Shamilton! The Improvised Hip-Hop Musical
The Other Palace
- Opens: Tuesday, 8 September 2026 -
Booking until: Sunday, 20 September 2026
Shamilton! The Improvised Hip-Hop Musical description
Shamilton! The Improvised Hip-Hop Musical is a hip-hop musical invented on the spot each night around a historical figure or celebrity chosen by the audience.
Every performance starts with a single name called out from the auditorium. From that suggestion the company improvises a full biographical musical in one evening, inventing the story, the songs, the rhymes and the staging as they go. Nothing is scripted, and no two performances share the same plot, score or ending.
The show is created by Baby Wants Candy, the improv troupe that has been making unscripted musicals for more than two decades, and reaches London after sold-out runs at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe and 2026 San Francisco Sketchfest. It mixes rap, sung vocals and choreography, all made up live. British Theatre Guide gave it five stars and called it "a must-see institution... Fantastic", The Guardian gave four stars and called it "Brilliant", and The New York Times listed it as "one of the top 5 comedy shows to catch".
There is no writer or director in the usual sense: the text and the staging are created in performance by the company itself. The music is by Pete Gill and Adrien Pellerin is musical director, improvising the score alongside the cast. The production is produced by Al Samuels for Baby Wants Candy, with production management by JBPM.
The London company is Anna Bortnick, Chris Grace, Allen Lucas, Lily Ludwig, Will Naameh, Adam Payne, Adrien Pellerin and Daniel Tepper, an ensemble that casts every role on the night and plays the show without a script or a set running order.
Book now for a hip-hop musical that is written, performed and retired in a single evening.
