Musical Theatre Network, Mercury Musical Developments and Oxford Playhouse announce that tickets are now on sale for BEAM2023, the fourth presentation of the biennial industry showcase of new British musical theatre.
BEAM2023 is the UK’s biggest showcase of new musical theatre. This exhilarating two-day event showcases the most exciting, bold, diverse and high-quality new musicals being created. Selected from an extensive nationwide search, excerpts from 29 shows in development will be presented, alongside provocative and insightful panel discussions, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities. BEAM2023 will take place on 25th and 26th May at Oxford Playhouse, running from 10am to 6pm each day.
As the largest gathering of the UK new musical theatre community, BEAM2023 brings together producers, writers, composers, venues, investors, agents and development partners for two days of inspiring content. To date, over 35 musicals from previous BEAMs have gone on to be fully staged, including new West End arrival Operation Mincemeat.
Previous BEAMs, taking place in 2016, 2018 and 2021, assembled an unprecedented number, diversity and geographical spread of musical theatre writing teams from around the UK and facilitated numerous connections, commissions and collaborations. Over 60% of shows presented have gone on to further development opportunities as a result of BEAM. Writers and shows featuring in BEAM2023 will be announced in late March.
Presenting the showcase outside of London for the first time reflects the nationwide re-balancing of where new musicals are developed and discovered, with the majority of new British musicals now first staged outside London, including those which go on to West End runs (such as The Great British Bake Off and Everybody’s Talking About Jamie). In May, Musical Theatre Network, Mercury Musical Developments and Oxford Playhouse will welcome all those with an interest in the development of new musicals from around the UK and the world. BEAM2023 will celebrate the art form of musical theatre and introduce audiences to the potential hit shows of tomorrow.
Natalia Scorer, Executive Director of Mercury Musical Developments said, “BEAM is a vital platform for exciting new shows to be discovered. These 29 new musicals have been chosen from 265 pitches from around the UK and we are really looking forward to sharing this content and talent with the wider industry. BEAM is an excellent chance to bring the industry together to have important conversations about opportunities and pathways to developing new work, and to spark ideas and collaborations.”
James Hadley, Executive Director of Musical Theatre Network said, ‘‘BEAM was developed to meet the industry’s need for a more efficient way of talent spotting and gaining an overview of the most promising musical theatre writers and projects in development. The new musical theatre landscape is like an iceberg – most musicals take around 5 years to develop, so the vast majority are below the surface for years. As a result, we found many in the industry are only aware of a small percentage of the talented writers seeking to bring their musicals up to the surface, and BEAM is our way of changing that.’’
Jamie Chapman Dixon, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Playhouse, said, “We are excited to work alongside MMD and MTN to bring BEAM2023 to the Oxford Playhouse this spring. We have a strong history of commissioning new work and hosting this year’s showcase seemed like the perfect fit for our goals and ambitions.”
Tickets for BEAM2023 are now on sale and can be booked online via Oxford Playhouse website or by calling Oxford Playhouse Box Office on 01865 305305.
