The Other Palace and The Turbine Theatre Announce The MTFest 2023 Programme, EUGENIUS At The Turbine and HEATHERS Extension

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.

MTFestUK is a unique festival that provides a platform to showcase new and exciting musical theatre. This year eight new 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.

Each piece will be cast and rehearsed, before holding four sharing performances in workshop format, open to audiences. This year's pieces include a diverse range of titles and themes, from a wide range of different authors and composers including:

MTFestUK at The Other Palace

Dark Lord

Music, Lyrics and Book by Laurence O'Keefe and Kevin Murphy,
Based on the books by Jamie Thomson.
Directed by Andy Fickman

A 12-year-old boy claims he's a monstrous Dark Lord, banished from his magical dimension by a white wizard archenemy. Placed with foster parents, he hunts for the portal to his homeworld while combating the horrors of middle school.

Sherlock Holmes and The Poisonwood

Book, Lyrics and Directed by P Burton-Morgan
Music & Lyrics by Ben Glasstone

A whip smart new rock musical. Sherlock is shredding away on his electric guitar when Dr Watson enters with a case - they must move fast to uncover the truth before the digital manipulations of tech billionaire Jan Moriarty get them cancelled...permanently.

Train on Fire

Book, Music and Lyrics by Annabelle Lee Revak

Kitty Marion just wanted to sing. Instead, she became one of the most volatile suffragettes in Britain's history. Train on Fire is a show where the feminists of today tell the story of a feminist of yesterday.

Precipice

Book by Tori Allen-Martin
Songs by Adam Geber and Tori Allen-Martin

Directed by Sarah Henley

Five friends in their 30s metaphorically falling off the edge of a precipice as they face questions around sex, sexuality, fertility and legacy. A pop infused romp through finding a way to make your mark in the world when the clock keeps ticking faster.

MTFestUK at The Turbine Theatre

The Government Inspector

Book by Jodie Prenger and Neil Hurst,

Music and Lyrics by Catriona Gisby and Maxwell Tyler

Directed by Andrew Beckett

Taking inspiration from Nikolai Gogol's 19th Century satirical comedy, this modern adaptation opens the famous black door of number ten Downing Street for a tale of greed, a tale of power and a whole lot of musical madness.

Come Dine With Me

Music by Aaron King

Book and Lyrics by Sam Norman

Created with Nell Butler and Genevieve Welch

Take a bunch of tuneful strangers. Mix in a dollop of behind-the-scenes skulduggery, a sprinkling of star-crossed love, a Sound Man jumping to all the wrong conclusions, and plenty of juicy arpeggios. Marinade, cook for sixty minutes, and serve hot.

Pump Up The Volume

Music by Jeff Thomson, Book and lyrics by Jeremy Desmon, Based on the screenplay by Allan Moyle

Directed by Dave Solomon

A shy teen rocks an oppressive, small town by launching an underground Pirate Radio station, broadcasting nightly as the raucous shock jock "Hard Harry." When tragedy strikes, this unlikely hero must find his true voice and keep the air alive.

Out The Box

Music and Lyrics by Preeya Kalidas and Craig Shenton

Book by Preeya Kalidas and Arun Blair Mangat

Maya finally opens the box left for her, after her mother's death. The box unlocks memories of the past and a journey of discovery for Maya as she shares her story. An exploration of self-love, culture, relationships, and empowerment.

Eugenius! is back. Re-assembled for 2023

The Turbine Theatre is proud to be presenting a reworked version of the iconic cult musical.

A thrilling, high-energy 80s-inspired British musical with a superhero-sized heart and an uplifting score.

A show where geeks rule, dreams do come true, and everyone finds the superhero inside themselves.

Boasting a pulsating soundtrack, streamed by millions and heard across 125 countries, Eugenius! is a hilarious love letter to the iconic movies, comic books and nostalgia of the 80's. A champion of the underdog, a place where anyone can become the hero. With our legion of Eugenie's we're set to prove that together we are mighty.

The musical is written by Ben Adams and Chris Wilkins, and is directed by Hannah Chissick and will run at the Turbine Theatre from Friday 17 March until Sunday 28 May 2023.

Heathers The Musical Is Now Booking Until 3 September 2023

Now we are back at school, we are already looking forward to summer break, where Heathers The Musical will be on the register at The Other Palace through until 03 September 2023. This extension will see 28 more weeks of corn nuts, slushies from the 7/11 and buckets of teenage angst.

Back by popular demand, for more Big Fun, there will be special sing-along performances on the evening of Friday 14 April, Thursday 25 May, Friday 30 June and Wedesday 09 August for singing & dress-up extravaganzas!

Casting for Heathers will be announced in due course, but while class is in session, there will be three relaxed performances which will take place on Sunday 2 April 5.30pm, Wednesday 14 June and Wednesday 2 August 2023.

Producer Bill Kenwright said: "I remain thrilled that we can continue to grow and nuture new musical theatre writing across both The Other Palace and The Turbine Theatre, to establish and grow the next generation of musical theatre. Several MTFestUK pieces have gone on to fully staged productions, which is a testament to the function of both our theatres to provide space and support to allow new work to be explored."

Paul Taylor Mills, Artistic Director at The Other Palace and The Turbine Theatre said: "We are thrilled to expand MTFestUK to showcase such a broad range of musical theatre writing at both The Other Palace and The Turbine Theatre. Utilising both venues to support and develop new musical theatre will allow these 8 pieces to engage with a wider audience and strengthen the synergy of two venues dedicated to the development of new work. Alongside MTFest I'm so excited to reassemble Eugenius! In a reworked version at The Turbine Theatre.

Produced by Bill Kenwright and Paul Taylor-Mills, the UK premiere of Heathers the Musical enjoyed two record-breaking opening seasons, launching at The Other Palace and transferring to the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 2018; going on to win the WhatsOnStage award for Best New Musical 2019. 2023 also sees Heathers the Musical embark on its second UK tour.

With a book, music and lyrics by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O'Keefe, Heathers the Musical is based on one of the greatest cult teen films of all time, and starred Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. The production is directed by Andy Fickman, with choreography by Thriller Live's Gary Lloyd, designs by David Shields, lighting by Ben Cracknell and sound by Dan Samson.

Westerberg High's Veronica Sawyer is just another nobody dreaming of a better day. But when she joins the beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers, her dreams of popularity may finally come true.

Mysterious teen rebel JD teaches her that it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder being a somebody...