on making that moment as cathartic and euphoric as possible - we tease the audience throughout to build anticipation, like a DJ at a club playing a few notes of your fav song and then playing something else. here's a breakdown of the ways we tease the audience with the song:

• 6 distorted versions of the song (chapter titles)

• 5 other Killers songs

• 3 musical interludes (Tim and Hannah playing instruments)

• 2 times starting the song and cutting away after the intro

• 1 karaoke version with different lyrics

• and a partridge in a pear tree

the show follows 3 main threads - the Irish bar story, the Brampton karaoke story, and Tim and Hannah's story. we were inspired by sitcoms and movies with A B and C stories, sticking with a story until the climax of that scene, then moving on before it gets boring

each thread had its own lighting state, and the chapters were titled with song lyrics that related to what was about to happen. for example, "How did it end up like this?" is just before Tim and Hannah explain the origins of the song, and "Let me go" precedes the Irish wake

these two scenes mirror each other (shout out @PoltergeistTC for the inspiration) with Hannah lifting Tim in a limp state. the first time, it looks like he's lifeless, but later it's revealed that he is crowdsurfing. the song and the community is what turned the sorrow into joy

other examples of mirroring scenes include Hannah embodying Brandon Flowers, and later embodying Brampton Flowers. this is then mirrored again with Tim embodying Brian at the wake - both Tim and Hannah embody these local heroes, who in turn embodied Brandon Flowers

on that note, this is why we're so fascinated by karaoke as an art form. your success isn't based on talent, but passion. we just think that's beautiful. we repeat the phrase "paying homage" over and over in the show: about the local heroes, the memes, Steelhenge, and now, us

taking ownership of the art you enjoy was a vital part of our thought processes in devising. karaoke, making memes, and now ourselves making this piece of theatre, all follow the same artistic journey. see something you like, get inspired, pay homage to it. it's democratic

finally, I'll talk a little about what we got wrong the first time, and our fixes. we originally wanted truly autonomous experiences for the audience, where they could do exactly what they wanted. this idea was related to the point above: paying homage and democratic art forms

but as we developed the idea, we realised it was a different show that we were making. during lockdown, we interrogated this, and made Your Progress Will Be Saved which is currently still in R&D, but speaks much much better to autonomy, agency, and democratic decision making

one more thing we got wrong was in the original pub scenes. we were fascinated by the idea of legacy, and how we want to be remembered. this fit with the Irish wake story, and the fact that Mr Brightside is enduring 18 years later, but we were shoehorning it in other scenes

we couldn't find a natural/apt way for the audience to talk about their legacy. instead, we shifted to community, and when we realised the audience should all rally together around a shared interest in the song, and leave the theatre closer than they entered, everything clicked

the melody is simple and makes you want to sing, the bpm is fast and makes you want to dance, the lyrics are ambiguous but relatable and make you want to shout. it's played at weddings, parties, festivals, sports games, clubs... places people look for love, passion, and community