Mercury Musical Developments (MMD) is the UK's largest membership organisation dedicated to developing new musical theatre writing, based in the United Kingdom dedicated to developing new writing in

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

. Founded in 1992 as the Mercury Workshop, it took on its present name when it merged in 1999 with the New Musicals Alliance. It now has over 560 members. MMD is based in

Grosvenor Gardens Grosvenor Gardens is the name given to two triangular parks in Belgravia, London, faced on their western and eastern sides by streets of the same name. Both roads run roughly north to south from Hobart Place and Grosvenor Place to Buckingham P ...

, near Victoria Station, and was previously based at the Ambassadors Theatre in London's West End. Its Executive Director is Emily Gray, who succeeded Victoria Saxton, who succeeded Neil Marcus, previously

Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

at the

Jermyn Street Theatre Jermyn Street Theatre is a performance venue situated on Jermyn Street, in London's West End. It is an off-west end studio theatre. History Jermyn Street Theatre opened in August 1994. It was formerly the changing rooms for staff at a Spaghetti ...

, in 2015. Neil Marcus succeeded Georgina Bexon in 2009. A

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

, it receives funding from

Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...

. MMD also work in consortium wit
Musical Theatre Network
(MTN), a membership organisation who works to bring people and resources together to improve infrastructure and opportunities for new musical theatre in the UK, strengthen and diversify the new musical sector and the art form, and is a national network of venues, producers, directors, colleges and universities, organisations and individuals. Together, MMD and MTN produc
BEAM
the UK's largest and only showcase of new musical theatre, curated via pitching days across England, Scotland and Wales, bringing together presentations of new musicals in development and providing networking opportunities and discussions for anyone with an interest in new musical theatre, or who is in a position to help develop and stage new British musicals. MMD als
work
with founding members George Stiles and

Anthony Drewe Anthony Drewe is a British lyricist and book writer for Broadway and West End musicals. He is best known for his collaborations with George Stiles. Education He was educated at Maidstone Grammar School between 1974–1980. He read Zoology at ...

to deliver th
Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize competition
annually, and th
Stiles and Drewe MTI Mentorship Award
every two years.

History

In 1990 composer and lyricist

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

took the Cameron Mackintosh chair in musical theatre at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, and in this capacity ran workshops with promising writers of musicals, including George Stiles,

, Andrew Peggie, Paul James, and Stephen Keeling. These writers jointly set up the Mercury Workshop in 1992, which eventually merged with the New Musicals Alliance to become Mercury Musical Developments.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercury Musical Developments 1992 establishments in England Arts organisations based in England Arts organizations established in 1992 Charities based in London Musical theatre organizations Theatre in the United Kingdom Theatrical organisations in the United Kingdom