Imagine a Spielberg musical set in the 80’s, loaded with Synth, New Wave Pop and contemporary musical theatre. Imagine Stranger Things meets Dear Evan Hansen meets Blood Brothers, coming together with Footloose. Does that sound like something that you would like? 

Well, that is how Emil Dale describes his new musical Kin, which tells the story of skilled rock climber Noah who, after suffering a tragic accident, finds himself faced with the even bigger problems that are challenging his small southern American town of Ashville. A controversial community known as The Kinship have moved into the little town causing conflict with those who live there. Noah has always felt like a misfit, despite being the son of the town’s mayor, and he decides to take matters into his own hands. In a moment that will ‘look epic on stage’, he scales down a cliff into the only entrance to the community’s base, secretly joining. But then he meets one Kinsperson, Cora, who brings colour into his world and neither of them realise that their lives are about to change forever. 

Emil Dale feels that we need a show like Kin here in 2022 because after a global pandemic, people need to learn how to carry grief more than ever. We need to tell stories that remind us to accept people for who they are, regardless of differences. In Kin, Noah learns the importance of letting go of the past, dealing with grief, trauma and the lies he tells himself, learning how to move forward and live the full life he deserves. He is scarred after losing his mum, terrified of losing the relationship that he has with his father and must learn to face his fears and overcome the limits that people set for him. 

Dale envisions a set that illustrates America in Autumn in the 80’s. Think leaves, Halloween, Goonies, ET, torches, BMX bikes and handheld radios, complete with a huge rock face that the actors can climb, which he hopes will make up the wings and the proscenium arch. He started writing Kin in 2018 and the team are currently in the 7th draft of Act 1, with Act 2 being in its 2nd draft. It is hoped that the show can be produced in such a way that it can be scaled up or down depending on budget, with a minimum of ten actors required. 

The creative team for Kin includes Emil Dale, the concept writer of the musical and book, with Stefan Kelk as composer and lyricist, Beatrice Pryor as company manager and Sarah Middleton as dramaturg. Since 2018, the production has been through various workshops with hopes to stage Kin this year. 

When asked why he wanted to write a musical, Emil Dale replied: “someone told me I couldn’t… is the simple answer! Honestly, I’ve never felt like I really fit in with creatives in the theatre community in Britain. It’s like, unless you are one of the big dogs or are from a certain background, you are just someone looking in on it, never with a chance of really being part of it, so I thought I’d make my own world and that’s what I’ve been doing since I graduated.”

Want to know more? Please click here or email info@kinthemusical.com.