Academy Award Winning Writer Tells Iain Dale Cold War Musical Revival Timing Is Pure Coincidence
1 May 2018, 19:55
The Academy award winning writer Tim Rice sits down with Iain Dale to discuss the revival of Chess, a musical based on a Cold War-era chess tournament.
"The timing is interesting" said Iain Dale, who was comparing the Cold War theme of the musical to relations between the west and Russia.
The UN Secretary General declared "the Cold War is back with a vengeance" earlier in April.
"It's obviously coincidental that we didn't organise a Cold War" said Mr Rice.
"But I should really say that [Chess] is not primarily about a Cold War or the Cold War", but it is the backdrop he said.
"If there is a point that we're trying to make, one of the points might be that if you are successful in any field, then the politicians tend to move in and try and use you for their ends which are not always nice ends.
"We like to think of it as a love story, or two love stories, with people who are caught up in politics and they're caught up in politics because they're good at chess."
The musical is written by Tim Rice and ABBA songwriters Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and will be directed by Laurence Connor, who was behind School of Rock and Miss Saigon on both Broadway and in the West End.
Michael Ball and Alexandra Burke are cast in the performance, which also includes Cassidy Janson, Tim Howar, and Cedric Neal.
Watch the full interview in the video above.
