In Canberra’s musical theatre world, Berin Denham is well known as an entrepreneur/actor/singer/director, but now, in a complete change of direction, he and his partner Shell Abdoo have written an intensely personal story to put on stage.

Their musical, Only Everything, opens at The Courtyard Studio this weekend and is described by them as an “autobiographical narrative.”

Also tagged as a musical “dramedy”, it promises to weave a tale of love, second chances and the dynamics of blending families.

That’s because both Denham and Abdoo, who have seven children between them, are divorcees who have found love the second time around.

That’s a great subject for a musical so, joined by a crack team of actors David Pearson and Louiza Blomfield and respected choreographer Rachel Thornton as director and prizewinning professional musical director Nick Griffin, they’ve put their own lives on stage.

“The genesis of the play is in a personal story,” Denham tells me. “It kicked off when Shell and I met in Rock of Ages with Canberra Philharmonic 10 years ago, then five years ago we reconnected.”

“Shell asked me had I ever written a show and when I said no, she answered, ‘I love writing music’.”

Abdoo tells me that she’s a self-taught musician who is “just obsessed with learning how to write songs from an early age,” also writing poems and learning to play the piano as a vehicle for composing.

When friends said their story sounded like a romantic comedy, they decided to write about just that, and with lockdown arrived, they had time enough on their hands to do it.

Denham agrees that it’s very hard to objectify one’s life on stage, so with that in mind they staged a series of workshops and invited wise heads including Kelda McManus and James McPherson, to hear the script and the music.

Brought up on her parents’ favourite records, Abdoo loves The Beatles, Carole King, Fleetwood Mac and American singer-songwriter Tori Amos; in fact, she’s such a fan that she’s named her own character Tori.

In a similar move, Denham has named his character Aaron after American playwright, Aaron Sorkin.

The story may be their own, but Denham believes audiences will find that it will resonate, as ups and downs are a part of any relationship, universal.

Nothing could be more familiar than the Break Up Scene after the Boy Meets Girl scenario, for instance.

They are particularly excited to get Nick Griffin, who’s writing the orchestral parts and working with the band. Canberra-raised, Griffin is a top musical director now in Sydney, but Denham has known him since he was little.

For her part, Abdoo says: “It’s been an incredible experience for me to work with a big musical director who’s classically trained.”

Musical theatre veteran David Pearson plays Simon, Aaron’s best friend, in an unusual comic role for this seasoned performer, while Louiza Blomfeld, just as seasoned, play Tori’s older sister Emma, the voice of reason.

Sensibly, Denham and Abdoo have engaged an external director in Rachel Thornton, who immediately threw all their stage directions out of the window and brought to the production “beyond something beyond what our two brains would have worked out”.

There’s going to be a postscript to this show. The day after the show closes, just outside The Courtyard Studio, they’ll tie the knot.

Only Everything, The Courtyard Studio, until October 26.