Beam in Brum…
Musical Theatre Network, Mercury Musical Developments, in association with Birmingham Hippodrome, have this week revealed the 28 musicals and 12 Artist Spotlights that will be featured at BEAM2025, taking place on 15th and 16th May at Birmingham Hippodrome.
Natalia Scorer, Executive Director of Mercury Musical Developments:
“BEAM is now a proven developmental pathway for new musicals. It’s exciting to see the continued journeys of past BEAM shows, with Operation Mincemeat being the first to open on Broadway! The connections and conversations that happen in these two days are vital for sustaining a vibrant and dynamic new musical theatre sector in the UK. We had a record number of shows pitch to be in BEAM2025 and we can’t wait to share these shows and artists with the wider industry.”
BEAM2025 is the UK’s largest showcase of new musical theatre, highlighting the most innovative shows in development. Over two exhilarating days, 28 musicals will be presented through excerpts, alongside Artist Spotlights, featuring 12 of the most exciting new writers discovered during the pitching process. The event will also include panel discussions and invaluable networking opportunities.
The 12 Artist Spotlight creatives are: Annabelle Lee Revak, Evie Press, Hayley Canham, Leo Simpe-Asante, Lewis Cornay, Mahlon Prince, Matt Thorpe, Max Welton, Michelle-Kim Vacciana, Parisa Shahmir, Rev Ben Cahill-Nicholls, and the duo Tennick and Ramsay.
This year’s collection of musicals celebrates an extraordinary tapestry of stories that traverse cultures, genres, and eras. From the resilience of donor families in All My Heart to the electrifying battle between art and capitalism in Blocks Falling, and the darkly comic graveyard antics of Bog Bodies, each show offers something completely unique.
Chasing Icarus explores identity through 18th-century castrati singers, while Clara at the Door with a Revolver presents a gripping courtroom drama inspired by true events. The playful young heroine’s adventure of Layla & Captain Doom and the whimsical world of Cricket & The Freebugs are juxtaposed with Duppy Quadrille’s haunting Caribbean folklore and EXOTIC!’s queer wrestling fantasia.
Adaptations shine, with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close delving into post-9/11 loss, Paradise Road reframing WWII survival through singing, and Maison Mac reimagining Macbeth in the ruthless world of fine dining. Fairlight tells a queer origin story of lawn tennis, while Flat Earth delivers surreal comedy. HONG KONG AFTER MIDNIGHT captures disco defiance against oppression, and Elbow Deep is a shepherding tale of loss and healing.
In Others, a hidden group of teens grapple with activism and identity, while Sheltered gives a raw portrayal of working-class struggles. The Orchard celebrates resilience and roots in rural Devon, and The Rivals of Pinner reinvents Sheridan’s comedy with cultural flair. Mystical and reflective, The Snare & Feral explores atonement through music, while The Swansong weaves a magical tale of redemption and self-discovery.
Powerful narratives continue with Pit Stop and Wash, a romantic comedy set around a magical laundrette; Y Pentref, a Welsh-language story of rural community crisis; and Time-bomb, which puts climate activism on trial. Finally, VAMP rocks out with a tale of vampires and rebellion, and 73 Seconds offers a poignant look at grief and courage in the shadow of the Challenger spacecraft tragedy. These 28 musicals showcase the boundless creativity of theatre, offering stories to move, entertain, and inspire audiences.
As the UK’s largest gathering of the new musical theatre community, BEAM2025 will bring together producers, writers, composers, venues, investors, agents, and development partners. This event has a proven track record: over 35 musicals showcased at previous BEAM events have gone on to full productions, including West End and Broadway hits like Operation Mincemeat and Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York).
Musical theatre remains a vital and growing sector within the UK’s creative economy, strengthening the country’s position as a cultural powerhouse. BEAM2025 is set to introduce the next wave of talent and shows, poised to make a lasting impact on the UK’s theatre landscape.
James Hadley, Executive Director of Musical Theatre Network:
“Those 356 musicals pitched for BEAM reflect the increased interest in original UK musicals, from audiences, creatives and industry partners – and that buzz is not unrelated to the fact that the quality, craft ability and creative innovation of what was pitched was arguably at an all-time high. There is a diversity of stylistic content and lived experience among the musicals and creatives participating in BEAM2025 that make attending like going on a two-day mini-break: full of satisfying new discoveries.”
Tickets for BEAM2025 are now on sale and can be booked online via Birmingham Hippodrome website or by calling Birmingham Hippodrome Box Office on 0121 689 3000.
BEAM is co-produced by Musical Theatre Network, Mercury Musical Developments in association with Birmingham Hippodrome, with funding support from Arts Council England and PRS Foundation.
