Director 'comes home' with new Hitchcock musical

A world-famous director said he was excited to premiere his new musical in his home city.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents - The Musical is directed by John Doyle, who lives in Wells, Somerset, and is behind numerous productions on both sides of the Atlantic.

Hitchcock's 1950s TV series featured one-off tales of suspense and My Doyle said he attempted to capture some of that intrigue in his theatre performance, which is being staged at Theatre Royal Bath.

Mr Doyle said: "This has never been done before, so the audience is going to tell us a great deal on what works and what doesn't."

He added that the TV episodes were intermingled, so the show is like watching a puzzle on stage.

Scarlett Strallen who has played Mary Poppins in London and New York is starring in the production.

Mark Meadows, who is also appearing in performance, said he loves being able to perform in the city he grew up in.

"My dad was in the Bath Operatic Drama Society (BODS) - he used to do all of the tenor roles," he said.

"So, my brother and I used to come here as kids.

"I went to school in Bath and I'm now back living in Frome."

Mr Doyle said a new musical is "always its own beast", but has described the overall process as "a lot of fun".

The director said the "sensibility, irony and humour" in Hitchcock's episodes are "British at the core" and said the theatre production is the same.

"Bath has the perfect theatre for it. It has real atmosphere to it.

"I know this area quite well - it feels like coming home," Mr Doyle added.

The show runs until 12 April.

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