Guest Blog: Actor Jon Robyns On The Future of New British Musicals

As an actor working in the theatre community for the past 13 years, I've noticed a few changing trends.

Let's put these in historical context. I am part of the generation that inherited the Mega Musicals of the Eighties: Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Cats - the list goes on. Produced by Brits. Written by Brits (or at least Europeans contributing to British theatre - I'm looking at you, Claude-Michel). These huge West End and Broadway concurring shows that have now had an extended life through several generations.

Having worked with some of the people who were part of this movement in its infancy, and spoken to them about this halcyon time, I've always felt extremely jealous that they were part of it and I wasn't. Dummy out, toys everywhere!

This has left myself and my contemporaries with an occupational wondering. Why hasn't this generation picked up the glittery showbiz baton and built more of the same?

I can hear you shouting notable exceptions. I am excluding Broadway transfers here - what we're after are new musicals, made in Britain. Narrow parameters I grant you, but there it is. Matilda is probably the best and most recent example of proven success in the West End. I'm certain that I am overlooking a few key examples, but the number of flops far outweighs the number of successes.

Can homegrown individual producers and writers hope to emulate the successes of yesteryear, today?

If you'd had asked me this six or seven years ago, I would have said a resounding "No". However, I believe the ground for this has shifted favourably in recent years. I have been involved with my fair share of works in development. Only in the past few years, however, have I started to really see some of them gain traction and be taken on by those who can make a difference.

Nikolai Foster at Curve has mounted full-scale productions of new British writing with The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾ and The Witches - both scores written by young British composers and lyricists, and the former having just ended a very successful run at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London thanks to another like-minded Artistic Director, David Babani.

Daniel Evans, during his tenure at the Sheffield Crucible, also helped develop new shows. Emma Rice at Shakespeare's Globe and the National Theatre both continue to develop work. All these well-established producing houses with reputations for respected drama and work of quality are turning their audience's heads in the direction of new musicals with more consistency now than they did 10 years ago.

Independent producers, too, are heeding the call. Danielle Tarento is breaking ground with new writing. Katie Lipson, with her support of the Page to Stage workshop series. Even the previous generation's big dogs: Messrs Macintosh and Webber are getting their hands dirty with new writing by implementing infrastructures that previously were only available to playwrights.

CML, with their refurbished Sondheim Theatre in the West End, provide a space to be used to develop new musicals by up-and-coming British writers. In turn, RUG have bought and rebranded the St James Theatre in Victoria as The Other Palace, with the express intention of staging and developing new writing.

Their AD, Paul Taylor-Mills, who had been producing new writing for years before his appointment there, has the connections to those new brains with the new stories in them, and now has the building in which to set them loose.

So, why am I feeling more positive about my generation getting a taste of what the previous ones had? Because not only do we now have places outside of the pressured microscope of the capital hungry to develop my chosen art form, but the two largest personalities in British theatre are now lending an experienced and well-financed hand to keep the MT plate spinning.

Now, I'm not suggesting that the West End will ever see the magnitude of success it saw, and we need to adjust our expectation to reflect this, but future musicals by British writers might just have their profile raised high enough to be included in the same breath.

Jon Robyns: Live in London is at The Other Palace on 19 November, with special guests including Rebecca Trehearn and Tyrone Huntley

Jon Robyns is nominated in the 2017 BroadwayWorld UK Awards. Cast your vote here!

Photo credit: Alastair Muir