James W. Bulmer

In 1987 James was bequeathed a large collection of hitherto unknown correspondence between Helena Rubinstein and Rosa Hollay (nee Bird) which was then to be the basis for a film. Whilst setting up the production in LA the idea of a musical took hold.

Having already prepared the storyline he approached Ant Stevens in 2005 to be the lyricist and Mike Heath to do the music. The rest, as they say, is history...

Ant Stevens

Ant's song writing started when, as a subaltern in Hong Kong, his CO ordered him at two days notice to produce an entertainment for the regimental ball. The result was a hastily cobbled together cabaret of clumsy sketches and quirky songs which, to his amazement, led to invitations for repeat performances all over the colony. Since then he has busked his way around the world from San Francisco to Novosibirsk. Titles such as "Lullabye to Wan Chai", "München Mädchen", "Idle Vice", "Onion Johnny", "Seen 'er in the Sauna", "Slava Trudu " (Glory to work) are clues to where he's been.

He has also written and directed a number of pantomimes and revues for the amateur theatre, producing them alongside other plays and musicals. He's even turned his hand to vandalising the G&S repertoire.

Mike Heath

Mike Heath skiffled his way into the inspiring decades of the 50s and 60s pop world. He then had a hard time choosing a boyhood hero between the evenly matched Field Marshal Montgomery and Carl Perkins. Monty won in the short term but Carl stood the test of time.

Head always bubbling with new tunes, he amused himself by singing silly songs at parties for half a century, including poking fun at foreign service protocol lists, pastiching George Formby: "My Little Trowel" and "The Hotel Lancashire" and Noel Coward: "My Old Man Said Get Yourself a Van" until provoked into something more challenging shortly after the turn of the millennium. He still can't read music and getting tunes out of his head and onto media remains a hilarious struggle.

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Ant and Mike Heath have been friends since they were benighted and bewildered young officer cadets at RMA Sandhurst. A long time ago they agreed that one day they would write a musical together. James Bulmer provided the opportunity; so here we are.