IT began with a musical about Scotland’s national poet inspired by Michael Jackson. Now the creator of Robert Burns The Musical is turning to Charles Dickens for the second part of the trilogy.
Scottish writer and director Tish Tindall, who worked with Hollywood producer David Gest to bring Burns to the stage, will launch a new show in June this year based on the life of nineteenth century author Dickens.
Like the Burns' musical, it aims to bring his work into the modern age and to a wider audience – with the character of Dickens dressed as a rocker rather than a staid Victorian.
Tindall said: “The trilogy is based upon the fact I found out Abraham Lincoln had the busts of three writers in his home – one was Robert Burns, one was Charles Dickens and one was William Shakespeare. What I’ve tried to do is find ways of linking these gentlemen.
“The show is about the man, more than his works. It will have quite a bit to do with the fact Charles Dickens went to America to lecture on the abolition of slavery.
“It will also be based upon a lot of his letters which reveal, for example, that he was an actor and directed and produced theatre – and even performed for Queen Victoria.”
The concept of Robert Burns the Musical grew from songs produced in 1993 by Gest and Jackson which were adapted from the Bard’s poems.
Many were created to be part of a live stage musical directed by Hollywood legends Gene Kelly and Anthony Perkins, but the project was put on hold after both men died.
Tindall teamed up with Gest to bring the show to life after being put in touch by their mutual manager, with the cast drawn from students at the Rock Academy performing arts school in Lossiemouth, which she co-owns.
She is planning to preview Dickens The Musical to secondary schools on 9th June, the anniversary of the author’s death, before taking it to the Edinburgh Fringe alongside Robert Burns The Musical in August.
Tindall is also working on the final show based on Shakespeare and said the aim was to have all three of the main characters having a “pretty iconic look.”
“Charles Dickens will be a rocker,” she said. “He will be the type of guy everybody loved – boys would want to be him and girls would want to love him.”
Tindall also revealed she had been approached by a documentary maker with plans for a television show to chart how the trilogy began.
"It would be looking at Michael Jackson’s interest in Robert Burns and how on earth that linked to us to start writing something in Lossiemouth,” she said. “And it will also hopefully follow us on a journey to Los Angeles.
“We have so many countries interested in having Robert Burns The Musical go there and it is really all about timing.
“But with the links with Michael Jackson and David Gest – I really feel it needs to go to Los Angeles first.”
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