Allen Martin News

The Other Palace & Turbine Theatre have announced that MTFestUK 2023 will be  showcasing eight new musicals over a two week period, across both The Other Palace Studio and The Turbine Theatre.

Stefan Konrad ( Chairmann of Nestwärme Austria) and his Vize-Chairman, Barbara Obermeier ( curr. CATS/Vienna) are doing it again. After their successful first charity concert (click here to read about it), Konrad and Obermeier are doing it again on June the 13th.

On Friday December 10th 2021, stars of the stage and screen come together for an evening of festive songs, music and storytelling - Christmas Round Ours - presented by Declan Bennett and Fra Fee.

Park Theatre has announced its reopening, starting today with a two-act drama commissioned by the venue that starts online & ends live in Park200, reopening the building on 4th August.  The season will include a Bruntwood Prize- and Alfred Fagon Award-shortlisted co-production with Talawa, the premiere of a ghost story based on true events & more.

MTFESTUK 2021sets out to promote quality artistry, showcasing new musicals to UK audiences with a view to elevating them to full production, and giving audiences an insight into the process of creating new work and the art of collaboration.

The Festival sets out to promote quality artistry, showcasing new musicals to UK audiences with a view to elevating them to full production, and giving audiences an insight into the process of creating new work and the art of collaboration.

One year ago, in the midst of a pandemic, Tori Allen-Martin, Sarah Henley and Tara Finney launched Burn Bright. Seeking to level the playing field, they have supported hundreds of women writers across the UK and Ireland, creating a network of support and offering new opportunities. Burn Bright champions important voices who so often feel silenced and lobbies for change. 

Casting has been confirmed for Paul Taylor-Mills' highly celebrated annual festival of new musical theatre, MTFestUK 2021. Featuring a truly spectacular company of international stars, with a number of Tony and Olivier Awards to their names, this year's season is set to be an unmissable event in the 2021 musical theatre calendar.  

Burn Bright have created and commissioned a unique live event to mark the anniversary of lockdown-living. Hear Me Roar is a new online experience that offers writers a chance to say the unsaid: it will showcase premiere performances alongside an interview with inspirational writer Morgan Lloyd Malcolm (Emilia, The Globe & West End). Hear Me Roar will be broadcast via Zoom on Monday 22nd March at 8pm.

Burn Bright's digitally commissioned anthology series Better In Person returns this winter with a northern-centric instalment, partnering with acclaimed venues to amplify the voices of northern writers who identify as women.

Amplifying the voices and stories of Black women, Burn Bright have commissioned five Black writers to lead the next instalment of their acclaimed digital anthology series, Better In Person.

Following the success of Burn Bright's digitally commissioned pilot, Better In Person, the empowering not-for-profit led by Tori Allen-Martin and Sarah Henley, is continuing the series with the next instalment which will amplify Black women's voices and stories, alongside launching a new initiative, Connect.

I'm one of the founders of NextUp Comedy, a subscription service for recorded live stand-up - essentially a digital comedy club. We strive to be a force for good in the industry, splitting all our revenue 50/50 with acts and showcasing the many fantastic acts with a huge range of personal backgrounds and comedy styles who aren't necessarily 'TV names', but who deserve a platform and a wider fanbase.

A fantastic cast has been assembled for the pilot Better In Person event, a new initiative from the recently launched not-for-profit organisation, Burn Bright, showcasing a selection of short plays by talented women writers, made to be broadcast digitally on Zoom.

With plays by writers who identify as women still struggling to breakout on the larger stages, writers Tori Allen-Martin and Sarah Henley have come together to launch Burn Bright, a new not-for-profit organisation driving positive change for the next generation of women in the creative industry.

Elyot is a peculiar man. He lives ruled by an eccentric routine, learning new words, and listening to Beethoven and pop tunes from which he's removed all the sung parts. When Laquaya breaks into his house in Peckham, everything changes. His strict pattern blows up as she violently barges into his life.

Once in a while, a musical comes along that truly reminds you why so many of us adore the art form. The show on this occasion is The Season, which officially opened at the Royal & Derngate in Northampton last night.

Royal & Derngate, Northampton, and New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich, have announced Tori Allen-Martin and Alex Cardall as the cast for their co-production of the new musical, The Season, by 2018 MTI Stiles + Drewe Mentorship Award winners, Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, playing in Northampton and Ipswich in November. The production will be directed by Tim Jackson and designed by Amy Jane Cook.

The Industry Minds Awards will be held on Sunday 22nd September at The Piano Works West End. The ceremony will recognise those pioneering and furthering mental and physical health in the creative arts, in the hope of raising awareness of mental health support in the arts and recognising those who make a huge difference

As someone who has never quite realised the appeal of going clubbing, imagine my fear as I walked into the auditorium of the Young Vic, where a central island was occupied by audience members dancing. Memories of my first night of Freshers at university sprung to mind, where I awkwardly stood in the corner of a club with a cider tightly clutched in my hands. However, in stark contrast to such reminiscences, and following a run at the Manchester International Festival, Tree is a heart-pounding 90 minutes of history that tells the story of a young man's search into his South African heritage and, in turn, the history of that land itself.