Open submissions - BYMT's 2027 season of new music theatre

Location: UK

Fee: Writing team fee of up to £6,000

Closing date for applications: Midday Monday 17 August 2026

Bring new musical theatre ideas to life through productions and development camps with young performers and industry professionals.

BYMT is the largest commissioner of new music theatre in the UK. Each year, we programme six productions in leading venues and run multiple development camps where ideas for new shows can be trialled over a week with a group of young people.

How We Programme
BYMT's programming is done in dialogue with our Young Company Panel. This is to ensure the work we produce is aligned with the interests and values of young people. Upon reviewing submissions, the BYMT programming team will select a longlist, which will then be discussed with the Young Company Panel. Their recommendations for the shortlist, along with discussions with venues and the Board, will form the 2027 programme. We programme works at all stages of development, from the inception of an idea, to fully written shows.

If you show is programmed, it will either be as a production or a development camp.

BYMT Productions are given a two-week rehearsal process with a cast of 37 young people, a band of young people and professional musicians, and a full creative and production team, culminating with performances in a leading theatre venue. Past venues have included Birmingham Hippodrome, Lowry in Salford and Southwark Playhouse.

BYMT Development Camps are 6 day residential Research & Development periods, where writers can explore new ideas, and develop work with a group of 40 young people. Led by a professional creative team, writers can work on entirely new ideas or expand existing material in a collaborative environment.

What We Offer

• BYMT offers writers the rare opportunity to develop work on a large scale, as we only programme pieces that are suitable for a cast of 37.
• We work with a full creative and production team of leading industry professionals to develop and stage new work in top theatre venues across the UK.
• The opportunity to be an integral part of the staging of new work, to have involvement in the casting process for productions, and contact time onsite during rehearsals and the production week.
• Dramaturgical support from the BYMT team.
• Support in future licensing, or strategy for your show.
• Marketing & PR support.
• An ongoing relationship with BYMT beyond just programming, including supporting writers' journeys as artists, not just the journey of a particular project.
• Opportunities for invited guests to see writers' work.
• Writing team fee of up to £6,000.

Submission Requirements

• Shows must be suitable for a cast of 37 young people. The cast should all have meaningful, named roles.
• Shows must be designed to engage young people, and have a clear reason for involving a young company.
• Shows should be original concepts, or writers should confirm they have secured the rights for existing IP prior to applying.
• BYMT shows are usually under 90 minutes without an interval, with 8-12 songs, the majority being ensemble numbers, and minimal solos.
• The show must be realistically achievable in a very short rehearsal period.
• The show must be suitable to be performed with a maximum band size of 5 (including one professional musician, and one professional MD).
• We programme works at all stages of development, from the inception of an idea, to fully written shows.

We are excited about ensemble driven theatre making, writers who align with our ethos, gender-inclusive stories, adaptations, real world issues, movement-led pieces and a broad range of musical styles.

BYMT is committed to creating an inclusive culture in all its activities, ensuring equality of opportunity for all our creative practitioners and encouraging applications from individuals regardless of disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships. We are particularly keen to hear from writers from global majority backgrounds and those who self-identify as disabled, as they are under-represented in the new music theatre sector.

All eligible submissions will be considered for the 2026 New Music Theatre Award.

Please note we do not accept any submissions via email.

If you'd like to discuss this opportunity with a member of our team, please email Cerys Jones - cerysjones@bymt.org.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.