Out and About: The 24 Hour Musical at Aberdeen Arts Centre

Nobody involved knows which show they’re putting on until the day. That’s the premise of the 24 Hour Musical, which returns to Aberdeen Arts Centre on 26 July after selling out its first edition last summer. A group of local performers, musicians and crew are locked in the venue and given exactly 24 hours to stage a full musical from scratch: live orchestration, choreography, costumes, staging.

Last year nearly 80 performers auditioned, tickets sold out three weeks before the curtain went up, and the mystery show turned out to be High School Musical. The event raised £5,000 for the Save Aberdeen Arts Centre campaign.

What to expect

Sam Allan, producer of Feed The Seagull Productions, is leading the team again. “24 Hour Musical really is the best kind of chaos and a one-of-a-kind experience for everyone involved,” he said.

This year’s show is once again being kept under wraps. Julia Smith, fundraising manager at Aberdeen Arts Centre, says the guessing game is half the fun. “There’s such a buzz throughout the Arts Centre in the lead-up to the show, with so many people trying to guess what the performance will be. Those 24 hours where the show is being pulled together are hectic but so much fun.”

Smith is also encouraging anyone who fancies a challenge to put themselves forward to perform. Tickets are on sale now.