Ivor and I: A New Musical Celebrates the Life of Old Boy Ivor Novello
The name of Ivor Novello is familiar to most of us because of the Ivor Novello awards. Many are aware that he was one of Britain's most popular entertainers in the period during and after the First World War. Yet how many of us associated him with Magdalen College School? After enjoying a spectacular performance of a new musical written about his life by one of the school's history masters, Alex Thomas, we can now say we know a great deal more. The show opens with Novello as a chorister at MCS. It follows his breakneck career and tempestuous private life through the rigours of the First World War and into the roaring '20s.
The production was a joy to watch, a suitably extravagant, flamboyant and touching tribute to one of the school's most illustrious alumni. There were strong performances from all the cast, catchy tunes (Novello, we discover, loved his tunes), great costumes and sets, wonderful dance numbers... It delighted the audiences, who demanded encores and departed humming and buzzing with enthusiasm.
Congratulations must go to Alex Thomas for creating such an extraordinary production, but also to rising star Tom Attenborough, who directed the show, and to all the talented pupils involved on stage and behind the scenes. We avidly await the show's transfer to the West End!
The show was previewed in the Oxford Times (23rd June) and a review can be found here; you can listen to an interview with the writer and director via iPlayer on Radio Oxford (go to 1:41). Alex Thomas also wrote about his motivation for writing the show, which you can read here.