Birmingham Hippodrome Unveils Original Musicals In Development

Birmingham Hippodrome is inviting audiences to experience a snippet of six unique musical theatre projects in development at its first ever New Musicals Showcase on Thursday 6 March. 

The showcase will include extracts of shows created by the theatre's Musical Theatre Writers Group. Formed in 2024, the group compromises of six writing teams developing original new musicals under Birmingham Hippodrome's mentorship, led by writer and dramaturg Victoria Saxton and composer and musical director Tim Sutton.

Alongside the performances, the Hippodrome's New Musical Theatre department will present sneak previews from other projects in development, including the first ever public sharing of a brand-new show.

Audiences can expect a live band and a mixture of local and national musical theatre talent performing extracts from exciting new musicals. With shows ranging from romantic comedies featuring magical washing machines, to R'n'B absurdist court room dramas, there really is something for everyone.

The showcase will be hosted by Brummie actor, Alex Cardall, who was most recently seen as The Moon in The Jingleclaw (Birmingham Hippodrome). His previous theatre credits include the UK Tour of Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw, The Box of Delights (RSC) and Winnie The Pooh: A New Musical Stage Adaptation (Riverside Studios & UK Tour).

New Musicals Showcase is a part of the Hippodrome's commitment to developing and sharing new work with audiences and will be the first showcase produced by the organisation's New Musical Theatre department.

Deirdre O'Halloran, Head of New Musical Theatre at Birmingham Hippodrome said: “The New Musicals Showcase is a moment to celebrate the achievements of the UK's first in-house musicals department. From workshop productions to talent development, and the roaring success of our first production The Jingleclaw, which was beloved by critics and audiences alike, we are proud of the interventions we've begun to make in the musical theatre landscape.

“Now it's time to look to our future, we're excited to invite audiences into the process of the original works in development by our cohort of incredibly talented composers, book writers and lyricists! The Musical Theatre Writers Group has been the cornerstone of the community of artists we are building at the Hippodrome. We're thrilled to present this work, alongside some exciting sneak peeks of other musicals coming down the line!”

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