Exeter University Footlights presents
Singin’ in the Rain
It’s 1927 and the pioneering ‘talkie’ picture The Jazz Singer has taken Hollywood by storm. All at once, the other studios are forced to change the movie-making rules to hop on the talking picture bandwagon. When Monumental Studios turns their silent film The Dueling Cavalier into musical picture The Dancing Cavalier, in a bid to stay relevant, they are faced with a problem: their star, Lina Lamont, has a voice that doesn’t fit the bill. Lina’s voice is far from the Hollywood ideal and the studio are left in a bind.
Enter Kathy Selden, an aspiring actress whose dulcet tones are able to cover Lina Lamont’s – calling into question what it means to act, how credit is distributed and what it means to get a fair shake in the movie business.
Singin’ in the Rain includes some of the best-loved comedy routines, dance numbers and love songs ever written, including Good Mornin’, Make ‘em Laugh, and – of course – the show-stopping dance number Singin’ in the Rain.
Footlights is the University of Exeter’s biggest musical theatre society, committed to delivering fully-realised, spectacle-filled productions throughout the year. Previous productions at Exeter Northcott Theatre include Bandstand (2023), Kipps! The New Half a Sixpence Musical (2023), 9 to 5 (2022), Legally Blonde (2022), and Ghost (2020).