Q&A: "Successful shows can only help the hospitality industry in return"

Sunday 24 November 2024

The musician behind new immersive theatre performance at a local hotel has opened up about his artistic inspirations, and the impact local music can have on Jersey's hospitality sector...

'Midnight Joanna' is a live musical experience, written and produced by Jersey musician Ant Noel.

The 16-song show is set at an open mic event in a late-night piano bar, and performed to three sell-out crowds at the Ommaroo Hotel last month.

Express sat down with Ant to ask him some questions about the piece...

Where did the idea for 'Midnight Joanna' come from?

The idea for 'Midnight Joanna' first came to me in 2018, not long after releasing my fourth solo album in Glastonbury, Somerset, close to where I was living at the time.

I wanted to write a concept album about my experiences of both being an open-mic host in the early stages of my music career, and a piano vocalist at numerous venues.

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Pictured: Ant's multi-instrumental career has spanned 20 years. (Becky Lee Brun)

I met so many interesting characters during my work, many of which could lend their stories to songs.

The title is a reference to the many late night lock-ins and gigs that I ended up playing or hosting behind pub pianos.

In fact, the piano, being always at the heart of everything, was really going to end up the main character.

Not long after the initial idea came to me, I had the interesting thought of adding actors to the mix, who could portray these characters, making it more of a show than just another album.

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Pictured: Actors and musicians performed amongst the audience and a functioning bar. (Becky Lee Brun)

I toyed with the idea of making it a full-blown musical before deciding there might be a middle-ground to be explored, creating a show that was primarily a live gig, but putting it in the mocked-up setting of a piano lounge and having actors break the fourth wall between the band and audience, making everybody part of the experience.

If Midnight Joanna was going to replicate the essence of being in a live piano lounge and at an open mic night, the audience had to feel like they were really there, in that environment. They could even come up and dance, or go buy a drink from the bar whenever they wanted to. There was to be no formality.

How did you create the material for the show?

In 2019, my wife, son and I returned to Jersey for good. I had initially left the island in 2003 when finishing school, getting a Music Master's at Bristol University.

Just prior to coming back, I had started work on the first couple of songs, including the title track, and over the next five years the rest of the project developed.

I had to find tiny pockets of time to write in, between a busy piano teaching schedule and looking after my son who has autism. I spent a long time finding the right musicians, a mix of some I already knew and others I had never met, and the first rehearsals began in July 2023.

In early 2024 I had secured a venue in the Ommaroo Hotel, where I had worked occasionally as a pianist and the manager Norbert Stump was incredibly enthusiastic of the show.

I then won funding grants from both the Creative Island Partnership and ArtHouse Jersey which allowed me to professionalise the project as much as possible and pay musicians a decent rate, whilst being able to afford excellent sound and lighting technicians.

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Pictured: Ant received support from ArtHouse Jersey and the Creative Island Partnership for the production. (Becky Lee Brun)

The music of ‘Midnight Joanna’ could be described as upbeat jazz and blues rock. There are numerous opportunities to dance and have a boogie.

I have a fantastic band of nine incredible musicians and I was lucky to find two terrific actors who really bring the characters to life and engage the audience in such a brilliant way.

How did the performances at the Ommaroo go?

I had no idea what to expect from audiences and how they would receive the shows, or even whether the tickets would appeal, after all it is completely 'untested' music, not even available to listen to online.

We are often told as musicians and artists that there is no career, money or interest in original music, but I had managed to get by in the UK on my own work and wanted to prove that the appetite for something new is here in Jersey too.

I worked hard on promoting the shows but made doubly-sure that the music was top notch and red hot. When we performed a short taster set at the Corn Riots Festival in late September to entice ticket sales, the crowd were in disbelief at the high quality of material they were hearing.

The three nights eventually sold out and 230 people watched the shows. I think it is absolutely solid proof that people do want to see original music and shows, and that if you have something unique and appealing to perform, there is an audience for it.

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Pictured: They performed to three sell-out crowds at the Ommaroo hotel. (Becky Lee Brun)

We survived a nail-biting power cut on the opening night just two songs from the end. We finally got it back and were able to finish and the audience took it all in their stride and were so, so supportive. It wouldn't have been an opening night without a 'teething' incident!

The second and third nights went without a hitch and we all got more and more confident and relaxed as the evenings progressed. The final night saw two encores and the whole audience up on their feet dancing.

All the feedback we received was glowing and it almost felt a shame to stop after three nights.

One guest said that Jersey hotels should be putting on more things like this and I'd not only agree but would loudly proclaim that Midnight Joanna is only just getting started. We will be back with more shows!

What's next for you and the show?

The three shows were a pilot, a testing of the waters. It was always my intention to not only make a success of the show but to expand it, tour it, then license it so that other bands and actors could perform it elsewhere and turn other venues into piano lounges.

I want hotels and bars to be on the phone asking to host us and helping to showcase original music, written by a local and performed by exceptional local musicians and actors. Successful shows can only help the hospitality industry in return.

At the Ommaroo, the bar was busy all night and the restaurant filled up with pre-show diners, with many also booking rooms for a staycation.

A re-emerging of a booming entertainment scene within Jersey's hotels can help take the island back to the glory days of its past, not least to inspire future and current musicians to try their hand at original productions and give their own projects a public airing.