Miles Gunn looks in on rehearsals for the Weaver’s Tale musical - an incredible story of how Axminster became world famous for making fine carpets. By chance I happened to hear of rehearsals taking place for this new musical written to tell the story of Thomas Whitty and to celebrate 250 years of carpet making in Axminster. Having attended previous Weaver’s Tales events namely the superb Spring Balls and the incredible possibility of Sir Neville Mariner conducting a local orchestra in the Minster church, I was expecting something of quality but had no idea what I would find and what they were trying to achieve. The musical has been written by a team of extremely talented local writers Cynthia Dunn, George Dunn and Chris Lane and takes place in and around Axminster in 1755. The team have converted, against all odds and legislation, the old carpet factory in Axminster (Whitty’s original site) into a fully working theatre just packed with charm and atmosphere. The script is historically very correct and depicts the underlying trade of smuggling and a country at war with France. The story moves fast and traces Whitty’s progress as he reaches an all time financial low and by chance discovers how to make hand knotted carpets, much to the relief of the local community which culminates in a Royal visit from King George III. The script is fun and very well cast with people drawn from many different theatre groups and clubs. What I could not believe is the quality of the music which has been written by George Dunn, Ben Stone and Tristan Massey Birch. The music is timeless and will appeal to all ages as it has brilliant lyrics and such catchy rhythms that I found myself singing the lines over and over again the following morning. This musical clearly has the legs to make it to London and Broadway and will tell this incredible story the world over! I shall be going back again before the production if only to learn those dammed catchy words and would not miss the opportunity to see this musical extravaganza before it goes seriously big. Well done Axminster this is a winner! Limited tickets are still available for most nights 01297 33373 or 33577