REWRITES – the showcase for new musicals started by Lowry, Salford is back for 2025 with an ‘invigorating’ piece of gig-theatre that reimagines the classic Greek myths of Theseus and Icarus.
In HALF MAN HALF BULL, Wright&Grainger and Oliver Tilney reimagine two myths – the adrenaline fuelled Theseus & The Minotaur and the heartrending Deadalus & Icarus.
REWRITES was launched by Lowry in 2017 to support and promote new musicals at the start of their journey to the stage. It’s a platform that puts shows on their feet and in front of an audience for the first time via presentations including scratch nights, works-in-progress workshops and concerts.
The showcase was expanded in 2024 to include three new partner venues Birmingham Hippodrome, Mayflower Studios, Southampton and Norwich Theatre – to create a new touring platform for new musicals in development
The hit West End musical Operation Mincemeat started out at a scratch event at The Lowry as part of REWRITES and other musicals featured previously include: No Miracles Here by The Letter Room, A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Sad) by Jon Brittain and Matthew Floyd Jones, A Mother’s Song by Finn Anderson and Tania Azevedo [now called Ballad Lines), Snowflake by Lewis Cornay and 2024’s Nell’s Place by Sheep Soup and Chosen by Taiyo Yoshida and Dominic Varney.
HALF MAN HALF BULL was at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival last summer and now an extended version is being redeveloped via REWRITES.
A lad heads off to kill a monster. A boy falls out of the sky. Two inextricably linked stories of hope and loss, wildly retold by internationally acclaimed ‘masters of storytelling’(FourthWall).
Two stories, two gigs – two tales of escaping things and proving things. This epic theatrical double-album full of virtuosic spoken word and soaring live music is a story in two halves.
Presented by Wright&Grainger, Oliver Tilney, James Simon, Kevin O’Driscoll and Oliver Award-Winning Molly Morris.
HALF MAN HALF BULL plays Norwich Theatre 3-6 November, Lowry Salford 7-8 November, Mayflower, Southampton 12-13 November and Birmingham Hippodrome 14-16 November 2025.
There will be two performances of the show at each venue, with ‘curtain raiser’ showcases of new work in progress beforehand.
Matt Eames, Head of Theatres (Contemporary & Commissioning) at The Lowry, said: “As a group of regional organisations we recognise that it is an impossibly challenging period for artists and companies making new work at the moment and REWRITES continues to evolve to respond to what new musical productions need to develop and thrive in this environment. We all loved HALF MAN || Half Bull in Edinburgh last year and felt that the show would really benefit from the platform and support that REWRITES offers, as it continues to develop.”
Half Man Half Bull – ‘Wild gig theatre that’s both invigorating and heartbreaking’
LYNN GARDNER, THE STAGE, ****‘
