Contact Us

The UK Musical Theatre Conference is the leading conference event considering the musical theatre sector and art form in the UK

Produced biennially by the creators of BEAM – the largest showcase of new musicals in the UK. The Conference is a rare opportunity to gather together those focused on the creation of musical theatre in the UK, to network and connect in the breaks as well as debate during the formal sessions.

The industry will join together at the Royal Court on Friday 12th April to delve into the future prospects for musical theatre in the UK. A day packed with panels, networking, discussions and provocations, the conference is a chance to think creatively about new work development and production, and the broader issues facing the musical theatre industry.

Attendees – UK Musical Theatre Conference 2024

2024 Schedule

Being an MTN member has included Goldsmiths University of London in conversations about the ways new musical theatre is fast evolving in the UK, including facing up to the historic inequalities in the art form, and adding our voice to the UK Musical Theatre Conferences.

Pamela Karantonis PhD, Head of Department, Theatre & Performance, Goldsmiths, University of London

The UKMT Conference is a fabulous opportunity for people across all areas of the new musical sector - writers, dramaturgs, producers, venue leaders and programmers, as well as supporters - to meet and connect. Days like UKMT Conference - and the connections forged there - always leave me renewed, energised and excited for the work and opportunities we're creating.

Katy Lipson, Producer & Founder, Aria Entertainment

The History

2007

The organisation was known as Musical Theatre Matters (MTM) and led by its founder Chris Grady. The first UK Musical Theatre Conference took place in 2007. By the second in 2008, attendees included not only professionals working in musical theatre from around the UK but also from the USA, Korea, China and Norway.

2012

MTM became MTN in 2012, and from 2013 the Conferences began to be produced jointly with MMD. 2013’s Conference was titled ‘Fuelling the Future’ and took place at Soho Theatre, then in 2014 at the Almeida Theatre, and in 2015 at the Arcola Theatre (titled ‘Putting it Together’).

2016

The first BEAM showcase was in 2016, so since then the Conference has been in alternate years to BEAM: in 2017 it was at the Lyric Hammersmith (‘High Flying Adored? – Redefining Success in new musical theatre in the UK’), and in 2019 it was at Royal & Derngate, Northampton (‘Road Show’ with a focus on mid-scale touring of musical theatre).

2022

2022’s Conference was at Birmingham Hippodrome (‘Worlds to Change and Worlds to Win’ – New Musical Theatre for our Times), and the 2024 UK Musical Theatre Conference will return to London for the first time in seven years.

Past speakers

Past speakers at Conferences have included Andy Barnes (‘Six’), Cora Bissett (‘Glasgow Girls’), Gurinder Chadha (‘Bend it like Beckham’), Adam Cork (‘London Road’), Suba Das (‘Sukanya’), Gerel Falconer (‘Black Power Desk’), Sean Flahaven (Concord Theatricals), Rupert Goold (‘American Psycho’), Vicky Graham (‘Flowers for Mrs Harris’), Julius Green (Bill Kenwright Ltd), Ameena Hamid (‘The Wiz’), Pamela Karantonis (Goldsmiths), Pravesh Kumar (‘Britain’s Got Bhangra’), Angharad Lee (‘The Last 5 Years’), Katy Lipson (‘The Addams Family’), Drew McOnie (‘In the Heights’), Kerry Kyriacos Michael (‘Tommy’), Andrew Panton (‘Oor Wullie’), Kate Prince (‘Sylvia’), Jenny Sealey (‘Reasons to be Cheerful’), Dan Gillespie Sells (‘Everybody’s Talking about Jamie’), Chris Sudworth (Birmingham Hippodrome), Danielle Tarento (‘Titanic’), Michele Taylor (Ramps on the Moon), Paul Taylor-Mills (‘Heathers’), Richard Thomas (‘Jerry Springer’), Hardish Virk (‘Bombay Dreams’), DJ Walde (‘Some Like It Hip Hop’) and Kenny Wax (‘Six’)

Conference programmes