For their 20th season, BYMT will fully produce seven brand new British musicals and develop another seven new musical theatre ideas in week-long camps – working with venues, creatives and young people from across the United Kingdom.
Full and public productions this year will be presented at Birmingham Hippodrome, Southwark Playhouse, Lyric Belfast, Octagon Bolton, Northcott Exeter and The New Wolsey, Ipswich and are led by creatives including Dean Johnson, Tom Ling, Amir Shoenfeld, Francesca Goodridge, Ruth Chan and Ellie Jones.
Animal Farm kicks off the season in the Easter break, telling the classic story with an anti-capitalist twist and folk score, followed by the third in the Tony Macaulay Paperboy/Breadboy trilogy All Growed Up at the start of August. Unbound looks at witchcraft and a young, home-educated person finding where they belong in the community, whilst Wonderland in Alice is a movement led production exploring Alice’s identity as a non-binary character. Arthurian mythologies of Wales, Ireland, Scotland and the West Country come together in The Power of Camelot. New Music Theatre Award winning Welcome to Serene takes us to a seaside town submerged in sand, before the season closes with When We Strike, a punk rock telling of the matchstick girls’ strike 1880s London.
To address imbalances within the sector, nine out of fourteen composer/writers of the shows are female or non-binary and all creative teams include artists from under-represented backgrounds. Programmed by the BYMT Young Company Panel, the shows take epic themes, tell existing stories and events in revolutionary ways, feel acutely relevant to young people and celebrate a range of musical styles, from folk to rock to electro pop.
The anniversary gala event will combine a public performance celebrating the last 20 years with alumni performing highlights from the musicals developed and presented by BYMT in the past. It will also celebrate the current talent, looking to transform musical theatre and start the careers of the next generation of professionals. A music theatre symposium will run alongside the public event for current members to meet industry figures and network.
BYMT has also announced that they will be relocating their head office from Peckham in South London to Leeds, Yorkshire in autumn 2024. This follows a rigorous feasibility study funded by Arts Council England as part of their Transfer Programme. Leeds is ideal for BYMT, as a national company, sitting in the centre of the UK and giving good access to partners in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as well as across England. In addition to this main Leeds office a smaller satellite production office will be run in London.
Emily Gray, Creative Director of BYMT says “This moment of change coming in our 20th year feels a wonderful opportunity to celebrate BYMT as a national company, based in the centre of the UK and reaching young people across the nations and beyond. Led by our Young Company, we have created a programme of shows which highlights the innovation and ambition that drives the new music theatre sector forwards, questioning what it is possible to say in musical form. BYMT will continue to seek out young people who want to explore the making of new collaborative work, enhance their performance skills, celebrate inclusive processes and shape the future of music theatre.”
British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT) is the leading new musical theatre company for young people, working across the UK and Ireland with West End professionals to offer unique opportunities and high-quality training. Since 2003 they have trained over 15,000 young people, with alumni including Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Charlotte Ritchie, Dean Johnson, Grace Mouat, Jamie Muscato, Amara Okereke, Mei Mac and Bradley Jaden. BYMT’s mission is to create opportunities for young people and early career creatives from all backgrounds to develop theatre skills and enhance wellbeing, through the collaborative and inclusive process of making original music theatre. Their vision is to transform perceptions of musical theatre, be the leading voice in youth music theatre and be internationally recognised as the UK’s most prolific creator of new musicals.
More information can be found here
