Guest Blog: Andy Barnes Talks New Family Musical THE LITTLE BEASTS

You probably won't have heard of us, but Perfect Pitch is a non-profit theatre company which, since 2006, has been 100% dedicated to creating, developing and promoting new British musicals, and engaging new, diverse and younger audiences with the art form. Most of our development work to date has been made possible by partnering with regional theatres, drama colleges and universities from around the UK.

You probably have heard that, last year, Andrew Lloyd Webber took over the formerly named St. James Theatre and rebranded it as The Other Palace, with an aim to providing a place in London for musicals to be developed away from the financial pressures of the West End. He said: "I very much hope that writers and producers will use The Other Palace as a space in the heart of London where they can try out and refine new material without the distraction of complicated sets and automation."

So that's what we're going to do. This July, our vision and the vision for The Other Palace will come together as Perfect Pitch present the new British family musical The Little Beasts as the first main house Work In Progress production to take place in the opening season of this exciting new venue.

In line with Andrew's original aims, the project will consist of 16 performances spread over a three-week period. Performers will be off-book, the music fully orchestrated (albeit for a slightly smaller band) and the show will be staged and choreographed (hopefully!).

It will have minimal production values and the puppetry will be a slimmed-down representation of what the fully produced show will become, but a quick look on instagram @perfectpitchmusicals will show you that even the slimmed-down versions are pretty awesome.

Each performance week will begin with three days of workshopping to make adjustments to the piece in reaction to consistent audience feedback. The creative team are fully prepared to cut scenes and songs, change lyrics and encourage rewrites and restaging throughout the run.

So it's very likely, in fact pretty much guaranteed, that each audience will see a new version of the show with extracts that may have only been written and rehearsed into the show a day or two before.

And unlike most shows, where the creative team only want to hear plaudits for their work, we want the opposite. We want you to tell us about the bits you didn't like, and we even have an easy to use app on which to do it. We already know this piece isn't perfect, but we think it has potential, and we want you to help the show reach it - with us!

For the plan to work, it's dependent on an audience, and so ticket prices start really cheap at just £7.50 and get a little bit more pricey - £12.50 - as the run goes on, once we've responded to all your feedback.

As this is not being presented as a fully developed show, it won't be reviewed by critics in the traditional sense, but the opinions and feedback from industry professionals will be invited and valued alongside those of the general public. Maybe Andrew might pop down and tell us what he thinks one night...

Something else you won't know is what the show is about: The Little Beasts. It could be a lot of things I guess, but this family musical follows the magical journey of a young girl called Sam, who discovers a magical menagerie filled with animals that used to be children before their naughtiness brought them to untimely ends. When the menagerie's menacing proprietor tasks her to choose one animal to set free, she must decide which one, if any, has learned its lesson.

But written by Luke Bateman and Michael Conley (who pitched the idea to us a couple of years ago at one of our 'pitching days'), this show is darker and funnier than many family musicals, and we're confident it will engage today's younger audiences. It's an opportunity to inspire young theatregoers with an entirely original story, one they haven't read or seen on film, where they can hear original music and experience the twists and turns of the plot for the very first time through a live stage performance.

We think this is a musical for family audiences with children over seven years old who will witness a wonderful cast bring it to life, led by Sebastien Torkia (The Lion King, Guys and Dolls) and Laura Baldwin (Shrek, Betty Blue Eyes) with Nina Bell, Oliver Evans, Tyler Fagan, Ellie-Jane Goddard and Seyi Omooba.

So, to recap, we know you've never heard of it, and we know you have no idea what you're going to see - but come and be part of the experience. Then, when it's a global hit and everybody has heard of it, you'll be able to tell your mates that you saw it years ago and helped us get it right.

The Little Beasts at The Other Palace 14-29 July

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