Welcome to Birmingham Hippodrome’s department for developing and producing new musicals.
This is the UK’s first in-house department dedicated to developing and producing new musicals.
The New Musical Theatre team focuses on nurturing musical theatre talent alongside commissioning, presenting and producing musicals on Hippodrome stages and beyond.
Upcoming Productions
The department produces new musicals for stages in Birmingham and afield. Read more about our upcoming shows here…
Hot Mess
Vicky Graham Productions, Birmingham Hippodrome and Aria Entertainment with Pascal Ultee Productions, Broadway Asia International, TRW Production and Willette Klausner present the Birmingham Hippodrome Production of HOT MESS: A New Musical.
The multi award-winning, 5-star new musical that took the Edinburgh Festival by storm lands in London for a strictly limited summer season.
After a billion years of bad dates, Earth has finally found the one… Humanity. Sparks fly. Seeds are sown. Ground is broken. But what begins as a passionate love affair between the universe’s most iconic couple quickly descends into a hot mess.
From the creators of 42 Balloons, Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote, comes an original pop musical about love, hope, and the ultimate breakup.
Elbow Deep
First seen at BEAM 2025, Elbow Deep is a heart-bursting folk musical written by local artist Elinor Peregrin.
Overwhelmed with grief, Agnes withdraws from the world – but when she inherits a crumbling farm and has to care for a hundred sheep, she finds it takes a village to survive. A musical about love, loss, and finding joy again.
Elbow Deep will have it’s first ‘work in progress’ production at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2026, and will be performed again at the Young Vic in London in September 2026.
Shedinburgh Takeover
Birmingham Hippodrome will be taking over Francesca Moody’s ‘Shedinburgh’ venue on the 13th & 14th August 2026.
We will be presenting our work in progress production of Elbow Deep, as well as curating ‘An Evening with…’ performances by Jack Godfrey and Anoushka Lucas, panel discussions, exclusive performances of new musicals from Silent Uproar and DEM Productions, and presenting new work by exciting musical theatre composers.
One Tiny Penguin
Every year a great big polar bear is chosen to light up the Northern Lights. This year, the special job falls to Lumi, but there’s a small problem, he’s not a polar bear at all. He’s just One Tiny Penguin! So now Lumi must gather all his courage to travel the world, venturing out from the North Pole, to Chile, South Africa – and all the way to the South Pole. Can the new friends Lumi makes along the way help him find out what it means to be a brave penguin and light up the sky?
A heart-warming adventure that’s full of laughs, One Tiny Penguin by Jordan Li-Smith and Julie Tsang will have you tapping your toes and flapping your flippers! Perfect for everyone aged 3 and up. One Tiny Penguin is the third show in Birmingham Hippodrome’s My First Musical series, following the 5-star hits No Such Thing As Wolves and The Jingleclaw.
Previous Productions
The New Musical Theatre team has already breathed life into all-new stories, bringing the joy of both music and storytelling to our stages and to our audiences.
Learn more about the shows that we’ve Produced so far and those who have worked on them.
Explore our previous Productions
In Development
We have a variety of shows currently being developed at Birmingham Hippodrome including:
- Mona Loser
- Fighting With My Family
- Elbow Deep
- Clara at the Door with a Revolver
More information on all productions listed above coming soon.
Development
We develop new musicals through a variety of bespoke processes – from focused talent development initiatives to seed commissions, workshops and showcases.
New Musical Theatre Talent Development
We have been working on creating and supporting a range of opportunities for those interested in developing their own works of Musical Theatre. Through workrooms, writer’s groups and more, we are working to champion the continued development of unique pieces of musical theatre.
Riff Residencies
Riffs are one-week residencies at the Hippodrome where writers can begin work on new projects or get together to think through and action changes at pivotal moments in the development of a musical.
These residencies have supported teams that went on to present work as part of Rewrites, BEAM2025 or are benefitting from other development schemes and programmes.
Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network
At the UK Musical Theatre Conference on Friday 12th April, Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network announced they would create a new base at Birmingham Hippodrome from Summer 2024.
BEAM2025, the UK’s industry showcase for new musical theatre, also took place at the Hippodrome on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network, in association with Birmingham Hippodrome, hosted performances of 28 inspiring shows in development, introductions to new writers, panel discussions and networking opportunities.
Getting in touch
We are keen to hear about musicals of different scales and various stages of development!
Invitations
As a small team working on a national scale, we are not able to make everything, but we travel to see new work whenever and wherever possible.
Getting in touch with around four weeks’ notice helps give us more chance of attending events outside of the Midlands.
To invite our team please email newmusicals@birminghamhippodrome.com with date, time and location details. We respond to all invitations and aim to let you know in advance if we can attend.
We will also be at Edinburgh Fringe in 2026 and are excited to see new musicals. If you are bringing your work to the festival, then be sure to let us know.
Images from This Is A Love Story Workshop Performances, Feb 2024. Photos by Manuel Harlan. Images from MT Writers Group Launch, Apr 2024. Photos by Angela Grabowska.