As new World War I musical The Dreamers prepares to come to the St James Theatre, its creators Gina Georgio and James Beeny share the tale of its journey to the London stage:
It all started in the autumn of 2013, when we were writing a song for our band Virgin Soldiers.
We had chosen to write lyrics about a war hero and while searching online we stumbled across the moving story of a little-known WWI soldier, David Reginald Salomons. His name was instantly recognisable to us. One year earlier our band had played a gig at the Salomons Estate in Tunbridge Wells; a venue that, 100 years ago, had been his family home.
Reggie, as he was known to his friends and family, was an officer in the Kent Fortress Royal Engineers. He led his regiment to the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915, where he and his men were involved in a tragic accident. His outstanding courage and heroism saved the lives of many. After looking deeper into his story we realised that one song just couldn’t do it justice.
We gave up our day jobs, shut ourselves away for three months and wrote our first musical.
We began composing songs and melodies, and researched the First World War extensively before writing the lyrics, script and storyline. Like many true war stories, Reggie’s tale has both a sense of adventure and tragedy; it was perfect for the stage.
We wanted a minimalistic set, to leave the visual side of war to the audience’s imagination and allow the full power of the soldiers’ emotions, and those of the families they left behind, to be conveyed by the songs.
We were continuously moved and inspired by the personal accounts found in letters and diaries. As the creative process evolved, we started to look at our own friends and families and tried to imagine them going through the same hardships and atrocities.
During our research, we came across Siegfried Sassoon’s poem Dreamers, in which he writes: “Soldiers are dreamers; when the guns begin/ They think of firelit homes, clean beds, and wives”. On reading this, we knew we had found our title.
The Dreamers was staged for the first time at the Assembly Hall Theatre in Tunbridge Wells last October. Following four successful performances, we were invited to transfer the production to the St James Theatre, where the show will receive its London debut this summer.
Our musical is performed by a cast of 22 young men and women who are joined on stage by Virgin Soldiers. The story is narrated by on-screen appearances from Amanda Redman, Christopher Beeny, Tim Rice, Philip Glenister and other special guests.
One man’s tale of comradeship and sacrifice has taken us on an unexpected journey, and we feel very privileged to be sharing Reggie’s story on the London stage.
At a time when people worldwide are commemorating the events of 100 years ago, The Dreamers pays tribute to a lost generation whose dreams were swept away.
The Dreamers plays at the St James Theatre from 30 June to 11 July. You can book tickets through the theatre’s website.