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BBC Radio 2 Celebrates Musicals: Why did it mean so much?

I think we can all agree that 2021 has NOT got off to the best start. Despite January being the bluest month of any year, the country being put down into Lockdown 3.0, speculations that life maybe not returning until Summer at the earliest AND social distancing measures possibly being in place until the end of they year, it's no wonder this year has so far been 2020 with a moustache!

Maybe that's why the BBC decided that they would dedicate a whole weekend's schedule on one of their most popular radio stations to something that we haven't seen in a long time (well most of us haven't): theatre, specifically musical theatre. Ever since BBC Radio 2 Celebrates Musicals was announced, we all got so excited. Yes we have Elaine Paige's very popular show on a Sunday lunchtime, but a WHOLE WEEKEND of stagey content....!

What started with Vanessa Feltz and Zoe Ball with sing-along favourites lead into a special Pop Master from Ken Bruce: Jeremy Vine making my WhatsApp group speculate about the inevitable Corona musical: special versions of Sound of the 60s, 70s, 80s AND 90s: Elaine Paige counting down the nations Top 20 Songs of All Time from musical theatre AND SO MUCH MORE! All culminating in a special pre-recorded Covid-secure concert at the London Palladium: Musicals: The Greatest Show, hosted by Sheridan Smith, and featuring the West End's best voices. 

We wept at Lea Salonga, swooned over Ramin Karimloo, were bawled over by Nicole Raquel Dennis, left the room to get more snacks when Amanda Holden came on, danced along to the Queens from Six and Mamma Mia's Dynamos, and were perplexed why Michael Ball was singing You Can't Stop The Beat all on his own.....

There was so much content I couldn't fit it all in one weekend, and have been chipping away through it whilst I have been working from home. But I kept having one thought through every weepie, tap number, Disney classic and full on belter - WOW, this means a lot. 

The question is: why? Let's find out. 

Now as you know, the UK is in lockdown. Again. And I feel I need to ask my you all - how are we? 

Like many I am back to working from home (but I'm thankful I still have a job). My theatre WhatsApp group have made up a Disney film club too, working our way through an A-Z of films Disney + has to offer. I have got back to reading The Rising of the Shield Hero light novels in anticipation for Season 2 being released at some point this year (or at least a new trailer). I've tried to cook for my parents as often as I can. I've made some new friends who go to the same Church as me (or close enough). 

But while I have been trying to keep busy, this lockdown has definitely been harder for me than the other ones have. 

I've definitely been moodier, and far more frustrated than I usually have been. I've had to be really strict in the amount of time I spend on my laptop (I had a dark circle so bad the other day I looked like I'd been punched in the eye!). And at this rate, I would love nothing more than to dive into my books and join Naofumi, Raphtalia and co on their adventures.... 

And while I can only talk about my personal mental health experience as a specific example, the general picture seems to be that the nation is finding this lockdown the hardest too. Not only are we back in this AGAIN, but the Governments U-turns about Christmas and schools has set a lot of people's health backwards. And what's not helping is their current ad campaign, which even for a 28 year old, is scary enough that you feel tetchy when you have to go to the supermarket for your essential shop..! 

In fact, 54% of the UK population felt anxious or worried in the 2 weeks before Christmas; and it's predicted that 10 million of us will need some form of mental health support due to the pandemic. 

We've seen loads of studies on why music benefits mental health but linking it back to theatre specifically, did you know that even watching a sad show can make you, dare I say cheerful?

Allow me to explain. Say you're watching Les Mis for the 52nd time - your brain releases endorphins as a way to counteract what you're seeing on stage and TRY to cheer you up. And if you're watching a musical comedy, of course, even better. Shows such as The Book of Mormon, The Producers or 9 to 5 provide enough laughter to produce a whole bottle of medicine. 

And all that mulch is leading me onto one thing that musicals make us feel - joyful! What's better than starting out the day by belting out Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at full volume while making breakfast? Or what better way to cheer yourself up than dancing to the Time Warp?

And the folks tuning into Radio 2 certainly agree with that. 

"I've loved waking up to Defying Gravity" one listener messaged into Zoe Ball's show on the Friday morning. "Working home alone, it has really lifted my spirits" said another. 

With just a few tunes, they can take someone away from their own troubles for a few minutes: take them into a different world, a different time, and bring back happy memories with loved ones. And most importantly, they can Tap Your Troubles Away (as the song from Mack and Mabel goes). 

For the next point, I have to get political....

I've already mentioned the ad campaign and certain people putting on the brakes over things, but let's just say the way this pandemic has been handled..... it's not been the best has it?

Now I am not going to go over and analyse every single thing good or bad that the people elected to look after our country have done. A) because we'd be here all day, and B) because I'm no Laura Kuenssberg. But I do have to mention two factors have had political impact:

Funding, and attitude. 

Firstly with funding for our arts venues, we had to FIGHT for it. And I mean troll Oliver Dowden's Twitter every day with THEATRE THEATRE THEATRE etc for about a month or two. My theatre friends and I even put our own video together. This was until the funding package was released in late June/early July, for £1.57 billion. But for some venues such as the Leicester Haymarket, it was already too late. There are many different reports and speculation in how much has actually been used so far, as well as to whether it's only going to the big boys rather than the little man too.

But there's also the people involved. Sure the furlough scheme has helped those in part time or full time contracted work, but it has meant that self employed people have fallen through the cracks, which covers the majority of actors, musicians and backstage crew. 

And then we get to Autumn 2020. When this happens:

Source: Government scraps ballet dancer reskilling ad criticised as 'crass' | Culture | The Guardian

Now the already peeved off community was ENRAGED when this picture was posted as part of a Government advert campaign, giving out a not-so-great message. It may not have been a red-hot campaign, but the timing of it re-surfacing on social media was BAD. Because it gave the whole of creative industries the impression that what they did for a living, their passion, and what paid their taxes, was suddenly not viable; or bluntly put not wanted. 

And this was not just the theatre industry, but ALL creative industries: Dance, Drama, Art, Comedy, Music, Creative Writing and more. PLUS it also reached the Events industry (so as someone who works in the Wedding Industry, these adverts made me doubly mad). 

Even the photographer was furious that her work had been used for a campaign like that! 

No wonder the Government pulled it and tried to toss it aside like a used sock....

So for a whole industry out of work, not being able to earn for over a year, on top of being told that they're not worth any contribution; having the BBC dedicate a whole weekend to this industry has been a way to tell performers the complete opposite. Its a very public way for us audiences to say thank you to everyone involved onstage and off. And to stick two fingers up to anyone who says otherwise. 

Michael Ball said it best here: "You will be needed on that stage to do what you were born to do and we will value you more than ever." 

This special weekend has offered that bit of hope that everyone will be back, and the show will indeed go on. 

The final point is the awareness it brings. BBC Radio 2 is known as "the station of the nation" - for a prolific station such as them to focus a whole weekend on the industry we love is HUGE. They have now opened the conversation on a national scale and they have highlighted the questions the community has been asking since last March. 

But it's not just that. It's that so many more artists have been given more recognition than they would have had otherwise. Not many people for example will have heard of names such as Nicole Raquel Dennis and Sam Tutty, but the concert was an opportunity to change that. 

Even before this monumental weekend, there is a classic example of this. When Marisha Wallace released her version of Annie's Tomorrow, Radio 2 championed her from then on: her album appeared on their Playlist, which lead to her singing a solo on Strictly, having HER song being covered on the final of The Voice, and appearing on the Royal Variety Performance. In the space of a few months, she went from Musical Theatre favourite, to Mainstream Artist!

Throughout all the weekend, Radio 2 was inundated with personal stories related to experiences with a certain song or going to the theatre. And it's little wonder. 

What BBC Radio 2 Celebrates Musicals offers us is joy, hope and recognition for a whole industry. 

Theatre isn't all light and frothy. But theatre is immersive. It takes us to another world, to another culture; it's joyful, it's moving, it's exciting, it's riveting, it's human. 

I think the reason it has meant so much to me and the community that I am a part of (even though I'm just a fan who likes to write about it), is that it has brought a smile to our faces and has given us the hope we needed that we will be back together again soon eating an overpriced ice cream. 

All I have to say is thank you, thank you THANK YOU to everyone at BBC Radio 2. For keeping the nations spirits high; for reminding the industry how vital they are; and for bringing our community to the national forefront. 

This will not be forever. We will be back; we will meet; we will sing and dance and clap and cheer. And we will need it more than ever. 

Source: wizard of oz gravity GIF by London Theatre Direct - Find & Share on GIPHY

Click here to listen to all of BBC Radio 2 Celebrates Musicals content on the BBC Sounds App

The Musicals: The Greatest Show concert will also be available to watch on BBC 1 at 7.40pm and on BBC iPlayer. 

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