UK Musical Theatre Conference – full line-up confirmed for next week

The full line-up has been revealed for the UK Musical Theatre Conference, overseen by Musical Theatre Network and Mercury Musical Developments, has been confirmed.

Following a welcome from James Hadley and Zaylie-Dawn Wilson, the opening session, chaired by Tracy Cooper, will present a series of short talks addressing how the sector can respond to challenges and consider future change. Speakers include Dr Sarah K Whitfield, Nathalie McDermott and Josette Bushell-Mingo.

A panel chaired by Nancy Medina will consider the perspectives of Black and Global Majority creatives working in musical theatre, with contributions from Rafia Hussain, Urielle Klein-Mekongo, Frey Kwa Hawking, Sumerah Srivastavand Tim Sutton. A further session, chaired by producer Emily Lunnon, will examine how musicals move between international markets, with panellists including Natalie Chan, Jethro Compton, John Manning, Joseph Smith and Danielle Tarento. Breakout discussions linked to the opening session topics will run alongside parts of the programme.

After a lunch break, chaired discussions will resume with a session on the role of dance in new musicals, led by Andrew Panton, with panellists Carrie-Anne Ingrouille, Andy Kumar, Dannielle Rhimes Lecointe and Alexzandra Sarmiento. A parallel breakout session will continue discussion of climate-related themes.

A session chaired by Felix Cross will address the use of artificial intelligence in the sector, with contributions from Matt Eames, Lesley Gannon, Sally Ann Gritton, Stephen Pidcock and Shaye Poulton Richards. This will be followed by a discussion on the use of data in the sector, chaired by Ameena Hamid, with David Brownlee and Dan Rebellato.

The final session, chaired by Michèle Taylor, will examine accessibility in the development of new work. Panellists include Alex Bulmer, Caitlyn Burt, Hayley Egan, Jenny Sealey and Amir Shoenfeld.