ABOUT US
We are multi award-winning musical theatre makers Freya Catrin Smith and Jack Williams. Freya writes book, music and lyrics. Jack writes music and lyrics.
We met aged 11 in maths class. Jack is still the superior mathematician.
As teens, we bonded over a shared appreciation for the Anastasia motion picture soundtrack.
We started writing musicals together shortly after graduating from university - Freya studied English at Oxford University and Jack read Law at Durham. We took our first show - PART A (a song cycle) to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival when we were 22.
A few years later (ok, more than a few), and with several shows under our belts, we were thrilled to become the first British writers to win the prestigious Fred Ebb Award for musical theatre songwriting in 2023.
Our mission is to create bold, original musicals that amplify untold stories, champion female-led narratives, and bring fresh perspectives to the stage. We are passionate about blending comedy and heart with rich storytelling to craft work that is both thought-provoking and entertaining. As experts and lifelong obsessives of musical theatre, we bring deep knowledge of the form to everything we write, celebrating its traditions while pushing its boundaries. Committed to accessibility and inclusion, we strive to make theatre that connects with diverse audiences, inspires joy, and elevates voices that deserve to be heard.
OUR WORK
Our criticially acclaimed musical RIDE (The Old Globe, San Diego, 2024; Southwark Playhouse, London, and Leicester Curve, 2023; Charing Cross Theatre, London, 2022; The Garrick, West End, 2021; VAULT Festival London 2020) follows the extraordinary tale of Annie Londonderry, the first woman to cycle around the world in 1894, blending fact, fiction, and flair to explore themes of identity; ambition; gender; race; class; female friendship; motherhood; and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.
Bringing RIDE to San Diego (Broadway World Interview)
The Surprisingly Big Business of Two Actor Musicals (Los Angeles Times)
A Woman Powered RIDE (NBC San Diego)
Alex Finke sings ‘Across America’ from U.S. Premiere of RIDE (Playbill)
THE LIMIT (VAULT Festival London, 2019) dramatises the life of forgotten French mathematician Sophie Germain as she navigates the male-dominated world of academia in revolutionary France, set against a dynamic, pop-rock score.
Projects we have in development include Chamber Musical Prize winner ECHOES and MAY (working title), a musical about the sibling relationship between Louisa May Alcott (writer of Little Women) and her youngest sister, aspiring artist May Alcott.
ACCOLADES
In 2023, we received the prestigious Fred Ebb Award for excellence in musical theatre songwriting, a $60,000 prize funded by the estate of musical theatre lyricist Fred Ebb to recognise exceptional contributions to the craft.
In 2022, we won The Chamber Musical Prize, which led to a commission to write a new chamber piece, currently in development with Aria Entertainment and Adam Lenson Productions. We have also been finalists for the Cameron Mackintosh Composer Residency and the Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Prize.
RIDE has garnered significant recognition, receiving six nominations at the 2023 Off West End Awards and winning two. RIDE received a Writers' Guild nomination for Best Musical Theatre Bookwriting and a WhatsOnStage nomination for Best Off-West End Production in 2022. In 2020, we won the VAULT Festival Origins Award for Outstanding New Work.
"a sublime pitch-perfect production" WhatsOnStage
"A glittering new musical star has surely been launched" The Guardian
“Get on your bike and go!” The Daily Express
“A thrilling, inventive and rollickingly-paced musical that breaks new ground for its creative energy, execution and staging” Vanguard Culture
“It is hard to imagine we’re going to get another new musical as heart-soaringly good as Ride this year.” Ought To Be Clowns
“Magically profound and stunningly creative this might just be one of the best musicals this year... a work of fresh energy, and unbelievable fun” The Spy in the Stalls
LISTEN
The Original London Cast Recording of RIDE has been streamed over 500,000 times. You can listen to it here, using the embedded Spotify player, or explore it on a variety of streaming platforms. You can watch videos of some of the songs from the show below.
We also have demos from our other productions, including THE LIMIT, available to stream on Soundcloud.
SOLO PROJECTS
Freya is currently working as Additional Lyricist for ONE DAY, a new musical based on the global best-selling novel by David Nicholls. The show will premiere at Edinburgh’s Lyceum Theatre in February 2026, directed by Max Webster, with music and lyrics by Johnnyswim and book by David Greig.
Alongside her projects with Jack, Freya also works separately as a dramaturg, musical theatre book writer and composer/lyricist.
If you would like to work with Freya, contact Adam Maskell at mrcoffice@curtisbrown.co.uk.
