New musical theatre festival MTFESTUK 2021 has announced dates for its full run, beginning at The Turbine Theatre in Battersea from 17-29 May before embarking on a digital tour between 31 May – 4 July. 

Presented by Paul Taylor-Mills, the festival showcases new musicals to UK audiences and gives them the platform to potentially be turned into full productions. The inaugural festival was launched in 2019 at The Other Palace, which was followed up with the 2020 addition at The Turbine Theatre where it remains for the second year running. 

The line up of new musicals are: Far From Heaven, #50days, The Man in the Ceiling, Millenials, HouseFire, Cake, Daisy and Tony! (The Tony Blair Rock Opera. With a range of themes and topics including a trio of endangered animals forming a rock band to protest against climate change, a woman emerging from a coma knowing nothing more than her name and a rock opera about labour prime minister Tony Blair; there is something for everyone.

There will be an array of creative talent involved in the festival including: Tasha Taylor-Johnson, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm, Jack McManus, Drew McConie, Caroline Kay, Matt White, Thabo Stuck, Scott Frankel and Poppy Burton Morgan. Casting for the productions is still to be announced. 

Artistic Director of the Turbine Theatre, Paul Taylor-Mills, said “It goes without saying that the last year has brought immense challenges. At The Turbine Theatre we’ve tried our best to be resilient and to try and use this time to redefine the way we work. This has involved exploring how we can extend our reach and bolster our commitment to developing new work.

“The Digital Tour will be unique in a number of ways and I’m thrilled with the openness and support I’ve received from our fellow theatre makers around the country. Each venue will have bespoke social content that will support the 8 musicals. This will include special interviews with writers and actors on the creative process and how musicals are developed or indeed refined.”

The full list of venues and touring dates are as follows: 

The Turbine Theatre, Battersea (Monday 17 May – Saturday 29 May)

Norwich Theatre Royal, The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry and Birmingham Hippodrome (Monday 31 May – Sunday 6 June)

Mayflower Theatre, Southampton and the Mercury Theatre, Colchester (Monday 7 June – Sunday 13 June)

Curve Theatre, Leicester and Dundee Repertory Theatre (Monday 14 June - Sunday 20 June)

New Wolsey Theatre & Theatre Clwyd (Mon 21 June - Sunday 27 June)

Royal & Derngate, Northampton, Sheffield Theatres and The Lowry, Salford (Monday 28 June - Sunday 4 July)

To book tickets and for more information, please click here.