Kate Marlais and Alex Young
Kate and Alex write musicals, and they've been collaborating for 10 years - writing Book, Music and Lyrics together. They met studying Music at King's College London.
Their musical FUCKED IN MARRAKECH is currently in development and supported by Concord Theatricals. Also keep your eyes peels for IF I AM REAL (as showcased at BEAM 2021, Hackney Empire) and GHOSTED, and are currently in development.
Awards include the S and S Award in 2015 for their musical HERE (in conjunction with Curve Leicester & Mercury Musical Developments). They were also 2019 finalists in classical song competition Composium (in association with PRS for Music & Cheltenham Music festival).
Kate is a composer, writer, singer/songwriter, actor, musical director, musical arranger, vocal coach and sound designer based in London.
Kate gained a Bachelor of Music degree with a Composition major at King's College London, under the tuition of classical composers Robert Keeley and Silvina Milstein, and then trained at the Royal Academy Of Music, where she was made an Associate for her work in music in 2018. In 2018-19, Kate was the Cameron Mackintosh resident composer at Lyric Hammersmith. ​
Kate recently won the LEH Emerging Talent Award 2020.
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Credits as composer include A ROOM OF HER OWN (a filmed dramatisation of the Virginia Woolf feminist essay for the London Library Literary Festival 2021, starring Nina Sosanya; also sound design), contemporary dance live audio story FRAGMENTS (staged in New York 2020), ANAHERA (Finborough Theatre European premier 2019; also sound design), and ABANDON (Lyric Hammersmith 2017, Best Composer Stage Debut Award nomination).
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Other recent work in music for stage includes KAN YAMA KAN (Anthology Group for Riyadh Festival, Saudi Arabia, dir. Will Tuckett 2022; music associate to composer Paul Clark of Clod Ensemble),
ENTER ACHILLES (DV8/Ballet Rambert world tour 2020 incl Sadler's Wells, dir./choreo. Lloyd Newson), MUSIK (Assembly Rooms Edinburgh/Leicester Square Theatre 2019/20, dir. Josh Seymour, writer Jonathan Harvey, music by Pet Shop Boys), LEAVE TO REMAIN (Lyric Hammersmith 2019, dir./choreo. Robby Graham, writer Matt Jones, music Kele Okereke of Bloc Party), and FATHERLAND (Manchester Royal Exchange for MIF/Lyric Hammersmith for LIFT 2017/18, Frantic Assembly, dir. Scott Graham, writer Simon Stephens, music Karl Hyde of Underworld & music producer Matthew Herbert).
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Own projects in development include I CANNOT MAKE NOISE WHEN I SCREAM (composer, writer, co-music producer, performer, funded & supported in development by Lyric Hammersmith, Mercury Musical Developments & Musical Theatre Network 2019, in collaboration with Luke Brown Dance).
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Performing credits include WAR HORSE (West End) and THE HUMAN COMEDY (Young Vic).
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For more info, visit www.katemarlais.com
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Alex Young, originally from Northampton, now based in London has established herself as a leading theatre actor across the country.
Her recent work in theatre includes playing opposite Matt Lucas in ME AND MY GIRL at the Chichester Festival Theatre; a young Imelda Staunton in FOLLIES at the National Theatre; alongside Katherine Jenkins and Alfie Boe in CAROUSEL at the London Coliseum, and PROMISES PROMISES at the Southwark Playhouse, for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress Offie Award.
She enjoys a particular association with the Sheffield Crucible, having worked there with Daniel Evans on ANYTHING GOES and SHOW BOAT (also West End), and then with Rob Hastie on CORIOLANUS, GUYS AND DOLLS and STANDING AT THE SKY’S EDGE, soon to be revived at the National Theatre.
Alex holds a Bachelor of Music from King's College London, and a post graduate diploma from the Royal Academy of Music, during which time she won the nation-wide Stephen Sondheim Student Performer of the Year Award, of which she was consequently made a judge. In 2019, Alex was made an Associate of the Royal Academy for her notable work in theatre.
During Covid-19, Alex founded The Corona Days Plays, an online theatre company, dedicated to reading a play online each week. It now boasts three hundred members and counting