Broken Chords comes to The Gaskell Hall, Silverdale next month

A musical story of life, love and navigating loss together.

Written and produced by Stuart Wickes and Kirstie Pelling. Directed by Joe Sumsion. 

Broken Chords is an intimate gig-theatre two-hander by Stuart Wickes and Kirstie Pelling blending original songs, spoken word, dark humour and direct audience address. 

It tells the true story of a couple learning to grieve together after the sudden death of their son  by suicide – not as a lecture, campaign or “issue piece”, but as a human story about love,  survival, difference, absurdity and the difficult work of staying connected.

Performed by the writers themselves with acoustic guitar and two voices, the show has the  feel of being invited into someone’s living room. It is candid, musical, funny, painful and  ultimately hopeful. Through songs and storytelling, Stuart and Kirstie explore how grief can  isolate people, even within the same family, and how music became a way to keep talking  when ordinary language failed.

While the subject matter is serious, Broken Chords is also deliberately warm, accessible and  surprisingly funny. It gives audiences permission to laugh, cry, reflect and talk. It aims to  create a shared community experience — part performance, part gathering — that helps  people feel less alone in the losses they carry. 

While rooted in personal experience, the show speaks to anyone who has lived through love,  loss or life-altering change. Audiences have described feeling as though they have come on a  journey with us, often expecting something bleak but finding an evening of honesty, humour,  music and hope.

The show is directed by Joe Sumsion, former Artistic Director of The Dukes Theatre, Lancaster and has been developed for intimate community, rural touring and small theatre spaces. 

It is suitable for adults (16+) who enjoy live music, real stories and intimate theatre. It  particularly appeals to people who value welcoming, honest, community-minded events.

Broken Chords plays at The Gaskell Hall, Silverdale Friday 3rd July 2026. Tickets are available here.