Matthew Bugg talks about his scandalous story of burlesque, blackmail and bombshells...

A writer, composer, producer, director, musician, actor and dancer, the multi-talented Matthew Bugg is the mastermind behind the modern hit musical Miss Nightingale, which flies into Coventry's Belgrade Theatre on its fifth and final UK tour in February. 

Set in the dark days of the Second World War, the show tells the tale of an unlikely collaboration between a cabaret singing sensation and a Polish refugee songwriter, delving into the latter's illicit same-sex love affair with an upper-class impresario. 

“Before Miss Nightingale, I hadn't done much musical theatre,” admits Matthew. “I find that a lot of it doesn't really excite me - it can be very predictable and often doesn't engage your brain enough. I wanted to challenge people's expectations of what musicals could be by combining the best bits of musical theatre - the fantastic show tunes, the wit and the humour - with a really strong, surprising story, and I think with Miss Nightingale we've achieved that. This is a show which makes people cry with laughter one moment and moves them to tears the next.”

Creating a challenging, thought-provoking story with sufficient depth involved extensive research into the war period and the real-life situations people faced. As the horror of war and totalitarian regimes created a climate of fear, homosexuality was considered dangerous and unpatriotic, and women's social roles changed dramatically while sons and husbands were away from home fighting. 

For those interested in finding out more about the history behind the musical, Bugg and his Marketing Director partner, Toby Oliver, have compiled a range of brilliant 
resources. These are accessible via the Miss Nightingale website and include images, videos, articles and lists of recommended books and films.

“My husband Toby and I run the company together, and his approach to theatre is very much a research-based one, with an academic validation for everything we do. His first degree was in English and Drama, and then he went on to do an MA at RADA. It was great having him on board because he'd always be questioning me and making really insightful points about historical accuracy. Providing that information for those who want it is a really important part of what we're trying to do in terms of demonstrating that there can be much more to musical theatre than people often think.”

Toby's family were also an invaluable resource, having fled to Britain just before the outbreak of war.
“George's story is similar to what happened to members of Toby's family. They were all either German or Czechoslovakian Jews who were fortunate enough to get out before people started being sent to concentration camps. They've been to see the show and they absolutely love it.”
Since making its first outing as a small, studio-theatre production in 2011, Miss Nightingale has evolved considerably, with changes not only to cast and crew but also to the shape of the show itself.

“Originally there were only three actors and a separate band, so the biggest change is that we've now got a company of six performers who are all actor-musicians. There's also been a lot of restructuring. In total there have been about thirty-five songs written, and only about twenty-two of them are in the current version, four of which are new. I think this illustrates the level of rigour we're approaching it with, and that's probably partly why it's doing so well.” 

That rigour and drive for perfection sees Bugg take on multiple roles within the company: in addition to composing the music, writing the libretto, producing and serving as musical director, he also plays multiple instruments and has a small 
acting part. “I play Harry, who’s the brother of the lead character. He's a northern, working class lad who’s come home on leave and is looking for a good time. He's got some really mucky one-liners, and it's great fun to play a part where almost every single line gets a laugh from the audience. But it's a very small part - he's only in one scene - which is good, because I think I would’ve struggled to juggle a bigger one with everything else!”

Interestingly, for Bugg, juggling these responsibilities isn't about trying to retain full control of the project. If anything, he says, it allows for a greater level of input from the rest of the team.
“It's a huge workload, but we have a great support network behind us, and I think it brings a real clarity of focus to the project. Because the pool of people working on the show is very small, we're able to be very collaborative. Listening to each other becomes quite easy when you've only got a small number of people to listen to, so everyone can have a say on everything, and we're still able to drive things forward quickly and efficiently.”

If Bugg makes big demands of himself, his expectations of the cast are equally high. Every performer in the show must be able to dance, play instruments and sing as well as act. Perhaps surprisingly, for this tour at least, they've had few problems filling every role.

“We had very long shortlists. It was hard when we first started and no one really knew what we were doing, but since 2013, we've been inundated with people wanting to work with us - partly because they liked what we were doing but also because word got round the industry that we had this very collaborative way of working. From then on, we've had the absolute pick of the crop, and this year we've got a really impressive cast, all with very different levels of experience. For Connor O'Kane (George), this is his first big job after 
leaving college, but he's just astonishing, whereas Clara Darcy (Maggie/Miss Nightingale) is a very experienced actor-musician who’s had a lot of lead roles - she was previously in Propaganda Swing at the Belgrade.”

Bugg hopes that his radical approach will encourage both audiences and new creators to think about the musical genre differently.

“We want this to be a show that appeals to people who already go to musicals, but equally, if you're the sort of person who doesn't normally like them, we hope that this might be the one to change your mind. We do have audience members saying that all the time - often people who've been dragged along to see it by their partners have ended up really enjoying it. “We're now the most successful original British musical for the last decade. If you look at other popular musicals, they're all based on pre-existing works. I like to think we're the vanguard of a new movement 
of people who’re trying to rediscover what the British musical can be.”

Miss Nightingale The Musical shows at the Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, from Tues 9 to Sat 13 February. More information about the show and its history can be found at missnightingale.co.uk