This month, Birmingham’s fringe theatre offers up an immersive production of Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical, in the studio space nestled above the Old Joint Stock pub. The show is directed by Emily Lloyd - one of the theatre’s in-house team, who is well versed in making the most of the venue’s intimate setting - and features talented break-out performers and a live band. What’s On spoke to Emily, alongside Indialily Cooper and Samuel Murray, who play the title roles, to find out more...

This October, Birmingham’s popular pub-theatre, The Old Joint Stock, presents an immersive and ambitious production of Bonnie & Clyde: The Musical, in its intimate theatre space. The production is being directed by Emily Lloyd, with Samuel Murray and Indialily Cooper playing the title characters. 

“This is my first theatre credit,” says Indialily. “I auditioned for The Mad Ones last year, so I've been here before. It felt nice to come back - and it's gone quite well!”

Samuel recently graduated from London’s Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. 

“I'm a big fan of the show,” he says. “I did it in my second year at Mountview, in a different part, so it's really fun to come back to do Clyde. Clyde's been a dream role.”

After sending in self-tapes and being recalled to the Old Joint Stock, both actors had an inkling that their auditions had gone well, and headed straight off to celebrate.

“I went to Las Iguanas down the road!” Samuel says. “They were doing two-for-one cocktails. I said, ‘Right, get me two! Get me tapas, nachos, quesadillas - this is well deserved!’”

Indialily opted for a glass of wine downstairs in the Old Joint Stock pub. “I said, You know what? I'm going to treat myself, in the building - and hope it's a good omen!”

The story of Bonnie and Clyde might be infamous, but the musical retelling has not always had an easy journey.

“It started on Broadway, but it lasted for two weeks,” explains director Emily. “It closed - it didn't hit. Then it went to the West End and absolutely smashed it - but sadly the UK tour failed halfway through.”

The Old Joint Stock, under Theatre Manager James Edge’s direction, has a track record for seeking out high-quality musicals to reimagine on the theatre’s intimate stage.

“We're always looking for the musicals that just haven't had their moment,” says Emily. “When you can look an audience in the eye,  it changes the storytelling… The second Bonnie & Clyde reappeared and was ready for licensing - so James pounced on it. 

“[The show] is gritty and honest. It's truthful. If you like a rock sound, with a bit of ‘MT’, that's what you're going to get. But also it's sexy, it's fun - it's not too political and too deep. You get the balance.” 

Productions staged in The Old Joint Stock’s intimate space have traditionally been arranged in Thrust formation - with the audience seated on three sides of the stage. On this occasion, Emily has opted for a Traverse staging, with two banks of audience seats on opposite sides of the action - with projection all around adding to the show’s immersive design.

“The designer, George, he did one of Mountview's productions last year - Into The Woods - which had incredible costumes,” Samuel recalls. “What we've seen so far is very exciting.”

And as well as innovative design, and an ambitious - and tightly under-wraps - plan for the staging of Bonnie and Clyde’s car, the production also features a live band, who are positioned upstairs in the venue’s attic. 

“A weird coincidence - our MD is called Ben Barrow, just like Clyde Barrow, so he's part of the Barrow gang,” says Emily. “And we've got three musicians, who are all from Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.”

One of Indialily’s favourite numbers is You Love Who You Love, a duet that Bonnie and her friend Blanche sing together.

“That's the time when the show gets a big breath, where it feels like time stops, and it's just them singing,” she explains. “They've got the same feelings about these two men. Throughout the show, it doesn't seem like they get on, but they're actually really similar as women and as people.”

Samuel is looking forward to singing Clyde’s powerful anthem, Raise A Little Hell: “I can't wait. I feel very lucky to be able to be doing that in front of an audience. Up to that point, we've seen a lot of the charm and the charisma of Clyde, and the cheekiness. It’s such a gift to be able to portray that, as well as hitting Raise A Little Hell - the lowest he's ever been, physically and mentally.”

As for the infamous characters themselves, Emily points out that this production is unusually accurate in its casting: “I think the most exciting thing about Bonnie and Clyde in our version is that they’re the right ages. In versions I've seen, they’re in their 30s. I thought that was their age - but they died at 23 and 25.”

Spookily enough for a production that bridges Halloween, when Bonnie first appears in the show aged 21, Indialily will match her exactly: “We open on the first of October. My 21st birthday is on the 1st of October - opening night - which is fab. What a day! And Bonnie Parker was also born on the 1st of October!”

“As a young cast and as a young director, that's who these stories should be told by,” adds Emily. “They were naive young people who made decisions because they had no choice - and that shouldn't be glamorised.”

The legend of the outlaws was no doubt helped along by the 1967 film based on the couple, which starred Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the title roles. In the musical, Indialily and Samuel are hoping to explore the complexity of the characters. 

“Bonnie pushed limits, but I think her sexiness comes from within; it's not just her exterior,” says Indialily. “She's so many different things - she can put men in their place, which was a big thing at that time.”

“I'm just so excited to explore all the emotions,” says Samuel, “and also to channel the sinister sides. I know it's weird to say I'm excited, but when else do you get the opportunity to do something like that?”

“I think Clyde is a really hard role,” adds Emily, “because he’s a mixture of a womaniser and a terrifying young man.”

In this production, the team will be welcoming, for the first time, child performers to play young Bonnie and Clyde.

“They open the show, which is a huge job for the young people,” says Emily. “They’re Midlands performers, and they're from local stage schools. I'm so excited to work with them. They are cute as anything!”

Bonnie & Clyde marks the Old Joint Stock’s most ambitious production to date, and visitors to Birmingham’s unique, intimate, inner-city pub-theatre are in for a treat. 

“I think you're going to go on an absolute rollercoaster and more,” says Emily. “You cannot be a passive audience member. You feel everything, every moment. Everyone is laughing at the same time, holding their breath at the same time, crying… That's something that's so beautiful about fringe theatre - and I think Bonnie & Clyde has all of that.”

Bonnie & Clyde shows at The Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham, from Wednesday 1 October to Sunday 2 November

By Jessica Clixby