Arriving soon: Southern Fail, the musical

DISGRUNTLED commuters have turned the story of their misery travelling on a strike-hit railway line into a musical.

Artistic director Mark Brailsford and writer Simon Levenson have joined forces to launch Southern Fail: The Musical, an hour-long production charting the misery suffered by Southern Rail’s 300,000 passengers because of industrial action, staff shortages and other problems. The comedy, which will feature parody songs, topical satire and “bonkers” characters, will premiere at the Brighton Fringe Festival on Friday and Saturday.

Mark Brailsford said: “The Southern Rail crisis is one of those rare political issues that has affected absolutely everyone in our community – whether daily commuter, local business or parttime passenger. I don’t know anyone in Brighton who has managed the damage it has done.”

Simon Levenson said: “I suffered the daily journey from Hove to Croydon throughout 2016 so was not lacking in inspiration. When the circumstances around you are that absurd, it really just lends itself to satire. Commuters won’t forget any part of this crisis in a hurry and we really felt they deserved a bit of comedy relief and catharsis.” to avoid