Actors celebrate Fringe reception

The Bubble received two five-star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe

A Shropshire youth theatre company were celebrating after being awarded two five-star reviews at the 2009 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Shrewsbury School and Severn Opera's musical The Bubble was named among the Fringe's very best by the Edinburgh Guide and Broadway Baby publications.

The Bubble was written by Julian Roach and Peter Hankin, with music by the school's Director of Music John Moore.

The musical is based on an 18th Century economic crisis - the South Sea Bubble.

The Bubble was premiered by Shrewsbury School at the 2002 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It was described by The Scotsman as 'highly professional, polished and compelling... setting new standards for any other musical daring to brave the Fringe.'

The five-star reviews put the 2009 version of the musical firmly in the top 5% of the 2,000 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival - regarded as one of the world's foremost arts events.

The play was inspired the bursting of the 'dot-com bubble' at the turn of the century as many investors in IT companies saw their stock prices collapse.

The current economic crisis also offered a perfect backdrop to the story, one which seemed too good to miss for the production team behind The Bubble.

Peter Hankin has worked with Julian Roach to update the play for 2009

They introduced a few contemporary references to reinforce the parallels between 1720 and the current credit crunch.

"The fleeing members of the board, who have made an awful lot of money, are told by the sea captain as they make their way to France that they risk the perils of the Goodwins... The Goodwin Sands of course," explained co-author Peter Hankin.

The South Sea Bubble

The show is set in 1720 and focuses on the fate of the South Sea Company, which won a trading deal with Spain to deliver slaves to Venezuela and return with gold.

The monopoly seems to be a sure way to make money and the stock price rises from £128 to over £1,000. Such is the certainty behind the company's trading muscle that many would-be investors sell everything they have to buy shares.

However, like the speculation surrounding the dot-com boom of the late 90s, stock prices spiral out of control and eventually crash when the company's actual profitability fails to come close to investors' expectations. The collapse left many dukes and marquises ruined.

Alistair Darling is unlikely to emulate his 18th Century counterpart Robert Harley, who had established the South Sea Company in 1711 as a means to reduce government debt. Creditors owed about £10m by the government were persuaded to exchange their debt for shares in the new company.

Shrewsbury at Edinburgh

Shrewsbury School have won several Fringe Firsts, awarded to the festival's best original productions. They have also carved out a particularly strong reputation for high quality musicals, with The Bubble also being invited to perform at Convent Garden.

The Bubble is largely a local affair, with co-writer Peter Hankin, composer John Moore, director Peter Fanning and choreographer Sara Hankin all based in Shropshire.