Game Theory

Book and lyrics by Rachel Bellman
Music by Josh Bird

Developed by Perfect Pitch

The crime. The pact. The betrayal.

A coming-of-age thriller about friendship, betrayal, and the lengths we will go just to feel like we belong.

Desperate to fit in at university, Cass finds herself hanging out with Mia, Luke and Tom, an eccentric and exclusive group on the fringes of campus society. What Cass doesn’t know is that they are part of a university project, shrouded in mystery, that has drawn them into the black market world of endangered flowers. Yes, that’s a thing. And they’re extremely valuable.

When the group find themselves subjects of a criminal investigation, Cass clings onto their fragmenting friendship. But at what cost?

Demos performed by the cast of Rewrites at The Lowry

Performed by:
Jonathan Carlton (Kinky Boots, Pippin), Paige Fenlon (Pretty Woman), Scott Folan (Blinded by the Light, Cyrano), Luke Friend (American idiot, The X Factor), Tom Hier (Miss Saigon, Joseph), Maiya Quansah-Breed (SIX), Jessica Shaw (Club Mex), Amelia Walker (SIX)

Director – Julie Atherton
Musical Director – Chris Poon
Orchestrator & Arranger – Josh Bird
Music Producer & Mix Engineer – Sam Featherstone
Casting – Pearson Casting

Game Theory – Rise Up Episode

‘This Is The Place’ performed by Jonathan Carlton, Paige Fenlon, Scott Folan, Luke Friend, Tom Hier, Maiya Quansah-Breed, Jessica Shaw, Amelia Walker

‘Where I’ll Land’ performed by Luke Friend & Jessica Shaw

Game Theory (previous title Flower Cutters) has been developed by Perfect Pitch, a UK theatre company dedicated to the creation and development of new British musicals, and the sister company of Global Musicals (producers of SIX).

An original coming-of-age crime thriller set against the criminal underworld of flowers (one which really does exist), this musical merges catchy, contemporary songs with believable characters and a heist thrown in for good measure. The aim is to create a fast-paced, Netflix-esque narrative that would keep the audience on the edge of their seat whilst using the songs to reveal the characters’ emotional journeys.

A concert production of the show was performed as part of The Lowry’s Rewrites Festival in June 2021. In a pre-lockdown world the musical was also due to receive its regional premiere at Birmingham Hippodrome’s Patrick Studio in April 2020, presented by the Musicals Young Company. In 2019 an earlier draft of the piece was produced by University of Central Lancashire for the final year production on the Music Theatre BA (Hons) course, which was directed by Bruce Guthrie.

Game Theory has been workshopped at Arts Ed, University of Winchester, University of Portsmouth, and the Musical Theatre Academy. An extract from the show was performed in ‘Musical Bites’ at The Other Palace, and songs have been performed at the Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize, ‘SIGNAL – Redefining New British Music Theatre’, the Page to Stage Gala Concert, and by the London Musical Theatre Orchestra.