New musical Cells starring Clive Rowe to be released next month

A new musical, Cells, starring Clive Rowe and Lem Knights, will be released as a film next month.

Developed and recorded entirely during lockdown by writer/director P Burton-Morgan and composer Ben Glasstone, the show will be streamed via partner venues the Royal and Derngate, Northampton, Queen's Theatre Hornchurch and the Stephen Joseph in Scarborough.

Produced by Metta Theatre, it will be released episodically daily from 19 April, with the full film available from 26 April. The cast recording will be released on Spotify and other platforms.

According to press material, "Alan Bennett meets The Streets in this tender and uplifting new work, giving voice to the lives of two everyday blokes."

Clive Rowe is an Olivier Award-winner whose stage credits include Guys and Dolls, The Light Princess, The Ladykillers and Kiss Me, Kate, as well as starring in multiple pantos at the Hackney Empire.

Lem Knights has appeared in School of Rock, Billionaire Boy and Pricilla Ragtime.

P Burton-Morgan, who won the 2020 Writers Guild of Great Britain Award for musical theatre book writing for In the Willows, said: "It's been a wild adventure creating a music video musical for this brave new world of 'digital theatre' in which
we find ourselves. Hopefully we've succeeded in taking the best of both theatre and film to create something intimate and unique."

James Dacre, artistic director at the Royal and Derngate, added: "In a year in which new musicals lie at the heart of our work, we're delighted to be supporting Poppy and Ben to launch this touching story of a powerful new relationship formed between two strangers."