Musical Drama SAN DOMINO Comes to the Tristan Bates Theatre

Based on Mussolini's famous persecution of homosexuals, musical drama San Domino by Tim Anfilogoff and Alan Whittaker tells the story of a group of men sentenced to five years confinement for degeneracy on an island fortress of San Domino.

One night in 1939, Carlo, Claudio and their friends are arrested. Condemned without a trial, they arrive on San Domino: a prison island solely for gay men. Mussolini's regime had unwittingly created a part of Italy in which men were expected to be openly gay. For all the indignity and squalor of prison life, men previously forced to live in the shadows now have no need to hide who they are. But in the background war is looming...

San Domino, with actor-musicians conjuring up an intimate tragi-comic world of love, loss and the struggle just to survive, runs from Tuesday 5 to Saturday 30 June at Tristan Bates Theatre, 1A Tower St, Covent Garden WC2H 9NP.

Press night is Thursday 7 June at 7.30pm

Cast to be announced

Creative team: Book & Lyrics Tim Anfilogoff, Composer Alan Whittaker, Director Matthew Gould, Musical Director and Orchestrations James Cleeve, Lighting Design Mitchell Reeve, Design and Costumes Faye Brad.

Produced by TKD Productions & M. Green Productions.

San Domino first previewed to an enthusiastic audience at the Courtyard Theatre then played to a full house at Arcola Theatre's Grimeborn Festival in 2014. We hope our attempt to capture the humour and tragedy of San Domino will inspire you the way the story of the 45 gay men rounded up in Catania one night in 1939 inspired us.

TIM ANFILOGOFF - Book & Lyrics

Tim and Alan been friends for many years, playing in a band together and have been writing and producing musical theatre for the last five years. Their work includes 'A Body to Diet For' which ran at the Edinburgh Fringe festival and 'The Golden Age' which was workshopped at the Etcetera Theatre. They are currently working on a new musical 'The Truth about the Congo' in parallel with Tim's drama 'The man who killed Ota Benga.' Tim has also written a follow up drama to San Domino entitled 'The Other Island' which was previewed at Camden's Etcetera Theatre. Tim's comedy, 'The Meaning of Lunch' was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and a pilot for a comedy drama series 'With a Little Help from my Friends' was broadcast by the BBC. Tim wrote the screenplay for the 'Down Flew the Doves' a film with songs by singer and composer Tim Prottey-Jones.

ALAN WHITTAKER - Composer

Alan's musical theatre credits include 'A Body to Diet For' which ran at the Edinburgh Fringe festival and 'The Golden Age' which was workshopped at the Etcetera Theatre and 'Liberty City' (written by Amy Bilton) which workshopped at the Hen & Chickens Theatre. He is currently working on a new musical 'The Truth about the Congo' with Tim. In addition to working on musicals with Tim, Alan is a songwriter/composer who has released five studio albums, two with Sally Rivers, and played in various bands over the years.

MATTHEW GOULD - Director

Matthew has been directing plays, musicals and opera for a number of years. Most recently he adapted comedienne Janice Day's book about getting over breast cancer for her one-woman show, which premiered at the Epsom Play- house, directed the radio recording of Adolf Killed my Sweetheart for ALL FM radio and explored at The King's Head Shakespeare's hidden messages of love in the new play Pricked Out by Nicholas de Jongh. The musical The Mystery of Ed- win Drood at The Arts Theatre, London, a UK tour of the dark and moving musical The Secret Garden and the harrowing one man monologue The Anorak by Canadian writer Adam Kelly Morton. He then directed A Body to Diet For which pre- miered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival along with the rst UK production of the classic Azerbaijani play My Favourite Madman. Matthew was at the 2013/14 and 2015 Arcola Th Grimeborn Festival in Dalston London with the World Premiere of a new opera The Miller's Wife, the musical 13 Days and actor/musician musical San Domino. This was followed by a season of new Asian writing for Yellow Earth and a season of News Revue at The Canal Café in Maida Vale, London and a run of a new play about the actress Valerie Hobson at the Jermyn Street Theatre. Hello, Norma Jeane ,The Glass Protégé and The Secondary Victim all had very successful runs at Park Theatre in London. After a successful collaboration with producer Mitchell Green on the musical Pete n' Keely in 2017 Matthew is looking forward to directing the UK premiere of the play The Gulf.

James Cleeve - Musical Director & Arranger

Recent projects have included: MD'ing the European premiere of Yank! The Musical in Manchester and its transfer into the Charing Cross Theatre London, National Tours of The Sound of Music (Assistant MD) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (keys), and working as Music Director for the New Zealand Young Shakespeare Company at the Globe.Other MD credits include: Elegies (Associate MD - Criterion West End), Ushers (Arts Theatre West End), The Lambeth Singing Festival (Royal Festival Hall), Avenue Q (Windsor Theatre Royal), A Class Act (The Landor), San Domino (Grimeborn Festival), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Arts Theatre West End), The Sound of Music and Oliver! (Windsor Theatre Royal), and numerous West End cabarets with performers including Christine Bovill, Dusty Limits, Rachel Tucker and Wendi Peters.On keyboards/accordion, gigs include: Top Hat (Aldwych and National Tour), Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (Charing Cross Theatre), Victor/Victoria (Southwark Playhouse), Singin' in the Rain (National Tour) and Cabaret (National Tour), as well as guest entertainer appearances with P&O. Outside of theatre, James runs his own company leading community choirs and vocal workshops, and regularly works as a choral leader with the Southbank Centre, The Young Vic and leading national opera companies. He is currently writing a new musical. To find out more, take a look at www.jamescleeve.co.uk.

Mitchell Reeve - Lighting Designer

Theatre credits include: From Stage to Screen (UK Tour),The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (The New Theatre), Peter Pan (The Quad), I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road (Jermyn Street Theatre), Blown Youth (New Wimbledon Studio Theatre) The Empire Builders, The Right Ballerina (The Hen & Chickens Theatre), The Doppel Gang, Pete 'n' Keely, Held (Tristan Bates Theatre) Lovestuck (The Cockpit Theatre), Teaching a Dillo To Cross The Road (Brockley Jack Theatre) The Secondary Victim (The Park Theatre).Associate Lighting Designer: Lady Windermere's Fan (UK Tour). Upcoming:The Gulf (Tristan Bates Theatre).

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