Come Dine With Me: The Musical

Book and Lyrics by Sam Norman, Music by Aaron Nihal King

Created with Nell Butler and Genevieve Welch

Take a bunch of tuneful strangers. Mix in a dollop of behind-the-scenes skulduggery, a sprinkling of star-crossed love, a Sound Man jumping to all the wrong conclusions, and plenty of juicy arpeggios. Marinade, cook for sixty minutes, and serve hot.

The result is a mouth-watering fusion dish, combining the beloved TV show and a sumptuous original score to form Come Dine With Me: The Musical – a family-friendly recipe that will delight even the pickiest palate!

Warning: May Contain Spice.

Come Dine With Me: The Musical received its debut presentation at the off-West End Turbine Theatre in 2023, as part of the MTFest UK, where it was produced by Paul Taylor-Mills, directed by Robyn Grant and music directed by Amy Hsu.

In 2024, Come Dine With Me: The Musical had runs at the Norwich Playhouse, the Edinburgh Fringe (Underbelly Cowbarn), and off West End at The Turbine Theatre. The show was produced by Paul Taylor-Mills, co-produced by PNP Events, directed by Andrew Beckett and music directed by Cheng Kan.

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Reviews

“Sam Norman is remarkable… Genius writing” — StagetoPage, 5*

“Come Dine With Me: The Musical is as bubbly and delicious as a chilled glass of prosecco” — The Scotsman, 4*

“A delicious offering… There’s surely a peachy future being cooked up for this excellent, esculent caper” — WhatsOnStage, 4*

“This show leaves you feeling joyful and with a sore stomach from laughing too hard… Come one, come all, come dine with me!” — The Student, 5*

“A delectable feast of a production. It’s a ten from me (well, five stars)” — Green Room Reviews, 5*

“Outstanding… The audience is forever glued to the edge of their seat” — EdFringe Reviews, 5*

“A sizzling hour of cheesy action that will leave you feeling fuzzy and warm” — Musical Theatre Review, 4*

"Refreshingly and unapologetically joyful” — Lisa in the Theatre, 4*

“An absolute treat… The songs are excellent, with some cracking lyrics” — The Spy in the Stalls, 4*

“Real bops and a very talented cast” — North West End, 4*

“A fun-filled, nostalgic romp performed by a stellar cast” — Corr Blimey, 4*

“Full of entertaining tunes and some terrific performances” — The Real Chrisparkle, 4*

“An absolute hit… Fabulous cast, punchy songs, chaotic energy, and a little mischief” — CurlySue Blog, 5*

“A true lunchtime comedy treat… Fun, fast and skilful” — ScotsGay Arts, 4*

“A delightful musical comedic romp” — Pride Nomad, 4*

“Scrumptious! This musical take on the famous show feels completely fresh… A recipe for success!” — Max Shetland Theatre, 5*

“One of the best shows I’ve seen in quite some time” — Matinee Radio

(…and a personal highlight)

“Crushingly cheesy but satisfying” — Headline from The Times

The Debutantes

Book and Lyrics by Sam Norman, Music by Eliza Randall

It’s 1940 and Britain is about to lose the war. In desperation, the authorities make a top-secret decision. The Debutantes tracks the meteoric rise and quiet erasure of the forgotten female codebreakers of Bletchley Park.

The Debutantes is currently the flagship project in development with the relaunched Manhattan Musical Theatre Lab. It has previously received development with institutions including the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project, Leeds Conservatoire and Manhattan School of Music. “A Letter at a Time” was a finalist for the Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize.

Hairpiece

Libretto by Sam Norman, Score by Joy Redmond

Jonathan Pierce Rhodes as Ari

Hairpiece is a chamber opera originally commissioned by the Kennedy Center as part of the American Opera Initiative 2023-4.

On the verge of a solitary retirement, wigmaker Esther knows everything there is to know about her craft: you start by laying a lace foundation, then match the client’s hair with a frontal and stitch in the wefts by hand. And yet she doesn’t know how to save her studio. Or preserve the dying art. Or find meaning in her life’s work.

But when an eye-catching young stranger shows up unannounced at her door, an unexpected alliance will emerge.

Hairpiece received its world premiere in January 2024 at the Kennedy Center, performed by Cafritz Young Artists and players from the Washington National Orchestra. American Opera Initiative (AOI) mentorship is led by Director Christopher Cano, Artistic Advisor and librettist Kelley Rourke, librettist mentor Deborah Brevoort, composer mentor Kamala Sankaram, and conductor David Bloom. (Photo credits to Bronwen Sharp.)

Tiffany Choe as Esther

Jonathan Pierce Rhodes as Ari, Justin Burgess as Gale

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What Critics Say

“I was especially moved by “Hairpiece,” a smartly situated study of otherness from composer Joy Redmond and librettist Sam Norman… Well-paced and keenly sharpened… Buoyed by a welcome lightness and a hopeful note… Color me teased” — The Washington Post

“An edge-of-seat human drama exploring themes of love, identity, industrialization, and more… Musically and dramatically excellent… It would be hard to not be moved by the story alone… Heart-tugging score” — Twin Cities Arts Reader

“Hairpiece cleverly uses the strands of a wigmaker’s craft as a metaphor for the different musical threads of the piece… The story is very strong… The need for connection and sense of community shines through the work” — BroadwayWorld

“The volume of artistic talent in the Terrace Theater must have caused the sides of the building to bulge… Fun and exciting” — OperaGene

Muckrakers

Libretto by Sam Norman, Music by Ernie Bird

A pair of refugees. An irritable customs official. An interrogation that goes off the rails.

It’s 1900, and Andriy and Svitlana are fleeing the Russian Empire. Customs Inspector Bartleby isn’t satisfied with their credentials. Then he finds a gun in their suitcase. (Or is it something else?)

An Ellis Island tragicomedy, Muckrakers touches on immigration, citizenship, and the question of what can be lost (or found) in translation.

This 15-minute chamber opera was developed in the AOP-NYU/Tisch Opera Lab led by Randall Eng and Sam Helfrich. As part of the development process, the authors conducted research at New York’s Tenement Museum and the Ellis Island archives.

Muckrakers received sell-out performances at NYU Tisch’s Shubert Theatre and the Hudson Guild in May 2024. The stage director was Diego Alejandro González, the music director was Dmitry Glivinskiy, and the singers were Eliam Ramos, Gileann Tan and John Bellemer. Photos by Catherine Hancock.

Echolocation

Book and Lyrics by Sam Norman, Music by Eliza Randall, Developed with Alie B. Gorrie

A road trip musical in the dark. A teenage love story without a map.

Echolocation is a one-of-a-kind show: a musical designed to be performed in pitch blackness.

Teenage best friends Ethan and Sadie are polar opposites – he’s a street-smart athlete who grew up inches above the poverty line, she’s a blind intellectual who’s sick of her overprotective family. When a DNA test reveals that Ethan’s long-lost father is alive, it’s a chance for him to chase the family he’s never met and for her to escape the parents who never let her go. And so the secret road trip begins.

Echolocation is currently under option.

What’s an audio-only musical? How can they be creatively exciting and widely accessible? Some thoughts here.

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Listen to a demo song, sung by Mason McDowell

Black Holes Like Donuts

Book and Lyrics by Sam Norman, Music by Eliza Randall

Black Holes Like Donuts is a tiny musical on supermassive themes.

Richard is an astrophysicist working on capturing the first ever image of a black hole. He’s all too aware that they form when stars collapse. But when his wife dies, he has no idea that a light-sucking hole will open up between him and his daughter… or how to escape it.

Black Holes Like Donuts was commissioned by Prospect Theater Company and received its premiere at Symphony Space in NYC in 2022 as part of Prospect’s CAPTION THIS concert. It was produced by Cara Reichel, directed by Dev Bondarin and music directed by Nissa Kahle. In 2023, Black Holes Like Donuts was produced by Theatre Now New York as part of their Sound Bites X festival, led by Tom Morrissey.

The song “Time Slows Down” was a finalist for the 2023 Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Prize, and performed at The Other Palace by Zizi Strallen.

For a video recording of the 10-minute version, please get in touch!

Three Penelopes

Libretto by Sam Norman, Score by Richie Johnsen

Three Penelopes is a short comic opera loosely based on the myth of Odysseus’s homeward journey…. and his dalliances along the way.

It’s 1905. Millionaire Henry Malavoy has just died – but, as he has no recognised next of kin, his substantial fortunes must pass to the Crown… until a number of mourners claim an unexpected connection with the deceased.

Whose claim is legitimate? Who’ll get the money? And is Henry even really dead?

Watch the clip for a flavour of the farce that ensues.

Three Penelopes received its premiere at the Royal College of Music’s Britten Theatre in 2022, opening their short opera festival. It was brought to life in association with Tête à Tête. The director was Bill Bankes-Jones and the Music Director was Timothy Burke.

The Yellow Wallpaper

Book and Lyrics by Sam Norman, Music by Eliza Randall

1892. A country mansion on the East Coast. A bright yellow bedroom.

A young woman is suffering from an unidentifiable postpartum disorder, and the doctor prescribes bedrest until she recovers. She’s not allowed to see her baby. But that night, while the rest of the house sleeps, she realises she may not be alone...

Dealing with themes of isolation, mental health and motherhood, this piece is a musical retelling of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s classic short story, written under the spectre of COVID. It received its virtual premiere courtesy of HARP Theatricals and its stage premiere at Alleyway Theatre, both in 2021; it was also a finalist for the Mazumdar Short Play Prize. It has been featured in the Irvington Theater Short Play Fest and performed by Blank Conversations Theatre Company at the Readers Theatre, New Mexico State University.

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What Critics Say

“An impressive little musical... [which] amplifies its feminist elements” – Theater Talk

“Just as timely now as it ever could be” – Buffalo Rising

“The tale still resonates” – Buffalo News

“Eerie and strangely beautiful” – Buffalo Theatre Guide

“Unmistakable resonance” – New York Theater

Nice Guy

Book and Lyrics by Sam Norman, Music by Aaron King

Told through a series of musical letters, Nice Guy is the story of an unfolding relationship. A student moves to London; she knows no-one and dislikes her course; and then she meets an attractive, pretentious, charmingly awkward man called Dash. Her letters home seem effusively happy – but do they tell the whole truth?

Created in partnership with the charity Clean Slate, infused with plenty of humour and hope, Nice Guy explores the darkness of what can go on in a relationship.

It received its premiere at the Burton Taylor Studio in 2018 (an extended sell-out run), a workshop with Emmy-winning director Hugh Wooldridge and students of the Guildford School of Acting, and was a 2020 Finalist in the Eric Weinberger Award hosted by Amas Musical Theatre. Over its lifetime, it has raised thousands of pounds for Clean Slate.

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What Critics Say

“Gut-wrenching” – Oxford Opening Night

“Astounding” – Cherwell, 5* review

“Dazzled by its artistic quality” – Daily Info

A Teen’s Guide to Modern Manners

Poems by Sam Norman, Illustrations by Jack Parham

A girl texts so much that she forgets how to speak.

A boy refuses to shower and is adopted by gorillas.

A dozen others suffer from tiny teenage flaws, and meet with grisly comeuppances.

These comic poems navigate the jungle of adolescent problems… and form an unintentional guide to modern teenage manners. Written in rhyming couplets and accompanied by Jack Parham’s wonderfully funny illustrations, this book is the perfect stocking-filler for anyone who was, is, or will be a teenager.

A Teen’s Guide was published by Little, Brown in 2016. You can buy it on Amazon here – or, even better, order it from your local bookshop!

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What Critics Say

“Witty, hilarious, and completely delightful.” – The Huffington Post

“Delightfully funny and poetic portraits of modern teens.” – Buzzfeed

“Hilarious. Bart Simpson meets Adrian Mole at a party thrown by The Inbetweeners. Smart, smelly, spotty and so laugh-out-loud funny it might get you a detention...” – Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees, authors of We’re Going on a Bar Hunt