British Youth Music Theatre Reveals Its 2026 Season

BYMT has announced its 2026 season of premieres, productions, development and collaboration, reinforcing its role as the most prolific commissioner of new musicals in the UK. 

The year features five brand new productions opening across the country alongside the revival of a much-loved BYMT show first seen 20 years ago in 2006. Alongside these performances, the company's six development camps and Upskill Short Course bring together young performers and creative teams to explore new ideas and shape the next generation of musical theatre. Together, the 2026 programme celebrates BYMT's commitment to bold new work, young voices and the future of the artform.

With programming guided by BYMT's Young Company Panel, the 2026 season spans diverse themes, inspirations and musical styles, from extraordinary true stories and literary history to original fantasy worlds, contemporary comedy and gothic horror.

 With summer venues to be announced, the season also features: 

• The Clockmaker's City by Jonathan Ainscough (Writer & Co-Lyricist) and Yshani Perinpanayagam (Composer & Co-Lyricist); Manchester, 31 July - 2 August

• Technical Difficulties by Joe Venable (Writer & Co-Lyricist) and Samuel Macdonald (Composer & Co-Lyricist); Hull, 7-8 August

• Paper Stars by Grace Chapple (Co-Writer), Luke Byrne (Composer & Lyricist) and Miranda Middleton (Co-Writer); Exeter, 14-16 August 

• BYMT's NMTA winner: Sea Change by Elinor Peregrin (Composer & Co-Lyricist) and Will Jackson (Writer & Co-Lyricist); Birmingham, 28-30 August 

• Frankenstein by Victoria Gimby (Writer), Jimmy Jewell (Composer) and Nick Stimson (Lyricist); London, 28-30 August

Alongside staged productions, BYMT also runs six-day development camps where young people support the development of new music theatre, working with writers to evolve their shows. The camps this year include themes chosen by the Young Company Panel such as historical true crime, Greek myths and building a better future.

BYMT has also partnered with Julie Clare Productions (JCP) on a project to develop Bollywood Rose, a new musical which aims to serve the artistically underrepresented communities of South Asian descent in Leeds and Bradford, recognising the historical lack of access to the arts for these communities.

BYMT Young Company Panel member on the season: “BYMT's 2026 season should excite everyone involved. The range of productions offer unique opportunities to develop new skills and be part of something special. The variety of shows all speak to the passion and curiosity of young people, whilst their core encourages all to revel in the joy of theatre!

It has been wonderful to be on the Young Company Panel due to our influence over the season's programming. Our every opinion or concern has been carefully listened to, particularly around the ingenuity of upcoming productions with diverse musical styles and themes.”

Emily Gray, BYMT Creative Director: “We received 55 ideas for new musicals for the 2026 Season and with our Young Company Panel we have debated and decided on a mix of imaginative contexts, powerful stories and contemporary social comments. We are so thrilled to be working with this group of 30 extraordinary writers and composers who are passionate about making brilliant musicals with and for our Young Company. As a charity aiming to reach and represent young theatre makers across the UK, we will continue to commission new work and raise funds to make it possible for young people from all backgrounds to participate.”

PRODUCTIONS:

The Cottingley Fairies (Birmingham, 10-12 April) 

Written by Clare Packham (Writer & Co-Lyricist) & Fintan Kealy (Composer & Co-Lyricist).
A new musical inspired by the extraordinary true story of two girls who convinced the world they had photographed real fairies. This century-old story is revived for a new generation, with an earthy, alternative folk score blended with the nostalgia of 1970s rock.

The Clockmaker’s City (Manchester, 31 July - 2 August)

Written by Jonathan Ainscough (Writer & Co-Lyricist) and Yshani Perinpanayagam (Composer & Co-Lyricist).
Mainspring is a city driven by the Clock. The Clock controls time itself; as the Clock ticks along, the automaton-esque townsfolk go about their business, entirely synchronised to it. When the Clock stops, will the people of the city be able to find their rhythm again? This story of a city on the brink of change will feature a grand, percussive score with movement to match.

Technical Difficulties (Hull, 7-8 August) 

Written by Joe Venable (Writer & Co-Lyricist) and Samuel Macdonald (Composer & Co-Lyricist).
Two minutes into Dregmoor High School’s end-of-year musical, the safety curtain comes down. This was not scheduled. Trapped on the forestage, the show’s actors try to keep us entertained while someone, somewhere, somehow fixes it. But that’s just the start of their troubles.

Paper Stars (Exeter, 14-16 August) 

Written by Grace Chapple (Co-Writer), Luke Byrne (Composer & Lyricist) and Miranda Middleton (Co-Writer).
Everyone knows her as the woman who created Mary Poppins, but who was P.L. Travers before she became famous? Inspired by real events, yet told with a healthy spoonful of imagination, this story starts as Lyndon Goff sets sail from the docks of Sydney Harbour in 1924. Whimsical musical theatre meets modern pop as we follow her dream of becoming a great writer in London. 

Sea Change (Birmingham, 28-30 August)

Written by NMTA winners 2025 Elinor Peregrin (Composer & Co-Lyricist) and Will Jackson (Writer & Co-Lyricist).
A bold new folk musical exploring belonging, community, and the risks and rewards of stepping into the unknown. Myth meets modern Britain in this reimagination of Selkie folklore, where young people make life-shaping choices and communities unite in the face of change.

Frankenstein (London, 28-30 August)

Written by Victoria Gimby (Writer), Jimmy Jewel (Composer) and Nick Stimson (Lyricist).
This gothic horror musical is a reimagining of the original production performed by BYMT in 2006, based on Mary Shelley’s novel. A student brings a creature to life who wreaks terrible vengeance on the cruel world that rejects them. Epic and atmospheric music, with haunting harmonies drives an unstoppable voyage into the darkest recesses of the human soul. 

BYMT DEVELOPMENT CAMPS: 

How (Not) to Save the World (Warminster, 30 March - 4 April)

The government has had enough and outsources the nation’s problems to an ‘elite’ squad of young experts who resort to one last, desperate plan. Written by Isabella Waldron (Writer & Co-Lyricist) and Ben Glasstone (Composer & Co-Lyricist).

The Last Lost Boy (York, 26 - 31 July)

A lonely teenager is tempted into Everworld by the charms of Peter, where promised adventure becomes a dark, dangerous reality. Written by Kyla Stroud (Co-Writer, Co-Lyricist & Composer) and Natalie Stroud (Co-Writer and Co-Lyricist).

Fates (London, 3 - 8 August)

A punchy, coming-of-age romp through the Greek myths where Clotho and her sisters, pop-tastic divas, weave the fates of the human race. Written by Lucy Ben-Yaacov (Composer & Lyricist) and Kitty Morgan (Writer). 

Professor Lowe’s Incredible Floating University (Hertfordshire, 6 - 11 August)

It's 1926 and Professor Lowe has a madcap dream: to charter a cruise ship around the globe and give his students an eye-opening, life-changing education.Written by Tim Connor (Composer & Lyricist) and Susannah Pearse (Writer).

Wayward (Belfast, 14 - 19 August)

An anthology of wonderfully weird folk tales from Ireland and Britain exploring love, death, gender, nature, and darkly comic surprises. Written by Lowell Belfield (Writer) and Maz O’Connor (Composer & Lyricist).

Itchybald Scratchet and the Buried Treasure (Shropshire, 20 - 25 August)

A magical opera-musical based on Sue Medcalfe’s beloved characters, highlighting increasing environmental conflict between ‘upples’ (humans) and animals. Written by Vanessa Oakes (Writer & Lyricist) and Ruth Chan (Composer).

Upskill Short Course: Forty Elephants (London, 31 July - 5 August)

In Victorian London, five rebellious women forge the beginnings of the notorious Forty Elephants, one of Britain’s most infamous crime rings. Written by Sophie Bryce (Writer & Lyricist) and Einar Adalsteinsson (Composer).

PROJECT:

Bollywood Rose