Amir and Caitlyn smile in front of a piano
Shoenfeld
& Burt
Musical theatre writing team
About us
Amir and Caitlyn sit on steps outside
We are Caitlyn Burt and Amir Shoenfeld. We write musicals.
What have we been up to the last few years?
Recently, we have been fortunate enough to be chosen as the first Cameron Mackintosh Resident Writing Team and spent six months at Theatr Clwyd working on our musical, OTTO WEIDT'S BRUSH AND BROOM WORKSHOP FOR THE BLIND – we presented a half-hour selection of OTTO at BEAM2023 in Oxford. Our audio musical, SHEILA THE TINY TURTLE, is featured on the podcast, Bite-Sized Broadway (IndieWorks Theatre, 2022) and our song, ‘Looking at the Moon’, was the winner of the Tarento Productions initiative, Song for Our Time, selected by Jason Robert Brown (2020). We have also been commissioned to write the 'Clubhouse' programme for International Dance Technique (2020-2023). Our new musical WHEN WE STRIKE will premier at Southwark Playhouse in August 2024 (BYMT).
We are advanced members of BOOK Music & Lyrics, the UK’s leading workshop for musical theatre writers and members of Mercury Musical Developments.
Inspired by a true story, Otto Weidt is a blind German man who employs Jewish workers with vision impairments during WWII, shielding them from the Nazis. When Alice, the secretary he falls in love with, is transported to Auschwitz, Otto must overcome the prejudices of his brother and country in his attempt to rescue her.
With visual information integrated into dialogue, lyrics and sound design, Otto Weidt’s creative access enhances the piece for audience members of all sight levels, telling an important story of strength in diversity.
OTTO WEIDT’S BRUSH AND BROOM WORKSHOP FOR THE BLIND is currently being developed with support from Arts Council England, Leeds Playhouse and Theatr Clwyd. If you would like to be part of this show’s journey, or be added to our mailing list, we’d love to hear from you! Please email ottoweidtmusical@gmail.com
Picture 1: Caitlyn stands to sing while Amir plays a piano, performing for Claude-Michel Schönberg
Picture 2: Sixteen creatives gathered in two rows around a keyboard after a week long R&D hosted by Leeds Playhouse.
Picture 3: Anthony Gough and Ada Eravama model using their canes for students standing behind rows of chairs. The students wear simspecs.
Picture 4: Bobby Goulder leads a group of enthusiastic singers from a keyboard..
A punk-rock style poster in hot pink and green. The words ‘When We Strike’ appear in magazine print, while an angry teen holds a match defiantly in the air. Guitars, fists and industrial buildings are behind her.
In Victorian London, industry moguls assumed they could exploit a group of working-class girls to death, unopposed. They were wrong.
When We Strike is a brand new punk-rock musical, telling the story of the 1888 match girls’ strike – the strike that sparked the British labour movement – with a company of all-female and non-binary performers and musicians.
Inspired by historical events, the show celebrates the courage of young people and the rage of a new generation fighting for a more equitable world. Using the energy and fire of punk-rock, this new British musical will spark debate and question who’s responsible for igniting change.
Presented by the British Youth Music Theatre, When We Strike is premiering at the Southwark Playhouse, August 30th and 31st.
Book tickets here!
OTHER PROJECTS
Looking at the Moon
Sung by Hadley Fraser and a choir of West End stars, this song was chosen by Jason Robert Brown as the winner of Song for Our Time. This award-winning tune was written as a message of love and hope in the midst of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sheila the Tiny Turtle
In the Australian desert, a family of turtles look after their sick mother. Sheila, the smallest of the siblings, never gets to help. But when Sheila hears of seeds that might cure her mother way WAY across the desert, she determines to do whatever it takes to retrieve them, and learns what it means to be a different kind of strong.
Songs for Little Ears
Dinosaurs, astronauts, unicorns and more. These children's songs will have little ones dancing and singing their hearts out!
The Only Honeyeater
With his species in danger of extinction, Reggie has been raised alone in a laboratory - taught to sing the song that will secure him a mate and save the Honeyeaters. But when Reggie struggles to win over Ava, he must learn how to sing his own song.
CONTACT US
We'd love to hear from you!
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Caitlyn and Amir lean their heads either side of a pole.