‘Artaban’ is a new rock musical, based on the book ‘The Other Wise Man’ by Henry van Dyke.

It’s a story, full of heart and soul, that is set over 2000 years ago, and yet is still relevant today.

This is not the Jesus story, rather it is the tale of an unsung hero who sacrifices his dreams to help others, set against the backdrop of the birth of Christ.

The showcase of ‘Artaban The Musical’, debuts this November in Covent Garden.

Where: The Actors Church, St Paul’s, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9ED

When: 23 Nov 19.30 and 24 Nov 15.30 & 19.30

Tickets: £20.00

Available from: https://actorschurch.ticketsolve.com/shows/873618294

Production by: Gemstone Productions Ltd

Website: https://artabanthemusical.co.uk/

The team behind Artaban are seasoned professionals who have come together to bring this story to life.

The music is composed by Rick Radley – A rock and blues musician and singer/songwriter, who during his early days worked with Billy Fury, Madeline Bell, The Flirtations, and Bruce Channel to name just a few.

He was lead singer/guitarist in the quirky 70`s band Dr Marigolds Prescription, under the alias `Fred` Radley. Dr Marigolds held the No. 1 slot in South Africa for 16 weeks in 1973 with their single `Hello Girl`. They went on to release several successful albums. Rick wrote many of the tracks on: “Pictures of Life” and “Hello Girl” and numerous singles.

His TV appearances included performing on “The Kenny Everett Show”, “The Basil Brush Show”. Regular Radio 1 sessions included “The Johnny Walker Show”, “Terry Wogan Show”, and “Tony Blackburn Show”. During the 80`s, 90`s and Noughties – he was a member of the Chance Band. He has played at stately homes, Edinburgh Castle for the royal family, for politicians, celebrities and at debutante balls. Rick continues to tour internationally playing at high profile society gigs and `posh` parties. When not touring Rick continues to compose.

The Musical Director is Kipper Eldridge. Kipper is a Grammy and Emmy winning producer and musician, best known for producing and performing on Sting’s albums Brand New Day, All This Time, and Sacred Love. Kipper toured as Sting’s musical director, playing keyboards in the band for four years, and produced and performed on all of Sting’s musical output between 1998 and 2005.

Kipper has written and produced for Gary Numan, Catherine Zeta Jones and Curtis Stigers and went on to play, produce and write scores for a number of Hollywood feature films.

The albums he has produced have sold more than 15 million copies, and Kipper has gone on to work with Stevie Wonder, James Morrison, Mary J Blige, James Taylor, Richard Marx, Clay Aiken and Chris Botti.

The production is directed by Ron Aldridge, who has directed in repertory theatre, on the London Fringe, at the Edinburgh Festival, on numerous UK touring productions and Summer Seasons, internationally in various languages and in London’s West End. He has written sixteen stage plays, five of which have been published by Josef Weinbergers.

As an actor notable West End appearances include the lead role in the award-winning Children of a Lesser God (Albery theatre), numerous stints in the long-running comedy Run For Your Wife (Criterion, Duchess, Aldwych and Whitehall theatres), Funny Money (Playhouse theatre – also assistant director), and the Odd Couple (Haymarket theatre).

Television appearances include; London`s Burning, The Bill, 2.4 Children, Fools Gold, Minder, Nelson`s Column, Eastenders and Bronco in Only Fools and Horses.

The book, ‘The Other Wise Man’ was adapted for the stage by Daphne Lander. Daphne is a trained singer and has played leading roles in many musicals both amateur and semi-professionally including ‘Guys and Dolls’, ‘Stop the World I want to get off’, ‘Oliver’, ‘South Pacific’ and as Sally Bowles in ‘Cabaret’. She has headed the cast in plays including Brian Friel’s ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’, Alan Ayckbourn’s ‘Bedroom Farce’, and as Ranyevskaya in Chekov’s ‘Cherry Orchard’.

Daphne’s directing credits include Arthur Miller’s ‘All my Sons’, John Godber’s ‘Up and Under’ and Michael Frayn’s ‘Alphabetical Order’. She also adapted the radio play “Bethlehem” for the stage.

The lyrics have been written by Anne Jones, an established author of seven books, published in 18 languages world-wide. Her work as inspirational speaker and healer keeps her constantly on the move, giving seminars, talks and media appearances in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, South Africa, USA and Norway. Her writing career has focused on self-help books and articles, and her first venture into fiction, a trilogy of novels, The Master Series is due to be published in 2022.