Mercury Musical Developments (MMD) and Musical Theatre Network (MTN) have been awarded funding from the Cameron Mackintosh Foundation to support five placements as part of The Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer Scheme over 2023-2025. We are delighted to announce the next placement will be hosted by British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT). 

This placement is for a musical theatre writing team of two. The opportunity will provide paid writing time and support for the team to develop a new musical over the course of the placement. This will have a guaranteed production or developmental workshop week in 2026 with a cast of approximately 36 young people. 

Alongside this, the composer of the team will collaborate with the wider BYMT team on their 2025 season of new musicals as a music coordinator, while the bookwriter will be involved in each show in a dramaturgical capacity.  

The placement will commence from March 2025 and comprise six months of full-time work, to take place over a period of six to nine months. MMD, MTN and BYMT are committed to diversifying voices in new musical theatre writing and broadening the art form, and writers from a background which is under-represented in musical theatre writing are encouraged to consider applying.  

The writers will receive an inclusive fee of £13,000, thanks to the support of the Mackintosh Foundation. BYMT’s offices are in Leeds and London and so the resident team may base themselves at either of these locations. With 2025 projects taking place across the UK, there may be some travel involved, for which additional expenses would be covered. 

Applications will open w/c 6th January.