TOTO - A New Family Musical

Aim

We are raising funds to bring our new family musical, into rehearsal and onto the stage.

Oh hi there! We are Heather and Kimmy, two friends, theatre producers and parents who have been working together for more years than we’d really care to discuss, and we’re very excited to share with you, the first project of our very own.   

We are making a wonderful, exciting new musical for people (and donkeys) of all ages. TOTO is the story of a joyous and strong-willed young donkey who doesn't want to settle for the life the world has decided donkeys should live. Humping boxes for the man? No thank you! Toto is going to be an astronaut, and the first donkey to fly to the moon! 

TOTO is a beautiful children's book, written and illustrated by Ximo Abadia, and the frequent reading requests for it, and the thrill of the adventure and story,  lead us to where we are now. 

We have some of the most amazing theatre creatives on board (honestly, we can’t quite believe it ourselves!) with Harry Blake writing the book, music and lyrics, and Jennifer Tang directing. The two of them have recently worked together on The Tempest For Everyone Aged Six and Over at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and The Unicorn, and have many other amazing projects under their belts and coming up. We are thrilled they have fallen in love with TOTO, and have strapped in for the journey with us.  

Over the course of the first 6 months of 2024, we will be casting, working with designers to make the set and costumes, rehearsing and working to integrate BSL into the performance, making the story as accessible as possible.

Then it's time to hit the stage… We will run the show in front of audiences in July before the end of term, then head for the biggest arts festival in the world, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to launch this glorious show!

This project is not only one that is close to our hearts, as the first show that we will create together from the ground up, it is also deadset brilliant. In 2023, we ran a week-long R&D session with Harry, Jen, and an amazing cast, and it all just worked so well (see the clip above for proof of that!) There was a palpable buzz in the room, as we all knew we were onto something special here… we are beyond excited to be taking the next steps towards getting TOTO, their rocket and endless carrot supply to the moon and beyond! 

Thank you for joining us on this journey 

Heather and Kimmy x

This project successfully funded on 28th February 2024