BEAM2027 announces nationwide pitching days in search of the UK’s most exciting new musicals
by Best of Theatre Staff on Thursday 23 July 2026, 11:04 am in Theatre News
Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network have announced 22 pitching days in fourteen towns and cities across the UK, as the search begins for the musicals to be showcased at BEAM2027 in Northampton next May.
Mercury Musical Developments (MMD) and Musical Theatre Network (MTN) have announced the details of their nationwide search for the UK's most exciting musicals in development, to be presented at BEAM2027, the UK's biggest showcase of new musical theatre.
The BEAM showcase is a key part of MMD and MTN's mission to support the development of new musical theatre. BEAM2027 will be held on 20 and 21 May 2027 at Royal & Derngate, Northampton, preceded by a series of pitching days at which new work and artists are identified. The two organisations have partnered with theatres and arts organisations around the country to host 22 pitching days in fourteen towns and cities across the UK between September and December 2026, and are expecting over 300 new musicals to be pitched.
Each creative or team has ten minutes to share their idea with an industry panel, and up to 40 musicals will be selected for BEAM2027. Around 50 industry experts, including producers and programmers of new musicals, contribute to the selection process by sitting on the pitching day panels, and bespoke development feedback will be shared with every pitching team at a later date thanks to funding from PRS Foundation.
The first pitching day will take place at Leeds Playhouse, with an expert panel including artistic director Tom Wright. Other pitching venues include Birmingham Hippodrome, Bristol Old Vic, Stratford East, Royal & Derngate, MAST Mayflower Studios, The Lowry, The Exchange Twickenham, Wales Millennium Centre, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, Liverpool Everyman, Hoxton Hall, Watford Palace, Southwark Playhouse and Edinburgh's Capital Theatres.
BEAM is designed to encourage and develop musical theatre across the UK, discovering and supporting diverse approaches to the art form, connecting practitioners and finding champions for original work. Over 150 new musicals have been presented at BEAM showcases to date, and more than 60% of them have gone on to be fully staged or to receive further development support as a result. They include the West End and Broadway hit Operation Mincemeat, Hot Mess, currently playing at London's The Other Palace, A History of Paper, soon at Scotland's Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Dundee Rep, and Tony nominee Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), currently on Broadway.
"The BEAM pitching process is the most wide-reaching development opportunity for new musical theatre in the UK," said Zaylie-Dawn Wilson of Mercury Musical Developments. "We are delighted to be providing each team with feedback so that this is a useful experience for everyone, regardless of the showcase selection. We are really looking forward to meeting artists from around the country and finding the most exciting new work out there."
James Hadley of Musical Theatre Network added: "Given financial realities, it's significant and important to us that the BEAM pitching days are one of the most accessible industry entry points. For ten minutes someone with no prior musical theatre experience can find themself sharing their ideas with an artistic director or producer on a pitching day panel, and if selected they get financial support to share their ideas with a venue full of people who can help make them a reality. That's a rarity worldwide."
A free online event will be held on Tuesday 1 September with an expert panel giving advice and tips for pitching. There will also be networking events for musical theatre creatives after the pitching days at Birmingham Hippodrome (1 October) and Capital Theatres, Edinburgh (7 December), as well as a BEAM alumni event in London on 30 November.
Creatives of all backgrounds are encouraged to bring forward their ideas for new musicals. To book a pitching slot and for more information on the pitching process, visit www.mercurymusicals.com/beam. BEAM is co-produced by Musical Theatre Network and Mercury Musical Developments, with funding support from Arts Council England and PRS Foundation.