The story so far

So far we have raised over £19,000 to begin to bring this amazing story to the stage.

All Things Bright and Beautiful is a gently provocative new musical. It is based on the real story of the elderly women who run a failing Congregationalist chapel in a tiny village in rural England, and the pole fitness group who hire their Sunday School hall.

It's all moved really fast and we have managed to assemble an incredible team of West End creatives and a brilliant cast for our two week workshop in London in September.

We have some really exciting industry names and theatres coming along to the sharing at the end of the 2 weeks and we need to make it the best it can possibly be. This is our chance to put the show so far in front of the people who can help us make it happen.

Why we need your help

We have raised the money to pay for the rehearsals, cast and creative team for our two week workshop. Because of the interest in the show from some big names in theatre, we have had to up the game and bring in a casting director, an extra cast member, an assistant director, and pay to hold London auditions and have raised the funds for this too, thanks to some brilliant individuals.

We now just need to raise enough money to be able to film the sharing to send to producing partners who have requested to see it, and to pay for a rehearsal pianist. This is a total cost of £1,900 so your help would get us much closer to making this happen. Any money we raise over the £750 would be amazing and just means that we have to do less fundraising elsewhere and can spend more time focusing on the show.

We really really appreciate any support you can give.

About the show

All Things Bright and Beautiful is a gently provocative new musical, based on the real story of a failing Congregationalist chapel in a tiny village in South West England.

The dwindling congregation of 6 elderly women have rented out their Sunday school hall to a local pole fitness class, partly because they need funds to maintain their crumbling buildings, and partly because they’re free-thinking religious radicals.

Worshipping collaboratively without a minister, the congregation have met weekly for almost 90 years. Over the past 4 years the pole instructor has turned the underused Sunday School into the centre of a buzzing community of pole fitness enthusiasts. The older women have had a go on the poles themselves, and once even held a wake around them. However, people in the village have strong opinions about what they think pole dancing is, about parking and plenty of other things.

The conflicts and similarities between the two groups of women and the villagers are told through song, pole dance and church music, in an exploration of the changing nature of faith, rural Britain and the communities in which we live.

The creative team

Produced by Sarah Blowers and Christina Poulton

Writer/ Director: Finn Beames

Young Vic, London Sinfonietta, Aldeburgh Music

Musical Director: Martin Lowe

Tony, Grammy and Olivier Award winner, Once, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, War Horse, Jerry Springer The Opera

Movement Director: Imogen Knight

Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour, National Theatre's Amadeus, Royal Court's Nuclear War