“The UK’s largest and most important advocate of new musicals” Musical Theatre Review
Musical theatre is a complex and thrilling art form. A musical combines many forms of storytelling and has a unique ability to astonish and delight. But writing a musical is very difficult and new musicals require a great deal of developmental support. We are dedicated to supporting writers and nurturing outstanding new musicals.
We are part of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio, working in partnership with Musical Theatre Network. We are the only organisations in the Portfolio focused on the development of the musical theatre sector.
As well as our year-round programme of opportunities, together with Musical Theatre Network we produce BEAM, the UK’s largest showcase of musical theatre, and the UK Musical Theatre Conference.
Our Mission
Our mission is simple: to help our writers write their best possible musical. We want to see our members at the forefront of new writing – ensuring the UK continues to be the home of excellent and innovative musical theatre.
Our programmes deliver to one or more of our key areas of focus:
Craft
Developing writers’ individual skills and improving the quality of musical writing in the UK overall
Career
Giving advice, facilitating connections, increasing knowledge of how the industry works and how to maintain a career
Community
Bringing writers together, developing collaborations, creating a vibrant and inclusive musical theatre ecology
MMD has been so crucial in supporting me, and opening doors that I never thought would be opened so quickly. There’s a very clear change in my journey as a writer from the moment I joined MMD, and I would recommend it highly to anyone with the slightest of an idea for a musical. If my experience has shone light on anything, it is there is a group of people who are already on your side, even if you don’t know it yet.
Omar Baroud, MMD member
Our History
The beginnings
Mercury Musical Developments was born 1992 when a group of 8 writers, including George Stiles, Anthony Drewe, Howard Goodall and Charles Hart among others, who studied with Stephen Sondheim at Oxford University during his tenure as the inaugural Cameron Mackintosh Professor of Contemporary Theatre in 1990, went on to form the Mercury Workshop, an informal composers’ salon for writers to give each other feedback and support, led by Ed Hardy and including founding MMD board members Stiles and Drewe.
Merge with New Musicals Alliance
Over time Mercury expanded and in 1999 merged with the New Musicals Alliance, run by Chris Grady, to become Mercury Musical Developments. Under the leadership of Georgina Bexon the organization grew, forged links with writers and other musical theatre aficionados in the US and became the place producers began to look to when commissioning new work. In 2008 Neil Marcus took over the helm and brought much needed profile and funding to the organization. MMD writers began to have shows produced in regional theatres and the West End and were represented in New York’s annual new musicals showcasing at NAMT.
Entering the National Portfolio
In 2012, MMD became part of the Arts Council England National Portfolio, in partnership with Musical Theatre Network (MTN) a membership organisation for venues, colleges, producers and creatives (other than writers) dedicated to producing new musical theatre. This was the first time musical theatre had received long term public funding and it enabled the organization to take significant steps towards nurturing new musical theatre writing in the UK and enabled MMD to provide a number of exciting new initiatives for our members. In 2015 Victoria Saxton took over the role of Executive Director and in 2019 she was succeeded by Emily Gray.
BEAM Showcase
2016 saw the inaugural BEAM Showcase; a two-day industry event highlighting the breadth of work and talent within the genre from right across the UK. It was jointly presented by MMD and MTN at the Park Theatre, London and is now a bi-annual event. Subsequent BEAM showcases have taken place at Theatre Royal Stratford East (2018), Hackney Empire (2021) and Oxford Playhouse (2023). To date, over 35 shows presented at BEAM have gone on to be fully staged and it is the largest showcase of new musical theatre in the UK.
An all-round programme of support
MMD has now grown from it’s original 25 members to a thriving organisation of more than 400 members. Membership consists of writers from across the UK and internationally, from those writing their first few songs to those with productions playing in the West End. During the Covid-19 pandemic MMD supported its members with the Keep Writing Fund, and since 2021 has run a new programme of initiatives to address the gender imbalance in writers of musicals.
Equal Opportunities
MMD is committed to being an Equal Opportunities employer. We recognise that the provision of equal opportunities in all our activities will benefit the organisation. We also recognise that diversity within our membership and activities will make a valuable contribution towards the development of the artform we support, pushing creative boundaries and ensuring that the greatest possible range of voices is reflected in the work created.
Member Spotlight
Emily Garsin
Emily realised how much she cared about writing stories when her primary school teacher accused her of copying from a… Read more
Visit Website Emily Garsin
Emily realised how much she cared about writing stories when her primary school teacher accused her of copying from a published book… she had in fact handed in her own piece of original work.
Her love of the performing arts started at a young age, playing one of Snow White’s dwarf companions in her village ballet show (which is fitting, seeing as she is still very small).
A cultural exchange trip to Ghana aged 15 paved the way for her creative ventures to come. With a group of her peers, she devised and performed a short piece about being a teenager in the UK. In return, Ghanaian students presented their own tales, featuring the slave trade and plight for access to education. It was becoming clear to her that the stage was a brilliant platform for exploring difficult ideas.
Studying Applied Theatre took Emily to London where a house share advert brought her together with Anna. A writing partnership was born, although their first collaboration High Street: the Musical, written during dissertation writing breaks, is best left in Willesden Green, where it was loosely set. Emily and Anna are currently writing their fifth 'proper' musical.
Emily's project 'The Stop' will be performed in The Other Palace's lunchtime 'Musical Bites' showcase on 10th July 2025 at 1.30pm.
Maz O'Connor
Described by The Observer as ‘a highly individual singer-songwriter’, Maz O’Connor is a truly unique artist. Known for her haunting,… Read more
Visit Website Maz O'Connor
Described by The Observer as ‘a highly individual singer-songwriter’, Maz O’Connor is a truly unique artist.
Known for her haunting, emotive vocals and her poetic lyricism, her songs are most often short stories inspired by her love of literature, folklore and mythology.
She wrote her first song aged four, whilst making a ‘radio show’ with a cassette player and her older brothers, and grew up singing old folk songs in her local Cumbrian venues. As a teenager, the songs of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell inspired her to learn the guitar, and listening to Regina Spektor inspired her to write her first songs on piano.
Winning a BBC Performing Arts Fund Fellowship in 2014 (once won by Adele) brought Maz to wider attention, and later that year she was nominated for a BBC Folk Award for her first album, ‘This Willowed Light’.
Maz has since released 3 further albums, toured the U.K., Europe and Canada, played live sessions on BBC Radio 2 and 3, and appeared at major U.K. festivals, including Glastonbury and WOMAD.
Her latest album, 'What I Wanted', has been widely praised and called ‘an excellent thing’ by Mark Radcliffe of BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.
As a composer, Maz has written book, music & lyrics for the folk musical 'The Wife of Michael Cleary', which won the Stiles + Drewe Prize 2023 and is currently in development with DEM Productions in association with Jessie Anand.