Mercury Musical Developments (MMD) and Musical Theatre Network (MTN) have announced a nationwide search to find the UK’s most exciting musicals in development for BEAM2027, the country’s leading showcase of new musical theatre.
The biennial event will take place on 20 and 21 May 2027 at Royal & Derngate, Northampton, bringing together producers, programmers and industry professionals to discover the next generation of musical theatre talent.
Ahead of the showcase, MMD and MTN will host 22 pitching days in 14 towns and cities across the UK between September and December 2026, with more than 300 new musicals expected to be pitched.
Creative teams will have 10 minutes to present their ideas to industry panels, with up to 40 musicals selected to appear at BEAM2027. Around 50 industry experts will contribute to the selection process, while tailored development feedback will be provided to every pitching team thanks to support from PRS Foundation.
The first pitching day will take place at Leeds Playhouse, with Artistic Director Tom Wright among the panel members. Other partner venues include Birmingham Hippodrome, Bristol Old Vic, Stratford East, Royal & Derngate, MAST Mayflower Studios, The Lowry, The Exchange Twickenham, Wales Millennium Centre, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Liverpool Everyman, Hoxton Hall and Southwark Playhouse.
Designed to champion new musical theatre from across the UK, BEAM has become one of the industry’s key development opportunities. More than 150 new musicals have been showcased through the programme, with over 60% going on to receive further development support or full productions.
Previous BEAM successes include Operation Mincemeat, Hot Mess, A History of Paper and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
A free online event offering advice and guidance on pitching new musicals will be held on 1 September 2026. Additional networking events for musical theatre creatives will also take place in Birmingham, Edinburgh and London later in the year.
“The BEAM pitching process is the most wide-reaching development opportunity for new musical theatre in the UK. We are delighted to be providing each team with feedback so that this is a useful experience for everyone, regardless of the showcase selection. We are really looking forward to meeting artists from around the country and finding the most exciting new work out there.”
Zaylie-Dawn Wilson of Mercury Musical Developments added: “The BEAM pitching process is the most wide-reaching development opportunity for new musical theatre in the UK. We are delighted to be providing each team with feedback so that this is a useful experience for everyone, regardless of the showcase selection. We are really looking forward to meeting artists from around the country and finding the most exciting new work out there.”
“Given financial realities, it’s significant and important to us that the BEAM pitching days are one of the most accessible industry entry points. For ten minutes someone with no prior musical theatre experience can find themself sharing their ideas with an artistic director or producer on a pitching day panel, and if selected they get financial support to share their ideas with a venue full of people who can help make them a reality. That’s a rarity worldwide.”
“BEAM plays a crucial role in the development of the UK musical theatre artform to create and promote new musicals from the ground up. I am producing two BEAM shows, including ‘Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)’, which I discovered at BEAM2018 and is now playing on Broadway.”
“BEAM is a bit like Cannes – for musicals. And the results are astonishing… brilliantly diverse material that proves musical theatre is alive and well in the UK… it is a celebration of the range and power of British writing talent.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
