It's not often you get to see a new musical on the Colchester stage.

We were spoilt rotten with the brilliant Pieces of String last year at the Mercury but now local composer Olly Medlicott is bringing his self-penned show to the stage.

And it's going to be a double whammy of productions for Olly who, later in the year, will be re-visiting his other musical, Messy, at a special showcase performance at the Mercury Studio.

Head of music at the Colchester Royal Grammar, Olly will be a familiar face to many theatre-goers following performances with the Colchester Operatic Society, most notably his superb performance as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray last year, and with OD Productions at the Headgate.

But he's proving to be just as good at creating shows.

Messy, which is set in a village pub on karaoke night, got its premiere at the Headgate back in 2017, after which Olly got accepted on to the Mercury Theatre's Early Careers Training Programme, which is where he came up with the idea for his new show.

"Rockstar started on the course," he tells me. "We had a sharing at the end of it all and I put on a scene from this idea I had about exploring what happens when you go through an intense creative situation.

"I thought being in a rock band and all that entail from the romantic tangles, the fame and success of it all, would be a good scenario to set those themes and ideas."

Born and brought up in Enfield, Olly first started singing with the church choir before going on to study music at Cambridge.

It wasn't until his time studying as a post grad in Bristol that Olly began composing.

He says: "I wrote some music for a production of Streetcar Named Desire and then the woman who directed that did Romeo and Juliet at Theatr Clwyd, so I ended up doing some music for that as well.

"I enjoyed doing Messy, and I'm so pleased I've got another opportunity to put it on, this time at the Mercury. They're calling it a showcase but basically the idea is to have some industry people come and see it and then see what happens from there."

That's in May, while Rockstar takes to the Headgate Theatre stage next week.

Olly adds: "I didn't really intend to write an actor/musician but fortunately the actors I got in to do it all play so it made sense to go that way."

Starring Angie Diggens, Tom Pleasant, Will Mugford, Nathan Crane, Shannon Hannah and Sam Pillkington, Rockstar runs at the Chapel Street North theatre from March 26 to 30 at 7.45pm.

For tickets call the box office on 01206 366000.