Moray entertainment: Robert Burns the Musical by Tish Tindall and the Lossiemouth Entertainment Academy set to be filmed
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A musical substantially re-written by a Moray musician at the request of producer David Gest is to be filmed for online streaming.
Tish Tindall from Lossiemouth is set to have a fresh performance of 'Robert Burns the Musical' caught on camera.
The results will be available to watch at Hogmanay and beyond on the stream.theatre site.
Tish, who's the co-owner of the Lossie Entertainment Academy, said: "Robert Burns has been incredibly influential in shaping the world we live in.
"Along with 'Happy Birthday' the most popular song in the world is 'Auld Lang Syne'.
"And besides Christopher Columbus and Queen Victoria there are probably more statues of Robert Burns than any other global figure.
"Through the musical we want to help spread that influence now and into the future."
Gest, who was once married to Liza Minnelli, was a childhood friend of pop legend Michael Jackson.
During the 1990s Jackson offered him the use of his family's recording studio to put together the original version of the musical.
'Red Red Rose', as it was then known, featured songs adapted from a dozen of Burns' best loved poems.
The original musical was performed for potential Hollywood backers.
In addition, it was staged in Denmark, with the lead role being taken by John Barrowman, who later went on to find fame in Dr Who.
Gest resurrected the idea in 2014, by which time he was living in the UK, having appeared in the TV show 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!'
He approached Tish to re-write Red Red Rose.
Now called Robert Burns The Musical, the production was staged to a warm reception at Elgin Town Hall in 2015.
Gest was originally due to play a small cameo role as Tam O’ Shanter but dropped out due to health reasons and clashing commitments.
He subsequently died in 2016.
The fresh performance will be recorded in November at Silverbox Studios in Newbury.
Along with 15 cast members from the Lossiemouth Entertainment Academy, two West End regulars will also be in the production.
The first is Caroline Maitland who's appeared in Woman in White, Miss Saigon, Ghost and Annie.
The other is Harriet Thorpe, who's been in Les Misérables, Mamma Mia! and Wicked, plus the TV shows Absolutely Fabulous and The Brittas Empire.
Robert Burns the Musical will be available to watch on Stream.Theatre throughout the month of January.
