Portraying terrible themes, but with music and dancing to make it all light-hearted. Many musicals back in the day (and a couple of modern ones) seem to have rather dark and twisted themes as the basis of the tale. But because there are bright clothes, music and dancing, everyone seems ok with it. Maybe that’s why I didn’t like musicals much as a child (apart from Grease), although my favourite when I did take to them, was The Nightmare Before Christmas, with a very strange and dark theme to it.

But after watching a few funny vids about them by a YouTuber called Rob Anderson, it started to seem relevant to something very recent, but I will get that, here are a few that stood out of the old ones –

Oliver Twist – mistreated orphans and lots of sinister happenings

Annie – mistreated orphan, who is then kidnapped along the way

Bedknobs and Broomsticks – The war and Nazis, and witchcraft

Seven Bridges for Seven Brothers (nicknamed ‘A wholesome human trafficking musical’ by Mr Anderson) – about kidnap and what seems like Stockholm syndrome essentially.

The Sound of Music – more Nazis

Wizard of Oz – Witches, flying Monkeys and oddities throughout.

Gigi – the main character has to train in the family tradition of being a high-end prostitute.

Rocky Horror Picture Show – vampires, sexuality and very odd characters

Even the animated ones aren’t actually cheery themes either.

Snow White – abandoned and meant to be killed

Pinocchio – kidnapped, trafficked and drugged

Cinderella – treated like a slave and abused by her family

Presented as suitable stories for children, for them to think perhaps that it is all quite a lively activity taking place, as long as there are colours, music and dancing, then it must be safe and happy with a good ending? That’s The Ticket looking at other films and themes where enticement through entertainment is a big lure.

So, to the point and what made me think of these films and their themes, of coordinated dancing and twirling making light of something rather dark and sinister. Yes, the dancing nurse’s videos that appeared on the internet after lockdown. Where hospitals were apparently overrun and at breaking point (but were actually empty when filmed by real people), or barricaded to stop people being able to use them freely as they once did. Of course, the first thing you should in a health emergency is restrict access to hospitals, and get a bunch of nurses to choreograph a routine and make use of hospitals that way. And since then, a few people have mentioned it again, how weird it was, how no-one ever admitted to being one of those dancing nurses, how we had no idea what it was all about and why something in such bad taste was made to be so jovial. But now I think of it again, in relation to the above themes, it does make sense. That it was odd display of frivolity to conceal the real underlying message, that you are watching a ‘musical’ where a dark undertone is there, in the hospital, using the equipment as props for their routine, and making you think perhaps that just like in the movies, it was going to have a happy ending…

(c) MKW Publishing