Musical director takes centre stage for Sixties show at Royal Court

Aug 6 2008 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

SIXTIES show Eight Miles High, recreating the festival spirit of the era, continues its summer run at the Royal Court.

Musical director Howard Gray spends the whole show – and interval – on stage as the head of the festival band.

It’s what he calls an actor-musician show, not quite a musical, yet more than the orchestra being hidden in the pit, and it’s the kind of work he specialises in.

“Some musical directors just like to set up and go, but for me part of the fun is playing as well. You’d be amazed, there’s absolutely loads of productions like this, especially in the North West, it’s a very interesting side of the business.”

Howard has been involved with Eight Miles High since the beginning, helping to formulate the soundtrack alongside writer Jim Cartwight (best known for The Rise and Fall of Little Voice) since its first performance in 1991.

It’s the third time he has taken the musical reins of the show, after two stints at the Bolton Octagon over the years.

This production sees the likes of Andrew Schofield, Eithne Brown and comedian Keith Carter playing all the hits.

“It’s an amazing thing, if you get the right actors who are brill-iant musicians. I already knew a lot of the cast and what they were capable of. Drew Scho-field is a great guitar player.”

It’s not just a case of muddling through, either, as Howard says some numbers in the show, like a Joe Cocker song, are complex and hard slog for even the professionals.

“And we go through so many styles, from Jimi Hendrix to the Mamas and the Papas in a second.

“The band has got to be able to keep with it and be able to do all those changes,” he says.

“Plus we play through the interval, so the show doesn’t stop. There’s a huge amount of music and it never lets up!”

Together, Howard and Jim have tweaked the numbers in the show over time, cutting some and adding others to make it work as nicely as possible.

For example, the inclusion of Captain Beefheart proved too obscure, to eventually be replaced by the more well-known California Dreamin’.

It makes all the difference to Howard, from Skelmersdale, to be back at the Royal Court, where he has been involved with every production of Brick Up the Mersey Tunnels.

“Liverpool is God’s greatest city, I love the place,” he says.

“In Liverpool, the audience is different. People are very knowledgeable about music, so it’s got to be good, you can’t go in half-cocked, you can’t get away with things you might do in other towns.

“Fortunately we’ve got a fantastic band.”

EIGHT Miles High is on at the Royal Court until August 16.

vickyanderson@dailypost.co.uk