Review: NEW UK MUSICALS - LIVE IN CONCERT, The Other Palace

July 2021: the Government finally announces that theatres can welcome full capacity audiences once more, and gradually London's West End comes back to life. But one year later, which are the shows that have found their feet?

Walking through central London, you now pass the glittering facades of hit musicals like Frozen, Les Miserables, and The Book of Mormon, welcoming crowds of tourists and theatre-lovers alike. The vast majority of these shows, however, are long-running successes, film adaptations, or American imports: the new writing is almost nowhere to be seen.

This is a problem Darren Clark has set out to tackle with his project New UK Musicals. Set up during the pandemic, the project's website makes sheet music and backing tracks to new original musical theatre songs by British writers widely available. In this concert production at The Other Palace, thirteen of these songs were showcased by West End favourites and rising theatre stars alike.

The evening began with "Don't Look Down" from The Superhero by Richy Hughes and Joseph Finlay, a heartwarming number about a dad and his daughter. Michael Rouse, who originated the role at the Southwark Playhouse in 2017, gave a confident opening performance, likeable from the second he stepped onstage.

In contrast, Kelly Glyptis was every inch the sassy villain, bringing a ferocious energy to "Off With Their Heads" by Eamonn O'Dwyer. Glyptis, like many of the other singers of the night, was a winner of one of the New UK Musicals competitions, where entrants are asked to perform any number from the website's catalogue for the chance to be part of the concert.

Another impressive competition winner was Elliot Burges, only thirteen years old, who sang Darren Clark's "I'll Supply the Withy" from The Wicker Husband. The show ran at the Watermill Theatre earlier this year.

It seems that upcoming UK writers have a particular talent for the ballad. "Colour in My Cheeks", a touching ode to recovery was performed beautifully by Rosalind Ford, while Gemma Sutton gave a tender rendition of "White Elephant Stall" by Rebecca Aplin and Sue Pearse. Some of the songs performed were taken from shows that have seen relative success in London: Catherine Gregory brought charm to "Whisper It To Me" from Alex James Ellison's Fiver, while Joanna Clarke sang "It's Been a Year" from LIFT by Craig Adams, which ran at the Southwark Playhouse last month.

This concert shone the spotlight on the huge diversity of topics being written about through the form of musical theatre: for example, "Ride" by Freya Catrin Smith and Jack Williams is about Annie Londonderry, the first woman to cycle around the world. Other writers took inspiration from literature, such as Teresa Howard and Steven Edis whose song "Imagine" is taken from their musical adaptation of I Capture the Castle and was performed with verve by Lucy Smith.

A standout performance came from Anoushka Lucas, bringing electric vocals to "Change of Plan" a song about motherhood from Finn Anderson. In this number and many others, special commendation must go to Joe Martin's lighting design, which transformed the stage into an intensely colourful evocation of the music being performed. This was also notable in the Act 1 closer "Edge of the World" by Tim Sutton, which was infused with energy from Tyrone Huntley (pictured).

One of the most complete, captivating compositions was "The Girl Next Door" by Gus Gowland, telling the story of a woman falling in love with her neighbour.

For the final number, the SingSpace Choir took to the stage to perform "Time" by Jethro Compton and Darren Clark: a highlight of the evening and a fitting closer. The harmonious blend of the ensemble and delicate composition had many audience members wiping away a tear - a remarkable achievement for any song outside of its narrative context.

Narrative context was perhaps the one thing missing from this showcase - it would have been helpful to hear more about the shows these songs were taken from, and likely have furthered their emotional impact too. It is clear that there is a wealth of talent in the UK when it comes to songwriting, but what we need is to be able to visualise these shows as fully-realised ideas, living breathing shows.

It would also have been refreshing to some more duets, trios, and group pieces - the power of the final group number made it really stand out, and more of this would have allowed us to get a stronger idea of the what these shows could look like in their final form. Likewise, there could have been a wider variety of performers: a few too many of the songs were written for young, ingenue-type women.

LIFT and Fiver, both featured in this concert, are examples of original UK shows that have recently found success, with both having full productions at the Southwark Playhouse. But why is it that these shows so rarely seem to make it into the West End? With American musicals like Mean Girls and Jagged Little Pill set to transfer to London, alongside this year seeing smash hit revivals of the likes of Cabaret, Spring Awakening, and Oklahoma!, the future looks difficult for new writing shows. Post-pandemic, it feels like producers are not yet confident that unknown musicals will find their audiences and hit the big time.

There is hope, however. Between this concert, and the Chamber Musical Sessions from Aria Entertainment and ALP Productions last year, it is clear that new shows are constantly being written, and are gradually finding their way to London stages. Showcasing new musicals has long been the aim of The Other Palace as a venue, and while the third run of Heathers appears to still be going strong, they've also had success with original shows like Eugenius and were the first venue of MT Fest.

Slowly, new shows are making their way from concerts to full productions. A recent of example of this is But I'm A Cheerleader, which was featured in MT Fest at the venue in 2019, and went on to have a full run at the Turbine Theatre earlier this year.

New Musicals UK in concert offered an eye-opening showcase of the new musical theatre being created every day, and what it could look like onstage. Now that the West End is beginning to thrive once again, can we hope to see some new voices among the glittering Disney marquees? With projects like this one, alongside the full return of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer, it's starting to seem possible...

The New UK Musicals website, containing all the songs featured, is available here.

Photo Credit: Craig Glenday

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