| Disco Inferno | |
| Music: | Various |
| Lyrics: | Various |
| Premiere Date: | 2004 |
| Premiere Location: | Harlow Playhouse, Harlow |
Disco Inferno is a 1970s jukebox musical written by Jai Sepple. Set in the East End of London in 1976, the show features songs from the era and is loosely based on the story of Faust.
The musical debuted at the Queens Theatre, Hornchurch in 1999 with revised revivals at the Towngate Theatre, Basildon in 2004 the Kenneth More Theatre, Ilford in 2006.
The characters in Disco Inferno were named after well-known characters from songs of the era, such as "Jumpin' Jack Flash", "Wuthering Heights" and "Lady Marmalade".
The character of Nick Diablo was omitted from both the 2006 and 2012 productions and Lily were omitted from the 2012 UK tour. Some of the characters names' were changed in the 2012 UK tour: Lady Marmalade was renamed Lucretia MacEvil, Kathy was renamed Roxanne and Terry was renamed Billy.
| Characters | London Premiere (2004) | London Revival (2006) | UK Tour (2012) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack | Jai Sepple | Sam Attwater | |||
| Jane | Jude Stoughton | Caroline Koutsoudes | Dani Harmer | ||
| Tom | Richard Stoughton | Dan Peek | Johnathan Tweedie | ||
| Maggie | TBC | Robyn Gowers | Joanna O'Hare | ||
| Heathcliffe | Nick Lupton | Steve Taylor | Matthew Goodgame | ||
| Kathy / Roxanne | TBC | Sherona Knight | Jennifer Potts | ||
| Lady Marmalade | Harri Sepple | Javine Hylton | |||
| Duke | Steve Taylor | Mark Brock | Joe Connors | ||
| Terry / Billy | Simon Prynn | Damien Lewis | Michael Watson | ||
| Lily | Dave Roberts | Jamie Riley | |||
| Nick Diablo | Dave Adams (actor) | Dave Adams | |||
The show is set in London in 1976; the hottest summer on record. Disco Inferno tells the story of an ambitious and talented hopeful, Jack, and his "burning" desire to make it in the music industry. Working late in a London nightclub, Jack meets Lucretia McEvil – a femme fatale and incarnation of the Devil. Dreaming of becoming successful, he makes a Faustian pact with her, trading his soul to fulfill his wildest fantasies.
Jack soon becomes an international success, making appearances on radio and television shows, but success proves hollow. He has the fame and fortune he's always dreamed of but is losing something far more important – his devoted girlfriend, Jane. One disaster quickly follows another. If only he could turn back time... If only he could make one more deal, trading all he now has for something far more important... the love of his life.
Disco Inferno has been performed around the world since it initial debut, countries have included the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Jamaica, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan and Norway.
Generally due to copyright restrictions in different countries songs have varied from production to production. The 2012 UK Tour version of the script was considerably revised.
Disco Inferno is published by various Musical Theatre publishers worldwide.
A new version of Disco Inferno began a tour of the UK in the autumn of 2012. The cast included Sam Attwater as 'Jack', Dani Harmer as 'Jane' and Javine Hylton as 'Lucretia MacEvil'. The tour closed after the first week, with the producer citing 'financial problems'.[1]