Nine brand new musicals will premiere at the Tristan Bates Theatre this autumn as the From Page To Stage season returns for a third year to offer audiences a taste of the most exciting new writing talent.
Running from 26 October to 21 November at the intimate Covent Garden venue, the season will feature shows at all stages of development, from a full scale staging to readings and showcases.
Leading the way for new musical theatre talent are Tim Connor and Susannah Pearse who were selected from an open application process to receive a fully staged, two week run of their musical The Stationmaster from 3 to 15 November.
Taking inspiration from Christopher Hampton’s translation of Ödön von Horváth’s Judgment Day, the 1950s-set piece takes place in the Lake District where stationmaster Thomas Price’s life unravels following the arrival of a young woman, a moment of distraction and a tragic train crash.
From Page To Stage’s producer Katy Lipson described the season’s headline musical as “a wonderfully dark, chamber piece,” explaining: “The story of the piece instantly grabbed my attention when we were reading through our submissions, and I feel it is a great example of what a British writing team has to offer.”
Joining the musical at the venue in less formal stagings will be rehearsed readings of three new projects beginning with Loserville’s Elliot Davis and James Bourne’s family drama Out There (27 to 29 October), which will tell the story of an astronaut who mysteriously disappears and the life-changing events that occur four decades later when a troubled young man turns up on his doorstep.
On 30 and 31 October Helen Watts and Eamonn O’Dwyer will present their take on E. Nesbit’s family favourite Five Children & It, with Tim Sanders and Charles Miller’s tale of a Bavarian Princess in search of a simpler life, Princess Phyllida’s Fortnight, following on 17 and 19 November.
A further four pieces currently in development, tackling subjects as varied as Grimms’ fairytales to real-life World War I drama, will premiere alongside one another for two showcase evenings on 20 and 21 November.
You can read full details of the season on the Tristan Bates Theatre’s website.