Scouts! The Musical is back – and it’s bigger and better than ever

Can you give us a quick plot summary?

For those who didn’t catch it the first time around, the musical focuses on the annual Scout Games – a fictional test of skills for life, and a coveted gold badge is up for grabs.

While the Scouts are busy doing their best, an intruder appears – intent on causing havoc (and turning ‘skills for life’ into ‘troublemakers for life’). Pandemonium ensues!

How did people react to Scouts! The Musical?

The three-week run in London in summer 2023 was the first time we'd ever performed the show. It was amazing how many Scouts came to watch. I honestly couldn't believe it and it was lovely to speak with them afterwards. It was a slice of escapism about something they care about.

It's been a real honour to create this show, learn so much about the movement and the people involved and make something they can really enjoy and be proud of.

What surprised you?

As a company, we’d never had houses as busy as Scouts! The Musical. It really was amazing to have a run that just completely sold out like that, and we're hoping the same thing will happen again this time.

The reaction was very special. It's a show that really is for all ages. We had toddlers there, sitting alongside folks in their 90s, which was lovely to see! The shows that were full of Scouts and Scout Groups were just so lively. They gave so much energy from the get-go and that really makes a difference to a performance. 

We’re happy to be offering a discount to Scout Groups on this tour. We wanted to make the show affordable as is, but even more so for Scout Groups. Theatre should be accessible to everyone, and especially at a young age. It's got the potential to completely change your trajectory in life.

What’s different for this tour?

We’re building on everything we had in the original run, but we're just giving it more space to breathe, expanding on the characters and relationships. It’s now a little bit longer: 90 minutes excluding an interval (50 minutes for the first act, and 40 minutes for the second act).

It’s still an actor-musician show, which a lot of people haven't seen before, and we really take it to the ‘nth degree’ with people playing as many instruments as humanly possible, sometimes two at once! It’s a wonderful sort of frantic, energetic fun.

Is it the same cast?

Everyone who was in the original production was invited back because they all did such a brilliant job. But some people are off doing all sorts. Sydney, who was the lead, is now in Hamilton, so she's very busy with that. It'll be mostly the same cast, but with a couple of new faces.

Any new songs?

There are a couple of new songs in this updated version of the show. We're writing them at the moment. Some of the characters who didn't get solos before have got them now. We really just want to make this exactly what we’d always wanted it to be as it's the final run of the show.

How does it feel to be returning to the show?

Scouts! The Musical has been such a journey. It just feels like such a wonderful thing to be able to do again. We were very lucky to get the WhatsOnStage Award nomination last year for Best Off West End Show. It was so validating for us and all the work we put in.

The award nomination really helped us get the show into the new theatres. We were looking for venues that had similar size capacity to the Other Palace in London. The only thing I'm very grateful for is that all the venues had weeks available that slotted together back to back.

How has the landscape changed since it was first performed?

It feels like the West End landscape has changed dramatically in the past three years for new musicals. It's really exciting and it's great to be part of it. The musical was still developing during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

We didn't know what the show was going to look like or how we were going to do it. It turned out even better than any of us could have hoped.