Salmonella

Spring 2002 Nottingham Playhouse

Score available from ‘Science on Stage’

This was the first musical in which we used entirely live music, the previous shows had all been done from a pre-recorded backing tape. The backing tape has many advantages, the dancers can rely on length and tempo, you can be confident of the general quality, noone misses their entry and the directors can concentrate on the singing and dancing. There is no doubt that live music brings a performance to a whole new level, even if there is a price to be paid by the nerves.

Salmonella is dance musical which takes a candid and revealing look at the bug through the bathroom window and the microscope. The audience will witness the agents and soldiers of the immune system pit themselves against the aggressor slugging it out in the body of a careworn but doughty old miner following a dodgy teatime.

There are many different styles from country and western as our hero Mr Gripes (a Nottingham miner, no less) as he goes round to his daughter, Sharon, for tea, through sing along in the faecal coliform song (I like poo) to decadent blues in the antibody song

The picture shows the phagocytes in white closing in on the weakened and tagged salmonella bugs for a final reckoning..the prop at the front hints at the outcome

Don’t forget to wash your hands or you too could enact this story.

The full programme for Salmonella can be downloaded here:

Salmonella