Robyn Grant News

Birmingham Hippodrome has announced a line-up of new productions including brand-new festive family musical The Jingleclaw, the first new musical to be produced by the Hippodrome. A stellar line up of West End and Broadway smash-hit musicals including & Juliet, Chitty Chitty Bang and Only Fools and Horses – The Musical will also come to the theatre in 2025.

Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musical Theatre department have announced their first full production The Jingleclaw, a festive family musical created for 3–7 year olds.

Check out photos of Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch at Southwark Playhouse!

Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch, written by Robyn Grant and Daniel Foxx with music by Tim Gilvin, tells the “true” story of Ursula, starting from her childhood and ending with what happens after The Little Mermaid (both 1989 and 2023).

BroadwayWorld sat down with Shawna Hamic, who is taking on the role of Ursula in Unfortunate. We discussed what made her want to be a part of the show, what she hopes audiences take away from Unfortunate and who is her favourite Disney villain! 

Shawna Hamic (Orange is the New Black, 1776 on Broadway) will lead the cast of the critically-acclaimed musical parody Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch at Birmingham Hippodrome from Thursday 11 to Saturday 13 April 2024 opposite Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK star River Medway as Ariel.

Critically acclaimed musical parody Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch is set to return this December following its highly successful 2022 UK tour. With an original hot pop soundtrack and trademark filthy humour, the production will splash into Southwark Playhouse Elephant for 10 weeks this winter before swimming across the UK through to summer 2024.

Showcasing eight new musicals over a two week period, MTFestUK is a unique festival that provides a platform for new and exciting musical theatre. This year the eight productions will be workshopped and presented in 'sharing' sessions, allowing audiences to come and support, explore, engage and enjoy new musical theatre in its earliest stages of development.

Fat Rascal Theatre and Wildpark Entertainment announce casting and tour dates for critically acclaimed hit parody musical Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch opening at Underbelly Festival Earls Court from 21 June - 16 July before splashing into The Lowry, MAST and Cast Doncaster in September - things are gonna get wet.

The multi-award winning Burnt Lemon Theatre will be the first of the new associates to perform at Birmingham Hippodrome with their electrifying new musical – Toyko Rose – this October.

This week, star of SIX – The Musical in London’s West End, Birmingham’s very own Alexia McIntosh, launched Birmingham Hippodrome’s Digital Masterclasses with the first of 25 online workshops for young people aged 7-25.

The Canadian Opera Company’s new podcast, Key Change, returns this winter with more fresh takes on all things opera. The second season examines opera through artistic and cultural lenses, with special guests including: current and incoming COC General Directors Alexander Neef and Perryn Leech and more.

The Canadian Opera Company is gearing up for a reimagined fall season of physically distanced programming, called Opera Everywhere. This new slate of digital and in-person events includes live concerts, interactive learning opportunities, and deep dives into opera's past and future, all designed with community-building in mind.

Fat Rascal Theatre have released five songs for free streaming from their Fringe hit, Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula The Sea Witch. The Unfortunate Fringe Cast EP is now available on Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play and all major streaming services.

According to The Stage, a Harry Potter-inspired theatrical dining experience will run at the Vaults in London later this year. The show will be a combination of theatre and immersive dining, set in Hexborn's School of Sorcery. It is co-produced by the Vaults and Fat Rascal Theatre.

Today, Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network, in partnership with Royal & Derngate Northampton, are delighted to announce the line-up for their upcoming BEAM2020 showcase. BEAM2020 is the UK's leading showcase for new British musical theatre writing and will take place on Thursday 26th March and Friday 27th March 2020 at Royal & Derngate, Northampton.

The cast of the hit new musical Unfortunate took a break from performances at Birmingham Hippodrome's Patrick Studio and went 'under the sea' with a shark dive at the Bear Grylls Adventure.

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) is delighted to announce the shortlist for its annual awards, to be presented by writer, comedian and actor Katy Brand (pictured) on Monday 13 January 2020 at the Royal College of Physicians in central London.

The line-up for the fourth episode of All That Scratch, a collaboration between The Other Palace and All That Productions, has been announced with brand new musical theatre songs from emerging talent who are going to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year. The pieces will be performed live at the recording of the fourth episode of the podcast. Tickets to the live event are just £7.50 from The Other Palace's website.

The Stephen Sondheim Society and Mercury Musical Developments today announce West End Musical Director Gareth Valentine as the final judge for the 2019 Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year (SSSSPOTY), alongside the previously announced Julia McKenzie, Peter Polycarpou, and Edward Seckerson. Lyricist Charles Hart and Olivier Award-winner Jenna Russell join Nkeki Obi-Melekwe and Stiles + Drewe to complete the judging panel for the Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize. Winners will be announced at Theatre Royal Haymarket on Sunday 9 June.