Edinburgh Award Winners Lead Take Note Theatre's London Transfer Season Of New Musicals

Following the successful transfer of Take Note Theatre's Pippa Cleary/Jake Brunger musical Jet Set Go! from the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe to London's Jermyn Street Theatre in April 2009, the London transfer of two 2009 Fringe award-winning shows has been announced as part of a four-week season in September of new British musical theatre direct from Edinburgh. The Great British Soap Opera and Over The Threshold will each play for two weeks at Jermyn Street  after victory at the third annual Musical Theatre Matters: UK Awards, the only accolades specifically dedicated to the musical genre at the world's largest arts festival.

The Great British Soap Opera (which will run from September 8 to 19) won a Judges' Discretionary Award at the ceremony for composer and co-lyricist Pippa Cleary's impressive progress in her creative development. The show reunites Cleary with writer Jake Brunger and was developed for Edinburgh by Take Note Theatre, directed by Luke Sheppard and designed by Mike Lees. The show takes place on the fictional set of Britain's best loved soap opera where ratings are falling fast and on-screen personas collide with real life drama with hilarious and tuneful results.

Over The Threshold (which will run from September 22 to October 3) won composer/lyricist/librettist Christopher Hamilton the award for Best Music For A New Musical. This four handed romp of misunderstanding and misbehaviour features a West End cast including Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Award Winner Trevor Jary (Dirty Dancing, Joseph), Helen French (Phantom Of The Opera), Kieran Brown, (Les Miserables) and Madalena Alberto (Zorro). Developed by Perfect Pitch with direction by John Brant, the show will be presented in association with Andy Barnes Productions.

Alongside these two headline shows at Jermyn Street, Take Note Theatre will also present two works from promising young voices that enjoyed successful runs in Edinburgh - Six Ways (September 16 to 18) and Chat! The Internet Musical (September 10 to 11) - continuing the company's commitment to developing new musical theatre pieces. Six Ways, written by Michael Bradley, Paddy Clarke and David Hutchinson and directed by Gillian Lemon, was developed at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and staged in Edinburgh by Sell A Door Theatre Company. It is a musical which questions the existence of 'the perfect relationship' through the eyes of three couples as they battle with addiction, adultery and ambition. Chat! The Internet Musical is a debut musical by Lee Freeman which features a confused teenager, a narcissistic celebrity, a desperate housewife and a single mum who are brought together on a lonely night via the internet. Directed by Phil Cross and designed by Mike Lees, the show was developed with Take Note Theatre for the Edinburgh Fringe.

The coming together of these four new British musicals on the stage of the Jermyn Street Theatre is a continuation of the commitment of one of the capital's foremost fringe theatres to supporting and encouraging new writing. Gene David Kirk, Artistic Director at Jermyn Street, said: "I am delighted to be welcoming back Take Note Theatre and these fantastic new pieces, and to be a part of developing new British musical theatre in the heart of London."

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