Paul Boyd Profile Page on Nextcat.com

Hello! I am the writer and composer of sixteen original stage musicals which have to date been presented across my native Ireland in thirty-seven professional productions and I have provided the original scores for a number of other shows that have toured around the world.

My most popular works include musical adaptations of famous tales, such as Hansel & Grettel, Red - The Red Riding Hood Musical, Pinocchio (nominated for a 2007 TMA Theatre Award and named 'Best Musical 2003' by Northern Ireland's national Sunday Paper the Sunday Life) and the hugely popular, award-nominated Alice The Musical ('Best Drama' 1999 Belfast Arts Awards). I've also written more adult-themed work, such as the 1996 sell-out Irish touring version of Torch Song Trilogy (based on the play by Harvey Fierstein), Macbeth The Musical (the show that launched my career), McCool (the story of Irish mythological wild-child Finn McCool, which in 2006 was a UK entry to the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's Festival of New Musicals in New York) and most recently Molly Wobbly's Tit Factory (which was short-listed for The Highland Quest For A New Musical in 2006).

Internationally I am best known for being the co-creator and composer of the water spectacular The Little Mermaid which in 2005 and 2006 toured across the world and visited countries as diverse as Taiwan, Serbia and Denmark playing to over 28,000 people.

I am the artistic director of a theatrical production company which specialises in new musicals, Purpose Built Musicals (pbm). The company was originally formed at the request of theatre managements to present and license my own work, but pbm is now looking to expand into other areas. The company is based in Belfast in Northern Ireland and has a long history of producing work all across Ireland - in 2007 pbm had two productions of the same musical enjoying long runs concurrently in theatres in both Belfast and Dublin, which we believe was a theatrical first in Ireland. Although the company remains based in Belfast and continues to work across the country, I am now based in London (having returned to the UK from Miami Beach, FL).

Over the past few years I have been concentrating on directing, returning to the job for which I originally trained. I've been very fortunate to have been at the helm a number of successful musical productions in that time, most recently a record-breaking run of the musical Pinocchio for Northern Ireland's national producing theatre, the Lyric Theatre in Belfast (nominated as 'Best Show For Children and Young People, TMA Theatre Awards 2007'). You can find out more about pbm as well as see and hear some of my work online at www.pbmusicals.com

My sixteenth musical, The Tale of The Beauty and The Tail of The Beast, opened at The Castle Theatre in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England in November 2007, my 1997 musical Hansel & Grettel received its US Premiere in February 2008, and my second water spectacular, Sinbad, began touring from May 2008 (see the video below for a sneak peek!).

In 2008 pbm is marking the tenth anniversary of my Alice The Musical - two youth productions of the show were staged in Ireland in July (at An Grianan Theatre in Co. Donegal and the Grand Opera House in Belfast), a full, professional production opens at The Castle Theatre, Northamptonshire (UK) in December, and the US premiere runs at Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre Miami (Fl) from 29th January - 4th April.

Oh, and I should mention that I am a Professional Writer Associate of Mercury Musical Developments in London (or they'll be cross with me).