Anne-Louise Rentell is director of The Outside Man, a new musical being developed by Merrigong Theatre Company through a partnership with The Disability Trust.

The cast of seven, originating from the Altogether Drama Program, have been working with Rentell and composer Daryl Wallis to create a selection of songs from scratch that will form the basis of the show.

The audience will be transported to a “cabaret dream world” with lonely cat-birds, bearded clowns and love songs sung with a mouthful of fairy floss.

“Even though we’ve got disabilities we can still do very good at it,” performer Malcolm Allison said.

“We know how to focus on it and how to listen carefully to the director and how to concentrate on what we’re doing to try and impress the audience.”

It’s not the first time Allison has worked on the stage, having been involved on a similar production in 2014, The Man Who Dreamt the Stars.

He said he’s been interested in acting since he was a child and loves performing with new people.

Rentell said the idea for the show came last year after Wallis ran a workshop with the drama program, purely on songwriting and singing.

“What we recognised really quickly was a real willingness to sing and a real kind of ease with the idea of a song as a way as expressing yourself,” Rentell said.

Wallis said each performer has a unique perspective on the world so the biggest challenge for him was trying to “honour” that point of view through song creation.

“Often we build songs that are quite unconventional in standard terms,” he said.

“We’re making shows that are uniquely their own view and experience in the world, as we’d hope to do in any project like this.

“In a way we’re sort of pushing the envelope … and it’s letting more people in the tent.”

Merrigong’s artistic development manager Leland Kean said it was part of the company’s ongoing commitment to producing works that reflect the local community and the diversity within it.

The Outside Man will have a “ruff reading” at the Illawarra Performing Arts Centre on Wednesday October 5, with an audience Q&A at the end to help further develop the work.

It will be the third locally produced work to hit the stage for Merrigong this year, a “dynamic time” according to Kean.

Earlier this year the company was applauded by the Australia Council for the Arts in programming Indigenous works into every season.

While Kean said they’ll also be expanding into youth programming in the future.

The Outside Man, ruff reading – Bruce Gordon Theatre, IPAC, October 5, 7:30pm.

For tickets call 4224 5999