This is a wonderful, joyous, bonkers, happy, silly,
but also quite dark, telling of a story
we think we know, but we don't.
(upbeat music)
My name is Jim Fortune and I've written
the music for the musical Hex.
We're in the studio
that Ray Davies owned, from The Kinks,
which is a very special place to be, anyway
in North London.
As always with any music, for any musical,
it's all about story and character,
so we just came up with the characters,
worked out what they would sound like.
It's great. We got a live, proper,
kind of rock and roll take on the songs.
Some of the songs are very character driven,
dynamic and fun, and embraces genre.
There's a bit of a ska in there.
There's a bit of country in there
which is quite a lot of fun.
Today, we heard a song called 'Sixteen', which is
Rose's song. Rose is our Sleeping Beauty,
and the song 'Sixteen' is on the eve of her 16th birthday.
This is just before she gets put to sleep.
And she's dreaming of a life
beyond the confines of her palace.
♪ When I'm sixteen ♪
♪ Every day I try to not be demented ♪
♪ Every day I try to be serene ♪
♪ I try not to be me but always end up ♪
♪ In between ♪
♪ Every night I dream that I'm that girl ♪
♪ Who flies away from all this fear ♪
♪ But every time I wake ♪
♪ I'm still here ♪
(sombre piano music begins)
Second song is a song called 'In The Middle',
which is a duet between our Queenie,
who's our ogress character, and Fairy.
In that song, Fairy teaches Queenie how to love her child.
♪ - A little chick, a little bean ♪
♪ No, a little a millipede ♪
♪ - He is indeed, and he needs you ♪
♪ He needs me ♪
♪ - And you need him ♪
♪ I need you ♪
♪ - He needs you to feed him ♪
(sombre music fades)
They're an odd couple,
and there is a real, genuine friendship
and a real genuine bond there,
and, of course, the ogress is scared of having this child.
And Fairy is going, no, you're going to love it,
and in doing so she not only grows to love the baby,
she also grows more to love Fairy
and Fairy becomes vital for her.
(gentle piano music plays)
Third song is called 'Probly', and it's that moment
where our main protagonist goes,
Do I want to go ahead
with this thing that I've been offered?
Who am I? What do I want?
♪ Not gonna go ♪
♪ S'too far away ♪
♪ Got things to do ♪
♪ Just gonna stay ♪
♪ On the outside ♪
(piano plays)
We've got the most extraordinary, open
and talented singers and actors.
When they sing it, I'm just gobsmacked by their ability,
but also their soul and their storytelling,
and they make the songs better than they should ever be.