In a new initiative to promote British musical theatre writing Stream.Theatre has partnered with Perfect Pitch to present a monthly programme of work in development.
Each month, Rise:Up will showcase a new musical that is currently in development with the performance of two songs.
Delivered by West End performers, the songs will be presented as free pre-show entertainment ahead of Stream.Theatre's content and will subsequently be available on the platform and on Rise:Up's YouTube channel.
The first programme will feature:
- 42 Balloons written by Jack Godfrey, with performances by Melanie La Barrie, Vicki Manser, Aaron Lee Lambert, Jack Shalloo, Georgie Westall, Madeline Charlemagne and Jake Halsey-Jones. The show is set in 1982 and based on the true story of Larry Walters and Carol Van Deusen, who used a lawn-chair and 42 weather balloons to fly Larry 16,000 feet into the air.
- In The Willows written by P Burton Morgan, Keiran Merrick and Pippa Cleary, with guest performances from Tim Mahendran, Sharon Rose and Hiba Elchikhe. Kenneth Grahame’s classic story is transposed to an urban British comprehensive school where Mole’s adventures with her new schoolfriends help her to find her voice and reveal her troubled past.
February’s programme includes immersive musical Club Mex written by John-Victor and Tamar Broadbent, with Jade Johnson leading the cast. This is a coming-of-age comedy set to a score that combines pop, dance and musical theatre.