MTFESTUK returns to The Other Palace for 2025
The Other Palace has announced that MTFestUK will return in 2025 to showcase four new musicals over two weeks, from 4 – 17 April, in The Other Palace Studio.
MTFestUK is a unique annual festival dedicated to spotlighting fresh and innovative musical theatre, having launched in 2019. This year’s lineup features four new productions, workshopped and presented in 1-hour sharings encouraging audiences to support, explore and engage with new musical theatre in its earliest stages of development.
Artistic Director at The Other Palace, Paul Taylor-Mills, said: "I’m so proud of how MTFestUK has grown over the years, consistently bringing us new works that push the boundaries of musical theatre. It’s thrilling to see MTFestUK continuing to inspire and excite us with its annual celebration of innovative musical theatre. Each year, the festival introduces us to extraordinary new works, many of which have gone on to become fully staged productions. It’s a vital platform for nurturing creativity and inviting audiences to explore the future of musical theatre."
This year’s pieces include a diverse variety of titles and themes.
The first is Love Can, written by Charli Eglinton and directed by Dean Johnson, with musical direction by Jenny Deacon.
A vending machine can quench your thirst.
What if it could mend your heart?
In a hidden corner of Central London, a curious vending machine “Love Can” offers something extraordinary: temporary companions to fill the gaps in your life – a partner, a parent, a great boss. Even a lost loved one...
Love Can is a vibrant, bittersweet anthology of four stories, exploring love, loneliness, and hope in a world where true connections feel impossible to find.
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Mahlon Prince’s MORE reimagines Great Expectations in modern-day London, blending hip-hop, soul and R&B as a soundtrack to this classic coming-of-age story. Pip is a young man of Caribbean descent, orphaned not by death, but by the bureaucratic nightmare of the Windrush Scandal trapping his parents in legal limbo. Raised by his sister and her partner, Pip dreams of a better life. When he encounters wealthy, eccentric Miss Havisham and her daughter Estella, he’s drawn into a world of privilege, love, and betrayal. Through his rise and fall, he pursues ambition, redemption and a place to belong.
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NERDS has music by Hal Goldberg, with a book and lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton & Erik Weiner.
NERDS reboots the story of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs in a hilarious musical comedy about the birth of the digital age. Follow these two misfit geniuses as they battle, innovate, and rise from humble garage beginnings to global tech dominance. With sharp wit, showstopping numbers, and a story packed with heart, NERDS turns the creation of personal computing into an unforgettable theatrical experience. Whether you’re a tech enthusiast or just here for the laughs, this high-energy production will leave you inspired, entertained, and ready to cheer for the inner nerd in all of us.
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With a book by Rory Svensson, and music & lyrics by Helen Greenham, Theatre Mum will be directed by Lizzy Connolly, with musical direction by Helen Greenham.
Kit is stuck in a rut. A Musical Theatre actor with an immature boyfriend, ten-years in the ensemble and one missed rent payment away from moving back in with her controlling mother, her biggest fan and critic. During a night out, Kit has a drunken fling with her gay friend Ike, and now she can’t stop thinking about him. Unable/unwilling to do a job outside of performing, Kit is determined to land a leading role with the help of her chaotic bestie Vinny and lush agent Judy. The problem is, Kit thinks she’s pregnant.
