Making a Musical: The Future of British Musical Theatre

It’s the eve of the mayoral election, and the kids of Hamelin aren’t happy. The mayor and owner of the local pie factory has imposed a music ban, and to make matters worse, there’s a serious rat problem. But, there have been whispers of a mysterious rat catcher in town. Can this curious stranger help Hamelin to find its voice once more?

Pied Piper is a raucous musical re-imagining of a medieval fairy-tale. Featuring a hugely talented cast of beatboxers, musicians and special guest performances from the local community, get ready for an electrifying night of vocal wizardry for all the family.

Featuring songs ‘Welcome to Hamlin’ performed by the cast (Lead Rap Conrad Murray) and ‘I Wanna Sing’ performed by the cast (Lead Vocal Kate Donnachie).

Conrad Murray (he/him) Writer & Co-Director

Conrad Murray is a theatre maker, director, musician, rapper, beatboxer, writer and composer. As artistic director, he has led the BAC Beatbox Academy since 2008, innovating in hop hop/ beatbox theatre with various projects.

His recent production Romeo & Juliet with the Polka Theatre and Beats & Elements , which he Co Directed and wrote, has been nominated for four Off West End awards including best music and production.

His production company for making new hip hop shows is called rODIUM LTD.

He was recently the Musical Director and Composer on Michael Rosens’ An Unexpected Twist’, book by Roy Williams.

His production with the BAC Beatbox Academy, Frankenstein: How to Make a Monster got 5 star reviews from The Stage, The Guardian and others. It won the Off West End award, Total Theatre award, and was the highest rated show of the Edinburgh Fringe, and won pick of the fringe at the Adelaide fringe festival. It was adapted into a BBC film in 2020. Pilots’ Crongton Knights (Musical Director was picked as one of the top theatre shows of the year by the Guardian in 2020.

He was chosen as part of the Stage’s top 100 people in their 2020 list which highlighted his show High rise State Of Mind with his theatre company Beats & Elements, and a finalist in The Arts Foundations theatre makers category.

He was Beatbox Coach on Giles Terera’s The Meaning Of Zong for the Bristol Old Vic.

He was director for Connor Allen’s autobiographical Grime theatre experience Making Of A Monster for the Wales Millennium Centre.

In 2022, his first published works were published by Bloomsbury/Methuen Drama, Making hip hop theatre and three original texts Beatbox & Elements – A Hip Hop Theatre Trilogy.

He has collaborated and/or made work for various venues and institutions including Battersea Arts Centre, The National Theatre Studio, The Lyric Hammersmith, Mountview School of Theatre Arts, The Tate, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Camden People’s Theatre, Roundhouse, Theatre Royal Stratford East, UCL, The Courtyard Theatre.

@ rODIUMRecords/rODIUM

Follow The Other Palace: @TheOtherPalace

Are you writing a new musical in the UK? Consider submitting your show for the podcast: https://theotherpalace.co.uk/making-a-musical-podcast/

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Past and present intertwine in this new folk musical about the history, bravery, and sacrifices of our lifeboat communities. Witnesses to a tragedy in 1886, Charles and Marion Macara unite to support a town in grief, inspiring a nationwide movement set to forever change the tide of fundraising. Current day crew member, Shannon, balances her new family responsibilities with an inherited sense of duty to honour the legacy of family members past. In two hundred years, the same question remains - how far will you go to save a stranger?

Featuring songs 'With Courage’ and ‘Grace’ performed by Jonathan Charles, Mary Erskine, Philippa Hogg, and Dyd Wynford.

Jon Hare (he/him) Writer & Composer

Jon's other musicals include Never Again, inspired by true events from WWI, and Charming, an 80s jukebox show set in a bankrupt kingdom 25 years after the failed marriage of Prince Charming and Cinderella. In 2021 he recorded a demo album for his Christmas family musical, The First Chris Moose, at Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, with MD Dan Glover. Jon has been a freelance Production and Stage Manager for over fifteen years, working at National Theatre, Young Vic, Roundhouse, Windsor Castle, and others. He also works as a freelance consultant to international lyricists, specialising in helping those for whom English is not their first language. @horatiohare

Steph Weller (she/her) Producer

Steph is an Old Vic 12 trained and Stage One supported producer, and is in-house producer for Reading Rep. Via her company PlayWell Productions, commissions and credits include the plays Live To Tell: (a Proposal for) The Madonna Musical, Very Special Guest Star, Clown Sex, and I Ain’t Dumb, and musicals Black Power Desk, Lesbian Pirates! and With Courage. China Plate is supporting Steph through the ongoing development of her new musicals via their Dark Room scheme. @stephweller @playwellprods

Follow With Courage: @withcourageshow

Follow The Other Palace: @TheOtherPalace

Are you writing a new musical in the UK? Consider submitting your show for the podcast: https://theotherpalace.co.uk/making-a-musical-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alice Haywood is a woman in her 70s who, despite growing up as an incredibly accomplished pianist and moving from Australia to London to study, found herself in an abusive and controlling marriage, unable to exercise any control over her own life. Now, with the recent death of her husband, and through a friendship with her younger neighbour, Emily, Alice refinds her purpose, and goes on a journey to rediscover herself. At the end of the play, Alice finally exorcises the ghost of her husband Edward, when she takes an axe to the grand piano he bought for her 40 years ago.

Featuring songs 'Pulling Away’ and ‘A Piano Is’ performed by Susie McKenna.

Tim Gilvin (he/him) Music & Lyrics

Tim Gilvin is a composer lyricist whose projects include Stay Awake, Jake (S&S Award Winner 2014; VAULT Festival 2016; Southwark Playhouse 2020), Unfortunate (Edinburgh 2019; London 2022) and Help! We Are Still Alive (Seven Dials Playhouse 2022). He has worked as an accompanist, MD and orchestrator within musical theatre, and also works extensively in education. @tim_gilvin

Grace Taylor (she/her) Book, Lyrics & Director

Grace’s experience is as a musical theatre director and Music and Freedom is her first project as a writer. Current projects: associate director SIX The Musical (UK Productions, Hampton Court, Seoul, South Korea and Australian Tour); director for In Clay by Jack Miles and Rebecca Simmonds; director for a new version of The Hatpin by Peter Rutherford and James Millar; and director for Becoming Nigella by Emily Rose Simonds. @Gracetaylor_MT

Follow The Other Palace: @TheOtherPalace

Are you writing a new musical in the UK? Consider submitting your show for the podcast: https://theotherpalace.co.uk/making-a-musical-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Summer is over. GCSEs are looming. But Year 11s are only talking about one thing: babies. Not real ones... but the plastic simulator dolls they’ve been given to keep alive for a whole entire week. With a blistering pop rock score, this brand new British musical follows nine students as they discover that becoming a parent means changing more than just nappies. Friendships are tested, dreams are questioned and the real meaning of responsibility rears its terrifying head.

Featuring songs ‘Baby Baby Baby’ performed by Hannah Lowther, Grace Mouat, Courtney Bowman, Miracle Chance, Maddison Bulleyment, Aitch Wylie, Billy Nevers, James Hameed and Luke Bayer and ‘Hot Dad’ performed by Aitch Wylie, Billy Nevers, James Hameed and Luke Bayer.

Jack Godfrey (he/him) Music & Lyrics

Jack is an award-winning musical theatre composer and lyricist. Outside of Babies, his current projects include 42 Balloons (Book, Music and Lyrics; Staged Concert at the Vaudeville Theatre in November 2022) and This Is A Love Story (Music and Lyrics; Concert Performance at Dundee Rep in November 2021). @jjgodfreyy

Martha Geelan (she/her) Book & Director

Babies is Martha’s debut musical as a book writer. As a director, Martha has worked alongside Sir Trevor Nunn on multiple productions including the Olivier Award-winning Fiddler On The Roof, Identical and The Bridges of Madison County. Separately, Martha was the Associate Director for Olivier-nominated play, The Shark Is Broken which is currently running on Broadway. Other productions as Associate Director include Indecent, She Loves Me and The Lie at the Menier Chocolate Factory. This autumn on the directing team for new musical, The Book Thief, playing at Coventry Belgrade & Leicester Curve. @marthageelan

Follow Babies: @babiesmusical

Follow The Other Palace: @TheOtherPalace

Are you writing a new musical in the UK? Consider submitting your show for the podcast: https://theotherpalace.co.uk/making-a-musical-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaz’ parents have vanished. Now, with the help of teenage inventor Melanie, she must work out where they’ve gone and how to get them back. And what’s going on with those ninja teddy bears. And who they really work for. And how she ended up in the middle of a plot for world domination. And how to get out of this mess. Eek.

This is a completely bonkers musical adventure for childish grownups - the epic lovechild of The Powerpuff Girls and Rick and Morty, brewed in vitro in Dexter’s Lab.

Follow Jaz, Melanie, and a host of ludicrous sidekicks to learn how the planet was almost changed forever.

Featuring songs ‘A Little Bad’ performed by Ellie Nunn (BVs by Alex Simpson) and ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet’ performed by Nancy Zamit, Ellie Nunn, Chris Fearn, Danni Ashby and Parisa Shahmir.

Oli George Rew (he/him) Music

Oli is a musical director and composer. He was the recipient of the Lesley Hayes Award whilst at Mountview, and has worked extensively as a musical director and supervisor, in the UK and abroad. Alongside Andy Room, he wrote ‘The Night Our Parents Disappeared’, and a number of songs for new plays. @oli.rew

Andy Room (he/they) Book & Lyrics

Andy is a writer and director. Collaborating with Oli George Rew, their song “The Inventor’s Daughter” was a finalist for the Best New Song Prize, and their debut musical was selected for the Rewrites Festival at the Lowry in 2022. Andy is also a member of MMD’s Advanced Writing Lab. @andydroom

Follow The Other Palace: @TheOtherPalace

Are you writing a new musical in the UK? Consider submitting your show for the podcast: https://theotherpalace.co.uk/making-a-musical-podcast/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.