Let’s twist again...at the Grove Theatre

And it was one woman in particular who may have been a familiar face to shoppers.

For one of the directors of the musical production, coming to the Grove Theatre next week, is Julie Stewart, who was born and bred in Hillborough Crescent, Houghton Regis, and has also lived in Luton and Dunstable.

The former Houghton Regis Upper School pupil – along with her two fellow directors Chris Madin and Kimberly Nolan – runs Crimson Fair, an events management company behind The Twist, a ‘50s and ‘60s rock ‘n’ roll musical featuring the songs of Elvis, Buddy Holly, Dusty Springfield and more.

Julie, 47, told the Gazette: “We’ve got all the songs that everyone remembers but we’ve also got a bit of a story which links it all together.

“We’ve got a four-piece band and their talent is incredible. It’s a fantastic story and the show’s talent is second to none.

“We’ve had standing ovations and the audience dancing throughout the show. We hoped it would be popular as we know what a great show it is.”

The Twist cast has already performed at 10 theatres across the country, but Julie is particularly excited to bring the show to the Grove Theatre on Saturday, October 15 for one night only – as the venue is so close to her home town.

She said: “We thought it would be nice to bring the show to Dunstable and let people know that local people have produced the show.

“Our star Suzi Jary has written and directed the script and sings all female leads, Chris Madin co-produced it and appears in the show and we have designed and built the set ourselves.”

The Twist takes the audience into the heart of an American diner, where all the greats pop in to perform for owner Tony Tremendo.

Julie, who now lives in Northampton, added: “From meeting Suzi we realised what a great concept it was. Chris is Suzi’s fiance. He co-wrote the show with Suzi.

“We’ve got a lot of key skills between us. Chris is business-minded and is a great songwriter, Suzi is a great actress and fantastic singing talent and the cast is so committed.

“Myself and Kimberly link it all together with the sales element, the marketing and the admin. And it is working.”

The Twist already has a 16-date tour booked for 2012.

Mum-of-two Julie was a personal assistant for many years before opening a cleaning business seven years ago that is now run by her son-in-law.

Last year Julie started selling office space and met current business partner Kimberly Nolan at a networking event.

The pair hit it off immediately and quickly decided to go into business together and Crimson Fair was born.

The company’s first venture was the Holy Cow Comedy Club, which was launched in January, and now they have The Twist.

And the ideas don’t stop there.

Julie said: “We’d like to do another show and we will expand but we are not quite sure what yet. We’ve got some ideas but we are keeping them to ourselves at the moment. But The Twist will keep going.”

Tickets, priced £17 to £19, are available from the box office on 01582 602080.

For more information visit www.thetwistshow.com.