Looking to parody, and champion, the 80’s soundtrack and sequence of Stranger Thing; Stranger Sings! is an award-winning, smash hit new musical. Damian Robinson caught up with Verity Power, playing Joyce in the show, to find out more.
Congratulations on the show Verity, it seems really popular and is gaining many awards and shows.
Thank you, we’re really proud of the show. I think what we’ve been able to do with the show is to create a really inclusive, fun, event with something for everyone. I think we managed to achieve a 3-month sell-out run in London and now we’re about to do a nationwide UK tour which is really exciting.
The London shows look like they’ve been really well received
I think they have, yes, we’ve had lots of people really enjoying the show and having fun and a good time.
In terms of the show is there much you can tell us, or is the plot closely guarded?
Well it’s based on Stranger Things of course, and mostly on the first season though there’s elements of other seasons in the show. But it’s more than a Stranger Things tribute, it’s filled with great songs and dances so it becomes a really interesting show as a standalone piece. You certainly don’t need to have seen Stranger Things to enjoy the show – it might help- but this is a show trying to make real connections and be an enjoyable performance.
And the main time line is the 80s?
It is, so it’s got lots of 80s styled pop songs, and 80s dancing, as well as lots of mullets and 80s stylings. In that sort of setting the musical elements of the show works really well; you can imagine the types of songs and dances you can do in that 80s synth pop type of entertainment.
You’re touring the UK including dates at The Sage, are you looking forward to playing in the North East?
I really am, I’m from Glasgow and I’ve heard that Newcastle and Gateshead are very similar to Glasgow in terms of an excited audience looking to have fun and a good time. If people are up for enjoying themselves then I’m sure they’ll enjoy the show. We’re really excited to be touring the show right across the UK and it’s the kind of musical that seems to make people smile, so it’ll be great to see different reactions in different venues.
Stranger Sings plays The Sage Gateshead on the 2nd and 3rd November.