor
Joe Rose - Producer

Cast

Dylan Wynford - FT
Brenock O'Connor - SCOTT / MUSIC TEACHER
Jacob Loveman - DARIUS / DR. TINDALL / OLLIE
Olivia Arnold - BECKY / MR HULL / DAD

FLENGWIN would like to thank Charles Hoar, JBR, Becca Luter, Jada Addo, Josh Beaumont, Stage One, In Good Company and Theatre Deli for their support.

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