Hi Lydia, it's so lovely to chat to you on Stage to Page again - particularly now that the entire audio musical is out on all streaming platforms! How have you been?

Great thanks - very busy! We’ve since had the chance to perform some songs from the show at various concerts and showcases, had a song in the final of the Stiles & Drewe prize and also released the album so lots going on!

What inspired you to create Hatched! as an audio musical rather than a traditional stage production?

We started creating it during lockdown and wanted the show to be freely accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world, and felt that this could be a really exciting and fascinating new way to share musical theatre stories.

Once we’d run with that idea, it also brought up so many other opportunities - firstly the opportunity to create entertainment for people that didn’t need them staring at a screen, that encouraged imagination and that they could kind of create their own version of the world. Secondly, what was possible within this new medium of audio musical - suddenly because it was in episodes, we could do something a bit longer than a traditional musical and therefore there was more opportunity to explore some of the other characters’ journeys, delving into the way the plot was changing them as people…or birds I should say!

Can you walk us through your process of writing the music and crafting the storyline for this project?

After lots of research and discussions, I started mapping out a story structure and characters, making sure there was a good narrative arc as well as the main characters getting their own story arcs too. Then I started writing lyrics for some songs, sent voice notes over to Ed with the lyrics and some suggested bits of rhythm etc, and he created the music around it. Quite a few of the first songs we wrote aren’t really in there anymore - the first opening number we wrote now only exists as a 15 second radio jingle in the audio episodes, you’d hardly notice it; another is now a bit of recurring underscore; and songs moved around as well (Talk To The Wing was originally written as an opening number actually). We wrote the whole thing on Google docs & the phone cause it was during lockdown so we had to find our own way of making the creative process work!

How do the audio elements (sound design, music, etc.) support the storytelling in Hatched!?

I think the sound design helps to create the world - stimulating our listeners’ imaginations and allowing them to be immersed in the world of Rakka Island - and it helps the story to hit in a more visceral way. And the music & sound design really help to keep the story dynamic - emphasising points of high emotion, allowing transitions to feel fun and fluid (nothing worse than a clunky scene change, even in audio!), and keeping us swept up in the fantasy world.

Was there a specific moment or scene during production that you felt really captured the essence of the story?

For me it’s the moment of “Smile” going into “Invisible”. It had exactly the effect I wanted. “Smile” is kind of this cheesy number that actually (if you pay attention to the words) is excruciating to listen to, and that ignites in us a hint of what Fallon is feeling…and then we get to experience that frustration & helplessness shifting into strength, power & action.

What do you hope listeners will walk away with after experiencing Hatched!?

I hope they’re filled with hope and determination to build a better, kinder, more equal world. I hope it starts conversations about equality and I hope women and girls feel seen, inspired and empowered.

How do you see the future of audio musicals evolving, and do you have any plans to explore this format further?

I think it’s a really exciting format with so much potential - we forget how lucky we are in this country to have access to such exceptional theatre, particularly musical theatre. Hatched! has been listened to in 56 countries worldwide now and so I think we can be pretty sure it’s reached people who haven’t had access to the likes of Broadway or the West End. It took a while to work out how best to make use of all the different elements available to us (narration, dialogue, songs, underscore, sound effects, environments etc), but I think we found a really successful formula - so I certainly hope I will get to write another one!

And finally, why should anyone reading this listen to Hatched!?

It’s full of fun, joy and hope. It’s a really immersive experience, so you can close your eyes and be transported somewhere completely new. It’s for all the family (7+) and there really is something in it for everyone so great for long car journeys or bedtime stories. And you can go back and listen to your favourite songs on the album!

You can listen to Hatched!, here.