ALL OR NOTHING, a Mod Musical about the legendary English band The Small Faces, will play in London at The Vaults Theatre, Waterloo from 31st March to 30th April 2016.
ALL OR NOTHING tells the exciting, poignant, and bittersweet tale of Kenney Jones, Ian McLagan, Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott; four charismatic young kids from East London with humour, attitude, passion and above all talent. The Small Faces were rocketed into the big time only to discover the path to fantastic success is heaving with exploitation, corruption, betrayal and ultimately tragedy.
Their journey in the music business is as vivid and colourful as their music. And theirs is a legacy which lives on – raw and soulful music which inspired a whole new generation of stars including Paul Weller and The Jam, Oasis, Blur, The Verve, Ocean Colour Scene, and The Arctic Monkeys. Not to mention millions of fans.Telling the rollercoaster story of The Small Faces, ALL OR NOTHING celebrates the unique sound of the iconic Mod band. The musical is packed full of all the timeless hits, including the brilliant Whatcha Gonna Do About It, Tin Soldier, Lazy Sunday, Here Comes the Nice, Itchycoo Park and of course All or Nothing.
In 1964, a new phenomenon exploded on to the dingy British streets. It was the essence of all that was cool. It was Mod. Mods stuck two fingers up at the class-ridden society and its dull redundant culture. They were working-class free spirits who rode sexy streamlined Italian Vespas or Lambrettas.
The sharpest Mod of all was known as a ‘face’. The Small Faces encapsulated all that is Mod, a unique blend of taste and testosterone, neat, clothes obsessed, and streetwise. But these cult sophisticates shared another passion, their dedication to ‘Rhythm and Blues.’
ALL OR NOTHING was tried out in 2013 in Brighton to critical acclaim featuring PP Arnold, Mollie Marriott, Chris Farlowe and Danny Dyer, who said, “All Or Nothing’ has got it all; Drama, pathos, humour and style. Not to mention brilliant music!”
The show is written by Carol Harrison, who also stars, an award-winning actress and writer, well known for her theatre and TV work. Carol is probably best known as the exciting, fiery and passionate Louise Raymond in Eastenders. The storyline between her and son-in-law Grant Mitchell gripped the nation and it was for this storyline that Eastenders won the BAFTA for ”Best Soap” for the first time. For seven years she played the incorrigible Gloria in the popular series Brushstrokes, and also starred opposite Ray Winstone as sassy Loretta in the comedy series Get Back. She also starred as Dorothy in two series of London’s Burning. Her latest TV movie Martha, Jac a Sianco for S4C won six BAFTA awards.
All or nothing the Mod musical
ALL OR NOTHING is directed by BAFTA winner Tony McHale, a renowned writer and director for television, with hundreds of hours of screen credits to his name. These include Murphy’s Law, Waking the Dead, Silent Witness, Dangerfield, Eastenders, Boon as well as his own international award-winning five hour television thriller made by London Films for the BBC, Resort to Murder, winner of the Cologne Film and Television Festival. He co-created the BBC hospital drama Holby City for which he won a BAFTA for Best Continuing Drama and was until recently the programme’s Executive Producer and Series Consultant.
The show is sponsored by Ben Sherman, and is endorsed and supported by many of those who feature in its story. There will be Snap Gallery exhibition starting in March at The Vaults.
The 176 seat Vaults Theatre is part of The Vaults – a multi-disciplinary arts space buried deep in the tunnels underneath Waterloo station. The Vaults looks for new work and theatre companies which push the boundaries, are brave, exciting and challenging.
LISTINGS INFORMATION
31 March to 30 April 2016
Press Night 7.30pm on Thursday 7 April
Performances: Tuesday – Saturday 7.30pm
Saturday and Sunday Matinees at 3.00pm
Tickets from £20
the-vaults.org