This March, Scotland’s picturesque West Coast will transform into an artistes’ playground. Dundee Rep Theatre and Cove Park’s Musical Theatre Writing Residency is a pioneering new international exchange programme for emerging as well as established writers, composers and lyricists from the U.K., India and the United States. An immersive programme, it enables creators in musical theatre to collaborate to produce new work, free from the limitations of commissions or deadlines. It will take place between 4th and 17th March on the sprawling campus of Cove Park overlooking Loch Long.

The residency has been developed in partnership with the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai, Capital Theatres, Citizens Theatre, Macrobert Arts Centre, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh and National Theatre of Scotland in the UK, and Octopus Theatricals from New York. Associate partners include A Play, A Pie and a Pint, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Playwrights’ Studio Scotland and Tron Theatre.

The programme recently unveiled an impressive list of resident artistes selected from scores of applications. These include Debbie Hannan and Andy McGregor; Linda McLean and David Paul Jones; Samir Bhamra, Devesh Sodha and Robby Khela; Jonathan O’Neill and Issac Savage; Nikki Lynette and Lili Anne Brown; and Sushma Soma and Neel Chaudhuri. Working in teams, they will be developing their ideas with projects and themes, including a punk rock musical based on Scotland’s militant suffragettes, a sci-fi romp set around Bonnybridge, interestingly known as the Scottish UFO hotspot, and a horror musical that blends dark rock, urban grime, pop and cinematic scores with Hindu mythology.

Soma and Chaudhuri will be teaming up to infuse Indian sensibilities into the musical theatre arena. Soma is an award-winning Carnatic vocalist and has performed at some of the most reputed international stages and festivals. Her recent work focuses on ecological crisis and sustainability and expresses these stories through Carnatic music. Chaudhuri, too, fosters a keen interest in sound art and spoken word. He is a playwright and theatre director based in New Delhi and a founder-member of the Tadpole Repertory, where he was formerly the Artistic Director. Bruce Guthrie, Head of Theatre & Film at the NCPA, was instrumental in getting the two artistes on board.

Designed by Andrew Panton, Artistic Director of Dundee Rep Theatre, the programme is markedly built on the principle of collaboration within the creative industry and includes facilitated sessions with dramaturg Jeanie O’Hare, music supervisor James McKeon, Artistic Director of Goodspeed Musicals Donna Lynn Hilton and David Greig, Artistic Director of Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh.

“We will be creating a safe space for the artistes to experiment with their work and the form. We know that there is a huge audience for musical theatre and this is an opportunity for our participants to learn from industry-leading experts and each other. I believe that this is a huge investment in the talent that we need to create the next decade of great musicals,” Panton said in a statement.

In-person and digital workshops with noted theatre professionals of the calibre of award-winning director John Doyle and Broadway producers Mara Isaacs and Rashad V. Chambers will also benefit the residents.

Liberating residencies for writers are a valuable asset in enhancing the quality of theatre produced, especially when it comes to the musical theatre landscape where several forms collide. It equips the field for the future.

The pilot residency is majority-funded as part of the British Council and Creative Scotland Partnership: Connect & Collaborate.