Ava Eldred on how her love of musical theatre inspired Exit Stage Death
When the question of what my second YA novel should be about came up, in many ways the answer was obvious. My first book, The Boyband Murder Mystery, was inspired by my teenage fandom days, and while very little of it could be said to be ‘based on a true story,’ some of it (thankfully not the murder mystery element!) was influenced by real events. Turning something you love in to a job, with commercial expectations and public visibility, is a complicated beast, and I came away from the experience wondering if I’d ever put something so personally important in to my work again. And then the time came, and not only did I do it again, I doubled down. While boybands were an important part of a specific few years, theatre has defined so much of my life, the entirety of my career, and is responsible for so many of my most important friendships that while writing about it felt pretty exposing… well, we’re told to write what we know, right? I couldn’t resist. And so Exit Stage Death was born.
I’ve always loved musical theatre, but I’d say I became a capital-f Fan in my teenage years, when a boy in a band I loved sang a line from Wicked in a backstreet behind Oxford Circus Topshop, and changed my life. What was that? I went home and listened to the cast recording, which led very quickly to the RENT movie (I know, musical purists don’t love it, but it was the perfect gateway) and any other contemporary musical I could get my hands, or my ears, on. My first job was ushering in a West End theatre, and I still remember walking home after my first shift, as if on air, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world. It quickly became clear I was a terrible usher, as were most of us, since we were far more interested in spending time with each other than actually doing the job, but the bug had well and truly bitten. I’ve worked in theatre ever since.
While the murder mystery plot is front and centre, one of the most important elements of Exit Stage Death for me is the relationships that the characters build. None of these characters are based on real people, but the emotions, and the intense friendships, definitely have their roots in reality. I think it’s the shared goal, and the immediate shorthand, that helps these relationships to develop so quickly. I’m sure it’s the same in most industries, but something about those really close bonds have always felt inherently ‘theatre’ to me.
It was also important for me to include disciplines outside of performing. Lighting design, stage management and teaching are all important parts of Exit Stage Death, because they’re all vital parts of the musical theatre industry. I spent much of my 20s working as a producer, which meant I had oversight of all of these departments, and learned so much by watching the people who work in them, and love them, making their magic. They’re such specific skillsets, and I think because performing is seen as so glamorous, the people working hard behind the scenes don’t get as much love as they should. My friends will remember well the time I decided I could be a stage manager. I lasted a week and cried every day. In the book, Livi knows better than I did and acknowledges that she simply doesn’t have the skillset!
I think the idea of a ‘dream career’ is reductive, since the term is often used to try and make workers feel lucky to be there in a way that can verge on exploitative, but the truth is, theatre is, and always has been, my dream career. That feeling, and that self-imposed pressure, was easy to transpose on to Livi and the rest of the characters in Exit Stage Death, because I’ve felt the stress of trying to balance the thing you love with a ‘sensible job.’ From ushering, to producing, to now working with audiences for my favourite theatre company, and of course writing novels about it, I feel very lucky that I’ve been able to make it work in an industry I can’t imagine my life without. If I could tell my characters anything, it would be this – it takes a lot of luck, and even more tenacity, but sometimes, the dream and the ‘sensible job’ can be the same thing.
Exit Stage Death is published by UCLan Publishing on 5 June 2025
