Riff-Raff
Music by Greg Sneddon: Lyrics by Greg Sneddon and Phil Sumner: Book by Phil Sumner and Jan McDonald
Riff-Raff is a rock musical which speaks to the young people of today about problems that face them. No facile answers are offered and no easy way out is show. The view presented throughout the script, is the right of young people to challenge the world around them, to question the direction in which they are moving and to demand explanations from the figures of authority and influence in their lives.
The Story:
Razie, shy and lacking in confidence, feels the restrictions of her migrant background when she wants to be one of the gang. Her friend, Julie, brash, streetwise and angry, is suspicious and critical of her situation, her peers and the world in which she finds herself. Mick, bright, breezy, a likeable Mr. Nice Guy, still feels himself in difficulties when his deep ambition to succeed is thwarted while his school friend Doogs, tough and aggressive, is openly hostile to the world, but, underneath, is a vulnerable innocent. These four school-friends find escape, excitement and dangers in the glitzy world of Spinner, a smooth, treacherous DJ.
Principal characters
(Plus Chorus)
Spinner (KAOS/FM Breakfast DJ)
Razie (the Dark)
Julie (The Go-Getter)
Mick (Mr Nice-Guy)
Doogs (the Tough Guy)
Principal Musical Numbers:
Oh! To Be Eighteen
All They Want Is a Good Time
Lois Lane
Cheat Street
Instrumentation:
Piano only