FAIRYTALES OF NEW YORK

DEVISED BY CHRIS MEADS AND THE company

Four screwball short stories for the yuletide season set in swing-era New York.

It’s Christmas Eve 1946. New York’s WRLD Radio takes pleasure in presenting the First Annual Ford Hour Christmas Special! Eleven of America’s brightest stars of tomorrow, from radio, Broadway and the motion pictures, have come together for one night only to perform four American fairy stories by L. Frank Baum (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), taking audiences to the limits of their imagination - and beyond!   

Baum's American fairy stories are set in non-specific U.S. locations at the turn of the century. In Fairytales of New York, East 15 Acting School's 2016 Christmas show, we set the stories specifically in early 1940s New York, sprinkling the script with the wonderful words and phrases that you only hear in screwball film comedies of the era. Here's a short promotional video that I created that should give you a sense of the show's energy...     

The acting company had great fun creating fictional young performers that were composites of genuine stars of early 1940s radio and film and we rehearsed the show almost entirely in character - which resulted in a joyous rehearsal room atmosphere and contributed so much to the wit, relationship detail and spirit within the show.  

To help immerse our audiences in an authentic-seeming live radio broadcast experience the cast created sound effects from 1940s foley items, the cast held up audience prompt cards (LOUD APPLAUSE! OOOOH! AHHHH! etc.), STAND-BY and ON AIR signs illuminated and flashed, and we used radio mikes that were customised to look authentically 1940s and which included our (fictional) radio station logo (the acting company were students from the school's MFA International course - hence WRLD).    

Peppered throughout the evening were festive 1940s songs (Everybody's Waiting For The Man With The Bag; Jing-Jing-A-Ling; (Baby) It's Cold Outside; Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas) performed by the ensemble with live musical accompaniment, adverts for spoof forthcoming shows, an Ice Hockey sports broadcast, spoof advertisements for genuine (yet sometimes unbelievable!) products from the era, a dance marathon, a quiz called 'The Better Half' (where married couples competed to win a Servel refrigerator) and 'War of the Worlds' inspired weather forecasts.

Fairytales Of New York was a kooky Christmas cocktail for all the family: mixing the mischief of Roald Dahl with 1940s screwball comedy and the spirit of It’s A Wonderful Life. Get happy!

You can learn about the e-technology facilitated process that led to the creation of the show here.