Kunt & The Gang Take “Shannon Matthews: The Musical” To The Edinburgh Fringe

Shannon Matthews: The Musical premieres today, Thursday 4th August, at the Edinburgh Fringe. The foul-mouthed mother from hell, Karen Matthews, is fed up being a nobody until she hatches a cunning plan for a shot at the big time, hen-pecked common-law husband Craig Meehan has a secret interest that nobody knows about and uncle Michael Donovan just wants a bit of company and a couple of quid for some baccy. Meanwhile the stereotypical Yorkshire copper Detective Inspector Radgitt faces a race against time to get to the bottom of this case and find the missing girl, Shannon Matthews, aged 9.

This is Shannon Matthews: The Musical, an irreverent, potty-mouthed, black comedy romp through one of the most bizarre news stories of this century, via the warped imagination of Kunt And The Gang, the songwriter behind The Kunts’ recent top 20 hit singles Boris Johnson is a Fucking Cunt, Boris Johnson is STILL a Fucking Cunt and Prince Andrew is a Sweaty Nonce. The production is being brought out from under the bed base by Yorkshire’s own Tuppence Ha’penny Theatre Company. Shannon Matthews: The Musical re-imagines an even larger-than-life, delusionally confident Karen Matthews as she sets off on her quest for fame by masterminding the fake kidnapping of her daughter, aided and abetted by a supporting cast of massively dysfunctional men. Is this suitable fare for comedy? Rightly, and thankfully, that will now be for the audiences to decide, following two venue cancellations and a concerted effort to get the show banned by online Karens on the Yorkshire Live Facebook page.

Shannon Matthews: The Musical features 11 original songs including Can’t Work, Wont Work, I’ve Got A Plan (Based On Maddie McCann), Different Dads and Shannon Ain’t Dead (She’s Under My Bed), and was originally released on audio CD and download in 2010, pre-dating the BBC TV drama The Moorside by 7 years. Shannon Matthews: The Musical is not for the easily offended and has been described as ”Vile” by the The Sun, ”Sick” in the The Star, as ”In incredibly poor taste” by a local Conservative MP and “Disgusting” by a local counsellor, although stand up comedian Stewart Lee has said “I can’t wait”, those attending the Edinburgh Fringe will now be able to make their own mind up.