We're still collecting donations
On the 22nd March 2023 we'd raised £1,295 with 19 supporters in 35 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
Dead Man’s Suitcase is an original comedy musical. We need your help to get it to the Edinburgh Fringe this August!
by Triple Cheque Productions in Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
On the 22nd March 2023 we'd raised £1,295 with 19 supporters in 35 days. But as every pound matters, we're continuing to collect donations from supporters.
This August, Triple Cheque productions are planning to take our original comedy musical, Dead Man’s Suitcase, to the Edinburgh Fringe, and we are looking for your help to raise the £2000 needed to make this possible.
Since the pandemic, the increasing accommodation and venue rental fees at the festival have driven many independent theatre companies like ours out of being able to perform. We really believe that the Edinburgh stage is where our show belongs and we’d be beyond grateful for any support you might be able to offer us in overcoming some of the financial hurdles.
Who are we?
After working together on a successful run of Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick…Boom!, Triple Cheque Productions was formed to stage innovative musicals using physical theatre, contemporary dance and visual storytelling to break from the mould of conventional modern musicals.
Dead Man’s Suitcase, written and directed by Felix Westcott with the help of Declan Molloy for the orchestrations, was Triple Cheque’s debut production. We were thrilled to see the show premiere for a sell-out run at the Oxford Playhouse (BT Studio) and, particularly, to see it be so warmly received with overwhelmingly positive reviews.
Currently, we are at the height of proceedings for a production of the musical Bare, which has been in the works for nearly a year (!), and will be staged in just a few weeks time at the Keble O’Reilly Theatre. Its large cast and dynamic ensemble numbers make this sophomore production especially ambitious, yet it is one we are immensely proud of and cannot wait for the audience to enjoy.
Promoting diversity and accessibility are critically at the centre of what we do as a company, both on-stage and off-. From holding relaxed performances to modernising stereotyped roles, we’re always trying to implement positive change into the overall drama scene. Dead Man’s Suitcase is most definitely no exception to this, and we hope to use it as a contemporary platform to challenge outdated societal clichés and expectations.
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Taking Dead Man’s Suitcase to the fringe has always been one of our central aims as a company, and in fact the show was largely written with the goal to eventually perform there in mind! We’re incredibly keen to present the show and what it stands for to a wider, national audience, but importantly all whilst making the cast and crew feel as comfortable as possible in their capacity to take part.
About the show
Dead Man’s Suitcase, follows the story of a fed-up obituary writer who, fed up with the caricatures and mundanities that surround his life, decides to fake his own death to pursue his lifelong dream of being a novelist. Struggling to renew his identity and break from the life he grew to hate, he ultimately realises the negative impacts such a choice has had on those he meets, those he leaves behind, and, most importantly, on himself.
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At the age of 15, our writer/director Felix had the idea of creating a dark comedy musical about someone faking their death and the serious repercussions that could have. Experimenting with this idea of a joke taken too far, many of the songs, themes and plot came then and there and were further developed and refined over years of on-and-off work on the show - spending a lot of time learning to use music writing software and the basics of musical composition whilst trying to get the songs down on page.
At Oxford he then met Declan, a music student, and eventually they started working together to compose the show’s orchestrations. After countless meetings, late-night zoom work sessions, and seemingly a thousand redrafts, the show, 7 years on from its inception, was finally ready to be put on stage.
From a young age, we’re often told to ‘live our dreams’, but what does that really mean? Despite increasingly seeing people on social media quitting their jobs to chase overnight fame on a whim, most of us will only truly find success through decades of hard work and sensible choices. Dead Man’s Suitcase invites the audience to empathise with those living in the wake of such a similarly brazen protagonist, narratively questioning if living out your dreams is something admirable, something selfish, or ultimately just something down-right stupid.
Reviews for Dead Man’s Suitcase:
‘immensely powerful’, ‘a treat for the senses’, ‘hits close to home’ - Cherwell
‘Refreshing, unique musical’, ‘excellent one-liners’ - The Oxford Blue
‘a brilliantly dextrous lyrical display’ - The President’s Husband’s Reviews
‘well-written and authentic’ - The Poor Print
‘Packed with toe-tapping tunes, its lyrics are genuinely witty, its story is instantly relatable but at the same time totally fantastical’ - Daily Info
Why now and why The Fringe?
The Edinburgh Fringe is the world’s largest and most prestigious arts festival and there really is no better place to share our story and its whimsical yet important message. We want to carry forward the momentum from our Oxford run and take the show outside the student bubble and showcase it alongside so much other great talent.
The festival would also be invaluable in further developing our theatrical skills. We can’t wait to be inspired by, build connections with, and share exciting ideas amongst so many other like-minded creatives.
How you can help
Raising enough funds to put on a show at the Fringe is no small feat especially during a cost of living crisis. Although we’ve gathered a small cash-base from our previous productions, we don’t quite have enough funding to cover all the marketing, accommodation, and travel expenses a show at Edinburgh comes with.
As an amateur theatre company, we cannot rely on actors to fund themselves and, in order to make the experience as accessible as possible, we strongly believe that no one should have to pay for their own accommodation and travel expenses in full.
We have restricted our budget as much as we’ve been able to; limiting marketing plans, minimising tour personnel, and altogether only taking part in the first week of the festival. Despite these cuts, rental fees are at a record high, so we still need an extra bit of your help to carry us over the line.
Where would the funding go?
The funds raised from this crowdfunder will go towards:
To show our thanks for your support, all donors will receive a signed postcard from the entire cast and crew. Larger donations will be credited with a range of rewards including receiving sneak peak access to some of our songs, getting invited along to rehearsals, and even being mentioned in our show’s program.
Every little bit counts towards our goal and so any donations, however big or small, would mean the world to all of us.
If you aren’t currently in the position to financially back us, we’d still love to hear from you! Drop us a message on any of our social media if you have questions you’d like to ask us, or even if you just want to say hi!
Final Words
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story!
Getting to the fringe will undoubtedly be a challenging task, but, together with your generous support, is something we really hope we can make happen!
Instagram: @dead_mans_suitcase
Facebook: @triplechequeproductions
THANK YOU!! - from the DMS cast/crew
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