The Broken Chords Story
A musical story of two people trying to stay connected through loss.
Told through original songs, spoken word, and storytelling.
We hope audiences experience Broken Chords as an unusual and enjoyable event – part gathering, part performance, a celebration and a moment of community.
At the heart of a Broken Chords event is our seventy-five minute long piece of ‘gig theatre’ in which we share our story. It’s an honest and true account of how we, as a couple, learned to live with grief and move forward together after the sudden death of our son. The story, told through songs, explores how songwriting helped us stay connected and understand what was happening as we grieved differently.
It’s not a prescription for how to live after loss, rather a message that hope, joy and connection still exist beyond tragedy, and a chance to talk about a subject often avoided.
What’s the show like?
People are often surprised at how different the experience of attending Broken Chords is to what they imagined.
The video below, filmed at Stretford Public Hall during Greater Manchester’s Month of Hope, offers a glimpse of the songs, humour and storytelling at the heart of Broken Chords.
This informal recording was made for our own review and captures the live performance and audience response. Picture quality is limited.
What happens in the room
In Broken Chords, we invite audiences into something that feels like our living room, where the personal welcome, hospitality and time to talk are as much part of the experience as the show itself.
People arrive expecting actors and a stage. Instead they meet us as ourselves: Stuart and Kirstie. They gather around tables, close to us, with a coffee or a glass of wine, and sit and listen as we share our story. There is sadness, but also laughter, music, the complications of loss and a sense of hope. Afterwards, those who want to stay and talk can do just that. Because it’s not just our story; we all have stories of loss.
While the show tackles a difficult subject, we’ve worked hard to ensure the way we tell the story is truthful, includes light and shade, surprises and humour, and ultimately offers hope. We also look after the people that attend and can signpost people to support, if they need it.
The story so far
We began writing Broken Chords to make sense of life-changing loss. We never imagined it would become theatre that helped others start conversations of their own.
Initial performances took place in village halls and community centres in Burton-in-Kendal, Kendal, Lancaster, Kirkby Lonsdale and Silverdale. Over 340 people paid to attend and their response was extraordinary: overwhelmingly positive, passionate and moving.
Many stayed afterwards to talk, sharing reactions and their own experiences. Our show may be rooted in tragedy, but audiences found hope, humour and recognition of challenges we all face. They told us it was really a story of love and connection.
For some, the experience prompted a resolve to start conversations of their own.
Beyond our own backyard
The response to our initial try-out led to invitations to perform in Stretford for NHS Greater Manchester Month of Hope and in The Grand Theatre, Blackpool at the Good Grief Festival, taking the work beyond our local audiences, and receiving a similarly strong audience response.
What’s next?
Audiences tell us the message at the heart of Broken Chords is important, timely and relevant. That it deserves to travel beyond local audiences.
In 2027 we’re planning to find out how and where the work can make a contribution, working with different audiences, and developing plans for wider rural and community touring.
If you’d like us to come and perform at a venue near you or as part of a festival, conference or community event , please contact us and let’s talk.
The creative team
Before Broken Chords, we spent fifteen years directing The Family Adventure Project, an award-winning website and YouTube channel where we shared inspiring stories of adventurous family travel through writing, photography, video and social media.
Broken Chords takes our creative collaboration into live performance, drawing on our different voices and a shared determination to tell complex stories in ways that are accessible, honest and engaging.
Stuart Wickes – co-writer, songwriter, musician, performer, producer
Stuart is a leadership development practitioner, songwriter, pianist and guitarist. He co-runs two community choirs and designs and facilitates learning programmes, including for the BBC. Broken Chords brings together his musical practice, writing and experience of helping people engage in meaningful conversations.
Kirstie Pelling – co-writer, songwriter, performer
Kirstie is a writer and published author whose experience includes feature writing, writing and performing spoken-word poetry in schools and at conferences. She brings writing, choral singing and work in educational settings to Broken Chords, shaping its stories and the relationship between performance and audience.
Joe Sumsion – director and dramaturg
Joe is a theatre director and former Artistic Director of The Dukes, Lancaster, with extensive experience of new writing and higher education. He has worked with us to develop the script and performance, bringing a professional outside eye to its structure, pacing and theatrical possibilities. His experience and faith in us have been critical to getting Broken Chords off the page and in front of people.
