From Page to Stage at the Other Palace

Submissions open today for From Page to Stage, a Summer festival devoted to finding new musicals. For three weeks (14 August - 3 September 2017) the festival will showcase over 20 shows at The Other Palace, Andrew Lloyd Webber's new theatre (the former St James's Theatre) which opens in February 2017.

The festival will showcase one fully produced musical production in the theatre, plus workshops, semi-staged performances and extracts in the theatre and studio, as well as readings and songs in the bar – there’ll even be pop-up talent performing new songs from new musicals in the box office and foyer! The show does not need to be finished, entrants simply need to include their show title, composer/lyricist/book writer, short synopsis and three recorded tracks from the show (see website for full details www.frompage2stage.com). The 2016 festival received over 200 submissions.

The Other Palace opens in February 2017 as Andrew Lloyd Webber takes over the St James's Theatre and turns it into a home and breeding ground for musicals at various stages of development. The opening production in the main theatre will be Michael John LaChiusa’s musical The Wild Party, directed by choreographer Drew McOnie. The UK premiere of Whisper House will follow in April 2017, a musical ghost story from Duncan Sheik, the composer of Spring Awakening and American Psycho. The world premiere production of Olivier Award nominee Sally Cookson’s adaptation of the Fellini classic La Strada will then take place from May to July. Further ahead in the season is the first work-in-progress, Bateman and Conley's cautionary fairy-tale musical The Little Beasts, and the National Youth Music Theatre will be presenting productions of a new musical, Imaginary, and Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George.