This weekend I went to the first ever Musical Con at the Excel, London. Sacrificing a hotel for the price of a VIP ticket, I got up at 6AM with the top half of my & Juliet cosplay under a hoodie and the puff skirt stuffed in a Poundland shopping bag. I hopped on the first train from Reading to Paddington followed by my first trip down the Elizabeth line to the venue. Luckily queueing up wasn’t a tedious experience despite our Brits love for the sport as the West End Musical Choir performed showtunes made us more excited about what was to come including a Come From Away medley, Six and a Greatest Showman singalong.
So, what happened on day one?
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Opening ceremony
Musical Con’s opening ceremony was on the main stage with its ambassadors performing a medley. Starting together with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s Pure Imagination, each singing a solo that showed off their amazing pipes and hyped up the crowd.
- Shanay Holmes (Thriller Live, Get Up Stand Up!) singing This Is Me from the Greatest Showman
- Trevor Dion Nicolas (Hamilton, Aladdin) jazzed up rendition of Friend Like Me
- Alice Fearn (Wicked, Come From Away) Into The Unknown
- Layton Williams (Everybody’s Talking About Jamie) You Don’t Even Know It
- Aimie Atkinson (Pretty Woman, Six) solo Anywhere But Here
- Ben Forster (The Phantom of the Opera) hypnotic Music of the Night
The opening finished with a beautiful speech from the mother of Musical Con, Shanay Holmes. You could see how much it meant to see this dream come to life not just for herself, but the fans who keep making musical theatre possible.
Who could you meet at Musical Con?
The stage door experience was where you could get a photo and/or autograph with some the West End’s biggest stars. These cost £20-£30 per person, but when you consider photos at other conventions like Comic Con can run up to £100, those price tags aren’t that bad. I personally didn’t get any, but they were nice add-ons for fans who wouldn’t normally have the chance to meet their musical theatre idols. However, all was not lost as you could still bump into other performers walking around the Excel and there was a section in your info book for them to sign in.
On day one I got to meet Aisha Jawando (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical), Shanay Holmes, Simon Bailey (Moulin Rouge, The Phantom of the Opera), Jacob Fowler (Heathers, Cinderella) and Oscar Conlen-Monrey (Only Fools and Horses). I’ll add onto that list for day two, but it was nice to have a chat with them or say a quick hi as they passed by. Mercifully none of them had to put up with any paparazzi style mobs! And before anyone points it out, I know my selfies are blurry because of a crack right on the camera!
Photos and autographs weren’t the only ways you could meet West End stars at Musical Con. You could also book masterclasses and workshops such as belting with Alice Fearn, acting through song with Natalie May Paris and an & Juliet dance class with Miriam-Teak Lee. I didn’t do any of those either because A) I sing like a sheep getting castrated no amount of training could save and B) I have zero rhythm in my body, but these were great for improving your technique while having fun with some of the best in the industry.
What panels were on at Musical Con?
Musical Con had two sections for the panels: the main stage which hosted the big performances, competitions and show spotlights and the backstage section which offered insight into what happens behind the curtain. As someone who loves learning about the theatremaking process and wants to write in theatre, I appreciated the diversity on display instead of devoting it just to singing, dancing and acting. In this area you had to listen to the panels with headphones provided which was a smart idea. There were still problems I noticed, but I’ll elaborate on that in a moment.
For day one, the main stage panels featured:
Heathers The Musical Spotlight – Stars Erin Caldwell, Madison Firth, Vivian Panka, Jasmine Beel and Nathaniel Landskroner and producer Paul Taylor Mills do a Q&A and perform a medley of the hit musical Heathers.
But I’m a Cheerleader preview -based on the 90’s cult classic about a lesbian cheerleader sent to conversion therapy (the plot is funnier than it sounds), Musical Con dedicated a special performance to its stage adaptation now back in the West End following its successful run last year.
Super You preview – I missed out on this as I got distracted wandering through the market stalls and getting a Moulin Rouge tattoo, but staff offered cards that directed you to the show’s website. Featuring Tom Francis, Renee Lamb, Vicky Manser, Lourds Lane and Natalie Green, I’ve heard promising things about this show that empowers women to be their own superheroes.
Sondheim & Me with Jenna Russell – West End star and Musical Con ambassador Jenna Russell shared stories about her experiences performing in shows by and working with the late great Stephen Sondheim.
Defying Gravity: A celebration of going green – Laura Pick, Nikki Bentley, Alice Fearn and Louise Dearman reminisced about their experiences playing Elphaba in the hit musical Wicked. Each leading lady sang their own solo from the show before a grand finale with an epic quartet of Defying Gravity (because how else could they finish?)
Star of Musical Con – I only caught the end of this as I was waiting for the panel below, but it turns out I got lucky as the winner happened to be the final contestant who sang a phenomenal rendition of I’m Still Here from The Colour Purple.
Cinderella at the Hope Mill Theatre preview – The Hope Mill Theatre showcased its latest production of the Roger and Hammerstein classic starring West End heavyweights including Grace Mouat, Jacob Fowler as Cinderella and Prince Topher. I booked my ticket for the show before Musical Con, and this made me more excited to see it!
CAPA College showcase – Musical Con puts performers in training in the spotlight from CAPA.
Get Up Stand Up! Showcase – Stars Michael Duke and Shanay Holmes discussed bringing the legacy and music of Bob Marley to the stage.
Show Off: The casts of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Legally Blonde stand off in a battle of musical wits. In the blue corner from Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, we had:
- Luke Bayer
- Melissa Jacques
- Segal Keshwala
- Cherelle Jay
- Hiba Elchike
In the pink corner from Legally Blonde, we had:
- Courtney Bowman
- Grace Mouat
- Issaac Hesketh
Hosted by the fabulous Oscar Conlen-Morrey, this competition featured three rounds: Pick a prop and sing a song associated with it, describe a musical without naming its title or characters, and sing karaoke correct song. After many laughs, losing count and showtunes, Team ETAJ was declared the winner (and Courtney deflecting to their team as she was in its original West End cast) With that, Saturday’s Musical Con ended with Courtney Bowman’s epic rendition of So Much Better.
Backstage Panels
I didn’t see as many backstage panels I would’ve liked for day one of Musical Con as they clashed with other panels on the main stage, but I caught a glimpse of them which looked so interesting.
Behind the Seams: National Theatre tailor and costume creator Faye Young brings us through the wardrobe of the West End.
Why Representation Matters in All Areas of Musical Theatre – performers Aisha Jawando, Courtney Bowman, Sharon Rose and Hiba Elchike, Chuchu Wagu, Sean Green, Sylvia Darkwa-Ohemeng and Solange Urdang discussed the importance of diversity in casting, direction and producing for theatre.
ETAJ From Stage To Screen with Jonathan Butterell – Director Jonathan Butterall discussed the process of adapting his hit musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie from stage to screen.
Moving a Musical -Some of the West End’s biggest and rising choreographers discussed aspects of choreographing a musical.
Writing a hit musical with Toby Marlow: (Tony winning!) Composer Toby Marlow shared his story on how Six came to be and offered advice to aspiring composers. I briefly visited and would’ve stayed for the whole panel, but I wasn’t able to hear anything as they ran out of headphones.
Disney Puppetry on the West End – Puppetry forms a huge part of bringing that Disney magic to the stage, with Gary Jordan demonstrating the Zazu puppet from The Lion King and Mikayala Jade showing the incredible Sven puppet from Frozen the Musical.
Creation of the Footballer’s Wives The Musical Studio Cast Album – West End performers Simon Bailey and Alice Fearn along with Kath Gotts discuss the process of creating their cast album based on the noughties TV show. Here’s hoping we’ll see this show onstage one day1
What could you buy at Musical Con?
Theatreland was the haven where you could add to your carefully collated theatre collection. I knew most of the vendors from Etsy, some even selling their products in person for the first time. I ended up getting got Six, & Juliet and Waitress themed cards, stickers and a mystery bag from Handmade Broadway, the first issue of Musical Magazine and a beautiful Katherine Howard wall art from Lee Greenaway Art. Other vendors included:
- Musical Magazine
- Amy Stitches
- Peter Hannah Art
- Lee Greenaway Art
- Acting For Others
- Scrunchies 4 Theatre
- The Theatre Shop
- Theatre and Threads
- letterstojuly
- Dragged Out
- Concord Theatricals
- Handmade Broadway
- Musical Theatre Pins
- George Blaise Candles
This area was also part prospectus as some of the most esteemed drama schools and colleges including Stage Coach, The Guildford School of Music & Drama and the New York Conservatoire of Dramatic Arts attended. None of these were needed on my end as I’m a 27 year-old with a writing degree and full-time job, but seeing them open incredible opportunities for aspiring performers was amazing to see in such a big event as Musical Con.
Were there any issues with Musical Con?
For its first year, what the people managed to do at Musical Con was amazing and they should be proud of how smoothly it went. However, I think there are some kinks needed to make the next one even better and I need to acknowledge my doubts leading up to it including:
- VIP emails arriving late/not at all for some individuals
- Workshops being cancelled by the performer without the site updating it
- The schedule being released two weeks before the con
- A lack of clarification of what came with each ticket as I got the VIP ticket under the assumption some photos and autographs were included
Other issues surrounding disability access also popped up on social media which is important as theatre is meant to welcome and uplift everybody. It appears they did listen (at least for day two), but as a neurodivergent woman who had a panic attack and was badgered with questions by medics who made disparaging comments within earshot, more needs to be done. I’m not going into more details as the memory of a panic attack can leave me shaken and embarrassed, and I understand the medics wouldn’t expect to know what happens in the aftermath in my individual case (namely not speaking, agitation and crying).
Part of my learning disability also involves hypersensitivity to bright/flashing lights, loud sounds, being confined in crowds and difficulty differentiating background and foreground noise. While I was fine with the first two, the latter two became problems in Musical Con and I’m not the only one who experienced them.
While spread out as best as they could, some parts including Theatreland were too close together and led to people getting squashed in both directions while backstage panels had to pause because people could hear what was happening on the main stage through the headphones. With those in mind, I think the next Musical Con will need to be in a larger space so people can fully enjoy what they came to see.
Trust me, wanting more of Musical Con is a good thing and none of the above outweigh my overall positive experience! I’ll expand more on my thoughts in my day two post and if there were any standout moments.
Did you go to Musical Con? If you did what was your favourite part? Be sure to comment below!
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