Ashfield Musical Society’s latest production, Chess – The Musical, will play for five shows only at the Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL Club, starting tonight. Same Same chatted to cast member James Forbes about the often misunderstood musical.

So we all know Chess was written by Benny and Bjorn from ABBA (with Tim Rice), we all know One Night In Bangkok and I Know Him So Well. What are some things that we may not know about the musical?

ABBA had gone into a sabbatical and Lloyd Webber was unavailable to work with Rice. A producer friend of Rice suggested the ABBA boys, they met, and the rest is history.

The words to One Night In Bangkok are the original lyrics that were simply written to go with the music. The intention always was to change them to fit the narrative. They didn’t. I must say from a narrative stand point, this song means you leave storytelling at the door and try and convey the craziness of a mad Bangkok street.

So the first theatrical production of Chess opened in London’s West End in 1986 and played for three years. And there was a US version which premiered on Broadway in 1988 and only survived for two months. Meanwhile, the music from Chess was released in 1984 and sold well. What do you think about this?

The original production on the West End is closest to what we are doing. When it went to the US they decided to do massive re-writes and move all the action to Thailand. The consequences of this were enormous, as you said, the show was a complete flop. Much of the sweeping orchestral music was cut and it was reduced to a rather sad 80s pop music pastiche.

In our version, we start in Europe in Act 1 and move to Bangkok in Act 2.

It is set in 1979 at the height of the Cold War – given that this is the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin wall, for many it will be a salient reminder of how much world politics has changed. the US-USSR battle of the post WW2 era dominated our lives for four decades. You remember Sting’s song – “I hope the Russians love their children too?” when it seemed we all might die in a shower of nuclear bombs? In a way, it has more power the older the piece gets because we start to see it in a broader context. For much of the show’s life it has battled against relevance, which is always hard when you are in the middle of a change – many people felt with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, that Chess was pointless – but that is different now.

French & Saunders did a very funny parody in the 80s and it ran in Australia for almost a year in 1990!

So why have you guys decided to remount Chess now?

I guess a bit of the above, but our director Dennis Clements is a huge fan, and last year a concert version was held in the Royal Albert Hall in London with Josh Groban in the role of the Russian (Anatoly) – it’s on YouTube and it was hugely successful. I think they did four shows only with a huge choir and orchestra – and it is here that you get the sheer scale of this work presented properly, at least in concert form. Ours will not be anywhere on that scale – we have a cast of 40 and an orchestra of 16.

So why should gay audiences come and see Chess?

Well, apart from the boys from ABBA writing the music, the song I Know Him So Well was made famous also by musical theatre legends Elaine Page and Barbara Dickson. It’s a bit of a bitchfest with one guy stealing another guy’s girl, lots of singing and dancing. And it’s in an RSL, so you can eat and drink while you watch – even better! Perfect for the all inner-west boys and girls.

Chess plays from Thursday October 29 to Saturday 31 October at 8.30pm, and Saturday 31 October to Sunday 1st November at 2pm – Canterbury Hurlstone Park RSL Club, 20 -26 Canterbury Rd, Hurlstone Park. Tickets are $32 for Adults and $27 for concessions. For bookings, please call 9793 1331.