Birmingham Hippodrome has announced that Deirdre O’Halloran will join the organisation as Head of New Musical Theatre.

Deirdre has been the Literary Manager at the Bush Theatre since 2018, where she designed and implemented artist development programmes, and took the lead on dramaturgy for all commissioned work.

She is passionate about musical theatre, a regular panellist for BEAM pitching days and this year took part in judging for the Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize. She has worked on musicals in development including Cliffs by Elan Butler, I'm Done With This Shitby Jack Hart and Back In The Daytimer by Ajay and Sumerah Srivastav.

Highlights of her produced work at the Bush include: Anoushka Lucas's debut play with songs Elephant, August In England by Lenny Henry, the Olivier award-winning The P Word by Waleed Akhtar, and winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Award Lava by Benedict Lombe. Other work in development at the Bush includes Sparrow Girl, a new musical written by Chris Bush and Maimuna Memon.

As a freelancer, Deirdre has dramaturged work including Robin Hood: The Legend Rewritten at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and Paines Plough's 2022 Roundabout Season.

Birmingham Hippodrome announced its plans in April to become home to the first in-house musical theatre department in the UK, developing new musicals in the West Midlands.

Leading the new department, Deirdre will grow a specialist team and collaborate with creatives and partners to create new production opportunities in Birmingham and beyond. The dedicated department will develop, commission and produce new musicals as part of the Hippodrome’s core business, alongside offering skills development, employment, and a new Writers Lab, supporting the national new musical theatre community and more sustainable career pathways in musical theatre.