Gansey Girl seaside statue inspires musical
Getty/Ian ForsythA writer has used a bronze statue of a young girl knitting a traditional fisherman's sweater on the seafront as inspiration for a musical.
John Slater is on the hunt for a cast for his production Girl And A Gansey.
"I created a bit of a life for our girl of the gansey, who we've called Sarah," he said.
Slater is inviting prospective cast to an open reading event on 16 August. The play, set in Bridlington during the late 1890s, will be cast in due course.
Sarah's life is bound up in the town's seafaring heritage, Slater said.
The musical will feature 10 songs, clips of which can be heard on YouTube.
The script read-through starts at 14:00 BST on Sunday 16 August in the function suite at The Sefton Hotel, Flamborough Road.
"Anybody can come along," Slater said.
"Singers, dancers, actors, people who want to help backstage, people who want to help in the theatre, hospitality, greeting, meeting people, handing out programs, selling ice creams, anything like that."
Slater is looking to cast between 20 and 24 people in the musical and asked for people to contact him if they were interested in auditioning.
Stephen Carvill's sculpture was unveiled on Bridlington's north pier in 2015.
"I like to get behind something or look through a different window, or through a different door, or from the ceiling, and this is how I'm going to look at this girl," Slater said.
The production will be staged at Bridlington's Spotlight Theatre on dates yet to be confirmed.
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