The Melange New Musical Theatre Festival is organised by students from the Goldsmith, University of London MA Musical Theatre course and as its name suggests is a mixed collection of four new short works, presented as a double bill each performance. Such an enterprise is to be admired for its effort and creativity from the producers, composers, and artistes and no doubt provides amazing and rewarding learning and the trials and tribulations and joy of staging new work.
Any new musical takes time to develop and audience familiarity with the musical styles and content helps make an immediate impact. Many in the audience were friends and family and had that familiarity and responded enthusiastically to the work. As a reviewer, coming fresh to both pieces it is more difficult.
The black box environment of the Tristan Bates, fifteen minutes to set the stage and I am sure tiny production budgets places additional constraints on the show’s creators. On this first night we were treated to two very different pieces of work.
