When thinking of musicals, one tends to think of over-the-top-happy music, pratfalls and laughs aplenty - not the sorts of things commonly associated with long-running synth mopers Depeche Mode. Still, the band have become the subject of "a new kind of musical," according to theatre producer and writer Adrian Buckle.
As the Times of Malta reports [via The Daily Swarm], Buckle, of Unifaun Theatre, has acquired the rights to use Depeche Mode's back catalogue in the production of a new musical named after the band's 2005 album, Playing the Angel.
"Depeche Mode's music always had that theatrical element in it," said Buckle, whose 2009 play, Stitching, was banned by censors. "I'd started writing a script influenced by their music but it came to the point where I realized it was more of plagiarism, if anything, so I stopped there."
Buckle is now at work writing the script, taking care to ensure he stays true to the group. "Depeche Mode are not Abba or Queen. The story can't be a happy one," the writer said. "It is a story of two boys growing up, coming of age and discovering love. They are abused, used, taken advantage of... It's their sad way of discovering life."
Playing the Angel will play in Valletta, Malta, in late February and early March of 2011, although the show's cast is yet to be determined.
UPDATE: In an email to Exclaim!, Buckle explains that the Times of Malta contains several inaccuracies, including the fact that he has been in touch with Depeche Mode's manager. He has not. Buckle us tells us, "With regards to the production, we are inquiring whether it would be possible and legal to continue working on it and we are expecting to take a decision in the next couple of days."
UPDATE 2: According to Buckle, the project is now "shelved indefinitely."
As the Times of Malta reports [via The Daily Swarm], Buckle, of Unifaun Theatre, has acquired the rights to use Depeche Mode's back catalogue in the production of a new musical named after the band's 2005 album, Playing the Angel.
"Depeche Mode's music always had that theatrical element in it," said Buckle, whose 2009 play, Stitching, was banned by censors. "I'd started writing a script influenced by their music but it came to the point where I realized it was more of plagiarism, if anything, so I stopped there."
Buckle is now at work writing the script, taking care to ensure he stays true to the group. "Depeche Mode are not Abba or Queen. The story can't be a happy one," the writer said. "It is a story of two boys growing up, coming of age and discovering love. They are abused, used, taken advantage of... It's their sad way of discovering life."
Playing the Angel will play in Valletta, Malta, in late February and early March of 2011, although the show's cast is yet to be determined.
UPDATE: In an email to Exclaim!, Buckle explains that the Times of Malta contains several inaccuracies, including the fact that he has been in touch with Depeche Mode's manager. He has not. Buckle us tells us, "With regards to the production, we are inquiring whether it would be possible and legal to continue working on it and we are expecting to take a decision in the next couple of days."
UPDATE 2: According to Buckle, the project is now "shelved indefinitely."
