Musical Theatre Network, Mercury Musical Developments & Oxford Playhouse announce BEAM2023 participants

Musical Theatre Network, Mercury Musical Developments and Oxford Playhouse have announced details of the 29 musicals that will be showcased in BEAM2023.

BEAM2023 is the UK’s biggest showcase of new musical theatre. This exhilarating two-day event will shine a light on the most exciting new musical theatre across the UK. Selected from an extensive nationwide search, excerpts from 29 shows in development will be presented, alongside provocative and insightful panel discussions, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities. BEAM2023 will take place on 25 & 26 May at Oxford Playhouse, running from 10am to 6pm each day.

BEAM2023 will introduce a wide range of new writing for musical theatre, from the soca music of Notting Hill with a fairytale twist in Once Upon a Carnival to The Wife of Michael Cleary casting an Irish folk music spell about an historic injustice, from a British East Asian queer romcom set on the Cornish coast in Seashore Yuanfen to Miss Adventure’s true story of a girl from a Welsh village winning Miss World. From the grime music of London in #50Days to the grit of Glasgow social realism in Coming Back Around, and from the time-travelling tap dancing of Feet Keep Me Flyin’ to the quirky contestants strumming their way towards talent contest victory in Ukulele Days, BEAM2023 will showcase the most exciting, bold, diverse and high-quality new musicals being created.

As the largest gathering of the UK new musical theatre community, BEAM2023 brings together producers, writers, directors, licensing houses, composers, venues, investors, agents and development partners for two days of inspiring content. To date, over 35 musicals from previous BEAMs have gone on to be fully staged, including new West End arrival Operation Mincemeat.

In May, Musical Theatre Network, Mercury Musical Developments and Oxford Playhouse will welcome all those with an interest in the development of new musicals from around the UK and the world to join them in Oxford – the first time BEAM has taken place outside London. BEAM2023 will celebrate the art form of musical theatre and introduce audiences to the potential hit shows of tomorrow.

Tickets for BEAM2023 are now on sale and can be booked online via Oxford Playhouse website or by calling Oxford Playhouse Box Office on 01865 305305.