Background

Stephen Lindsay emailed Dianna Nixon earlier this year to say he’d started writing a musical. He then pitched the synopsis and style of the work to Dianna, and it sounded highly produceable, relevant, and very entertaining.

Stephen was inspired to write this by the source material he’d read on the subject of Hornig, the guy who babysat the bomb, the night before the first atomic test. Stephen was inspired to write a musical HE would enjoy, with comps like Rocky Horror, Little Shop of Horrors, and Hairspray, genre musicals that draw on a golden age in pop and rock music. The musical is timely, following on from the massive hit in the cinemas in 2023 – Oppenheimer, and with the current conversations about nuclear power.

Project Status

Stephen has written a substantial amount of material, and recorded the work in his studio at Old Binda Road, Crookwell, with the help of singers David Pearson and Samantha Baxendale layering the vocal tracks. According to Dianna: “It’s brilliant and has serious legs.”

It has been submitted to the Hayes Theatre creative development program and we are awaiting their response. We are working on a submission to the Canberra Theatre Centre’s New Works creative development program in 2025.

Here is a link to Stephen’s Soundcloud, so you can hear for yourself how good his writing is:

Collaborators

The work is being written by Stephen Lindsay, who is an experienced songwriter and producer. The work he’s done on Hornig and the Gadget so far includes brilliant lyrics and very effective music. It’s cinematic and stylish, and ultimately very moving.

Music Theatre Projects are providing the creative producer umbrella, with Dianna Nixon providing guidance on music theatre structure and vocal requirements acting as a dramaturg.

Other collaborators in the future will include production designer Martin Thomas, who will act as a design adviser during the development stages.

Work-In-Progress 

Stephen continues to write sequences from the work, as we wait for the outcomes of the Hayes Theatre process.

We are working on a submission to the Canberra Theatre Centre’s New Works creative development program in 2025.

If not selected for either program, we will seek development funding and talk to other venues for support to take things to the next stage.

Important dates and activities

We will develop a timeline once we know what is happening with Hayes Theatre and CTC.