''The Sundowe'' is a musical written by

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

-based writers and performers John, James and Gerry Kielty and featuring their band The Martians. ''The Sundowe'' was entered into the "Highland Quest For A New Musical" competition in early 2006 and was announced as the winner in July 2006. It was then produced by

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "th ...

as a full stage musical, with the world premiere on 29 November 2007 at the new Eden Court Theatre in

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, Scotland. Following a three-week run at Eden Court it toured the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

in January and February 2008. The story line centres on The Martians themselves, as their street

busking Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...

is interrupted by vampires, the local council and the return of dead souls. The musical is part

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

, part pathos, and includes references to modern

Scottish politics The politics of Scotland operate within the constitution of the United Kingdom, of which Scotland is a home nation. Scotland is a democracy, being represented in both the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the Sco ...

Greyfriars Bobby Greyfriars Bobby (4 May 1855 – 14 January 1872) was a Skye Terrier or Dandie Dinmont Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh for spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner until he died on 14 January 1872. The story continu ...

, street busking and ancient

Scottish history The recorded begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the province of Britannia reached as far north as the Antonine Wall. North of this was Caledonia, inhabited by the ''Picti'', whose uprisings forced Rom ...

. It has been described as "''Shaun of the Dead'' meets ''Thriller''", and is influenced by cult science fiction such as ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' and ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

''.

Original cast

The Martians: :Rory - John Kielty :Jimmy - Gerry Kielty :Harry - Houston The Authorities: :Roothby - Crawford Logan :Madam Godwin - Cora Bissett :First Minister - Harry Ward :Singing Policeman -

Scott Garnham Scott Garnham (born 22 February 1985) is an English professional actor. Notable credits include 'Christmas on Mistletoe Farm' for ''Netflix'', ''Billy Elliot The Musical'', ''Les Misérables'', ''Made in Dagenham'' directed by Rupert Goold, an ...

Ambience Brigade: :Mr Jappy - Scott Garnham :Mr Geonst - Nick Underwood The Vampyres: :Erich - Peter Kelly :Claus - Mark McDonnell :The Queen - Anne Kidd The Prey: :Virgin - Jennifer Rhodes :Another Virgin - Tammy Joelle :Yet another Virgin - Cora Bissett The Others: :Mum - Anne Kidd :Doorman - Nick Underwood :Aiden - Scott Garnham :Girl - Jennifer Rhodes :Husband - Scott Garnham :Wife - Cora Bissett :Free Church Minister - Peter Kelly :Reporter - Jennifer Rhodes :Mr Cunningham - Mark McDonnell :Lily - Rachel Marr/ Caitlin Marr Other parts played by members of the cast.

References

External links

"The Sundowe" official site"The Martians", real life band of the authors

The Martians fansite''Daily Telegraph'' review by Mark Brown of ''The Sundowe'' at the Eden Court''Sunday Herald'' review by Mark Brown of ''The Sundowe'' at the Eden CourtHerald review of ''The Sundowe'' at Eden Court

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sundowe, The Original musicals 2007 musicals British musicals