A little Sunday afternoon story.

Two weeks ago I had quite major surgery. Today I got on a bus for the first time since then. With my blue badge. It was very full and I found myself standing initially near the priority seats holding on firmly to the hand rails. A few stops in someone vacated a priority seat. A nearby mother with two kids ushered her kid toward the available seat. I intercepted and said I had recently had surgery and needed to sit down. I showed my blue badge.

Something I have said to writers for years is: Write Impossible Stage Directions. The incredible thing about theatre is that it's able to create a much longer bridge between reality and imagination than any other form

I just want to say that I am done defending digital theatre. If you can't see the virtue of it or the value of it then fine. I'm so over people telling me it's boring, it doesn't hold their attention, it's not real theatre.

While I'm delighted for everyone who was accepted for the @royalcourt writers group I can't help but feel sad that there will probably never be a subsidised theatre with an open submission writers group for musical theatre writers. Please support musical theatre career artists. If any UK subsidised theatre wants to start one drop me a line. I promise if we nurtured career musical theatre writers properly we would not only make beautiful art but would also all get really rich. (CF @PublicTheaterNY)

Pop stars never write plays why do we let them write musicals 😭 Moreover why do we publicise their attempts and give them resources we deny the best career musical theatre writers?

So back in May I was meant to direct Merrily We Roll Along for the @CSSDLondon MA Musical Theatre students. But of course it got cancelled. This left a year of students having never completed their one big public musical. It seemed for months that the year would just be cancelled but gradually I became aware that due to the hard work of the course leader Paul Barker the year would be able to come back. However they would only be able to be in groups of six.

I should not stay up and watch US presidential debates. I should not stay up and watch US presidential debates. I should not stay up and watch US presidential debates. I should not stay up and watch US presidential debates. I should not stay up and watch US presidential debates. Watching trump for that long is like staring into the sun of weak, angry, fragile, incompetent, male ego

Well that was a night. Thanks to the writers, singers, musicians and technicians who made our crazy dreams of a two way, hybrid, global musical theatre concert come true. Here is my view from the side of the stage 🔥 The tech planning that went into this event was some of the most complex and fiendish I've yet come across and I'm so grateful to have had @ChrisCzornyj @MattPowellicus there to make it happen. Truly if anyone wants to chat about hybrid theatre and concerts then drop us a line

I know I keep going on about tonight's SIGNAL X JW3 but I genuinely don't think anyone on earth has done a musical theatre concert in this way before A fully live concert with artists either performing live in person or live over internet stream. That's right! No videos

A new era for SIGNAL. Our first hybrid event in association with @JW3London. Live performances both in person and via the internet will be viewable both in person and over the internet 🔥 Snap up one of the last few in person tickets here jw3.org.uk/whats-on/signa…

I love Romantics Anonymous. And I'm excited to watch this. But can we please stop describing musicals as "all-singing and all-dancing".

https://twitter.com/oldvictheatre/status/1307634375488667648

There's lots of just-speaking in this beautiful, delicate and thoughtful show and also not a lot of dancing. This way of describing musicals only minimises them and misrepresents them. It maintains and wrongly reasserts audience preconceptions

So proud of having technical managed this fully live opera tonight. Watch it here

https://twitter.com/JessieAnand/status/1306601145419272196

Some behind the scenes trivia. It was filmed with two phones and an iPad. The piano was routed separately to the performers' airpods and then delayed for their Bluetooth latency before being added to the stream along with a live mix of their vocals.

Woa. Headlong really onboard with my branding. Is there are chance you might be interested in adding a concert of disruptive new musical theatre to your programme?

https://twitter.com/HeadlongTheatre/status/1306142180046757888

Just to clarify. I've been running a concert series called SIGNAL for @ALPmusicals since 2017 and our primary metaphor is to build a bonfire for new musical theatre.

So thrilled to announce the lineup for SIGNAL X JW3 on Thursday 24th September at 8pm BST. This hybrid event will have an in-person audience and will also be livestreamed. London writers will perform in person and will be combined with live digital acts from around the world @landonbraverman @bencaplanmusic @joseph_finlay @TimGilvin @AlKayeAlKaye @AdamGwon @JulianHornik @TheoJamieson @EnglishRoseNY @AmirShoenfeld @Caitlyn_Burt_ @SankoffandHein @ZoeSarnak @WeAreBottleCap @Islavt13 @GuyWoolf

Some thoughts I have also posted this as an article here “Thoughts on ALW” by Adam Lenson link.medium.com/9vzd3461I9

From tomorrow I will be posting a song clip (and video link) from one of our 9 in person SIGNAL concerts EVERY SINGLE DAY. Our archive now feels a bit big to dig through for some, so consider this a slow tour through the past three years of disruptive new UK musical theatre. I hope you might journey along with us #DailySIGNAL @ALPmusicals

I'm so sad that the @hclublondon have had to close their doors. Thank you so much for being the home to #SIGNAL since 2017. We are so grateful for the space you gave to hundreds of writers and for your support of new musical theatre. Watch the videos at ALPmusicals.com This also means that SIGNAL is looking for a new home for its quarterly concert residency. If you know any gig venues, concert halls or theatres that might be interested in partnering with us then send them my way 🔥

A new era of SIGNAL starts on September 24th at 8pm UK with a collaboration with @JW3London. This hybrid event will have an in-person audience and will also be livestreamed. London writers will perform in person and will be combined with live digital acts from around the world It's going to be a really special lineup. If you want to join the exclusive in-person audience in London you can do so by booking here: jw3.org.uk/whats-on/signa…

Didn't realise ALW was an air quality scientist. What a man! P.s - air purity aside, outdoor COVID spread is many many times less likely than indoor spread

Or you know. Maybe give opportunities to people who actually love and care about the form and can actually evolve and innovate instead? I haven't seen one article celebrating 10 UK musical writers to watch. Maybe do that instead.

https://twitter.com/WhatsOnStage/status/1302592391157702658

Yet another example of theatre journalists obsessing over celebrity and clicks instead of actually ensuring the growth and development of the form

Hi everyone, tonight is our fourteenth live concert of new musical theatre since lockdown started and is going to be the last for a while.

I would be so grateful if you could tune in to send us off

Tonight
7:30pm UK
ALPmusicals.com/concerts Through lockdown we have premiered over 150 songs from five continents. We have worked with 80 artists and showcased some of the most beautiful, strange, disruptive and incredible new musical theatre I have ever had the joy to hear.