Guest Blog: Hannah Jessica Limb Chats Online Musical, ASTROM CLUB

Introducing Astrom Club, an animated musical that focuses primarily on LGBTQIA+ issues, created by twenty-year-olds Hannah Jessica Limb and Hannah Belle McAleer respectively. Slowly rising to the spotlight, it is undeniable that Astrom Club has become the topic of many talks; but why?

With a naked eye, it is undeniable that the show is aesthetically pleasing, however, is there a deeper sociological message hidden in the show? Creator, Hannah Jessica Limb provides an insight.

Astrom Club was originally intended to be a live stage show to be submitted as Hannah's final piece of work for her third year of University. However, COVID-19 stopped these plans in their track, and with some brainstorming, Hannah came up with the alternative: an animated musical with no creative limits.

When questioned about the inspiration behind the show, Hannah replied, "The main goal when creating this musical was to give a voice to communities that have been oppressed and silenced by the media, Astrom Club serves as a platform for these communities to be heard and remind them they're not alone."

Further, Limb elaborates that, "As a bisexual woman, my sexuality is often depicted in the media as a phase or worse, is sickeningly over-sexualised; Astrom Club serves as a piece of virtual media to help with the deconstruction of such negative stereotypes."

During the research process of the creation of this musical, Limb discovered something shocking. Looking at statistics published by the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (AAPAC) figures show that Broadway has been monopolised by white actors and directors alike for the past seven seasons; "accounting for somewhere around 80% of roles, a ratio that has seen little fluctuation over time."

Seeing this, Hannah wanted to make a change by writing a musical that revolves around a series of characters that come from an abundance of ethnicities, races, sexualities, backgrounds and genders to really dedicate and create a platform for those communities that aren't equally represented.

The world is going through a period of social change, yet Broadway seems to be making little progress; and whilst some shows are beginning to cast more diversely, and more shows are being produced that follow stories of minority communities, it still isn't enough.

When discussing diversity, we must also address gender diversity; research produced from ProductionPro, "87% of Broadway directors this season were male." Whilst there is a clear gender imbalance on Broadway; Astrom Club was written and created entirely by a team of women/individuals who identify as gender fluid.

Astrom Club premieres next year on social media

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