I am Co-Writer of "CALL ME DIANA", The explosive story of the broken fairy tale of a Princess loved by millions. I have the completed book of this spectacular stage musical about the Royal lifetime of Diana, Princess of Wales. As theatre in London is still very much suffering the fall out from Covid, we are wondering if our show would be better transferred to a movie. It includes 29 original music tracks, spectacular scenes, with many amazing characters, there are many controversial surprises too.
We engaged one of London's most respected Royal Correspondents, Richard Kay as our Story Editor. Richard became a personal friend and confidant of Princess Diana, he also received the last phone call Diana ever made from Paris on that fateful night of her untimely death back in August 1997. Richard has kept us as close to the truth as anyone can be. We Showcased “CALL ME DIANA” in London's West End in September 2019, we achieved this on a very small budget, so no scenery, very few costumes and Artists and Crew who gave their time for free. Yet we didn’t just receive standing ovations, we were given outstanding ovations from our audiences. Shortly after that Covid put us back a very long way.
Then the US Diana show hit the headlines, 'Diana: The Musical'. That show, which was broadcast by Netflix was a catalogue of disrespect, not only towards Princess Diana, but to other members of our Royal family, including our late Queen. This show was panned by almost every theatre critic on both sides of the Atlantic. Now we have to fight even harder to get our respectful and truthful production even looked at, as all of the Diana shows, and films which have gone before us have left a trail of mistrust, and scepticism. This is what's keeping me busy right now.
Hi Brian Watson! Thanks for sharing. There have been so many depictions recently of Diana that I can see how it might be challenging to get attention on your own, but working with Richard Kay should definitely help! Musicals are tough, do you have a version of the script where it's a scripted drama? If you're switching it to a movie, that may be an easier route. But I definitely think that you could still build an audience for this project. Have you put together a pitch deck for the project?
Hi Emily J Thank you for the comment. As yet we don't have a pitch deck. We have a business plan and a brochure, but all for the stage show. The show book is very easily adapted to a screenplay. We wouldn't want to change it to a scripted drama, even if it moves into the movie arena we want it kept as a musical.
Incredible work Brian! Look forward to hopefully seeing it in theatres!
Thank you, Sam. Apologies for the late response, but I haven't been on here for a while. It's a hard task right now to get our show to the stage, as producers of theatre are still struggling with their existing show, getting them back to profit post Covid.