Beam 2018

Musical Theatre Network and Mercury Musical Developments today announce the programme selected from their pitching days held around the UK between September and November for BEAM2018.

Fifty-eight of the new British musicals pitched at these days have been selected to be shared at the biennial industry showcase which will next year be held at Theatre Royal Stratford East on 1 and 2 March.

BEAM is designed for anyone in a position to help develop and stage new British musicals to attend, bringing the most exciting musical theatre projects together from around the UK for industry professionals to grab the opportunity to become involved from the early stages of development.

BEAM will take place 10:00am to 6:00pm on Thursday 1 and Friday 2 March 2018 – your ticket will be valid for both days and include lunch and refreshments.

The Season
By Jim Barne and Kit Buchan
Directed by Hannah Chissick
A snow-covered romantic comedy about a New Yorker showing a British visitor around her city on Christmas Eve, ahead of her sister's and his father’s wedding – this mixed-race two-hander celebrates and satirises the grand tradition of Christmas romance.

Bollywood Rose
By Sumerah Srivastav and Ajay Srivastav.
Directed by Adam Lenson.
A cross cultural coming of age story, about a young and cynical British Asian single mother, who finds herself trapped inside a Bollywood movie.

Mammoth
By Alexandra Wood and Matthew Herbert.
Directed by James Dacre.
An inventive musical set 45,000 years ago, when music allows homo sapiens more complex communication than their limited vocabulary – giving them new imaginings and the courage to kill a beast bigger than themselves.

Lucky Petra
By Christopher Ash and and Carl Miller.
Directed by Peter Rowe.
A promenade musical for all ages, led by a travelling band inspired by Balkan Brass Bands and Roma/punk mashups, telling a story of a young girl’s magical travels and contemporary migration.

F**ked in Marrakech
By Kate Marlais and Alex Young.
Cast includes Janie Dee and Gay Soper.
Directed by Josh Seymour.
The women of three generations of a British family work through resentment and reconciliation while together in Marrakech – in a family portrait exploring how we shape our past, present and future.

The Bow Maker
By Finn Anderson and Tania Azevedo.
Directed by Tania Azevedo.
A modern ecological fairytale linking an endangered species of tree in the Brazilian rainforest with the making of bows for the world’s finest string players – featuring an onstage string quartet and Brazilian percussion.

The Wind Singer
By Teresa Howard and Sarah Llewellyn.
Based on the novel by William Nicholson.
Directed by Cressida Carre.
A family musical about a fierce girl in a tribal world, on a quest to find the Wind Singer’s lost voice and free her people – with a score including a children’s choir, musical saw and tuned wine glasses.

My Marcello
By Rosabella Gregory, Dina Gregory and Corey Brunish.
Adapted from the film Roseanna’s Grave; Directed by Kate Golledge.
Marcello has promised his ailing wife that the one remaining plot in the local cemetery, beside their daughter, will be hers, but he must keep the whole town’s population alive for this to be so – resulting in comic acts of desperation in a musical comedy with a very big heart.