News and Updates

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Kit the Musical Wins Award!

Wow! We won The Spirit of the Fringe award at tonight’s @medfringeinsta Awards. Beyond grateful!

First of all, huge thanks to Kieron Riddell, Dr David Stokes and Cr Sharon Jackson for birthing this wonderful and important landmark event #MedFringe. Without this, there would be no major all-inclusive event for artists and arts professionals to showcase their work in #Medway for over two weeks. Thank you to the venues for opening their doors to all sorts of possibilities and to @medway_council_news for supporting this endeavour. It was crucial that audiences take a punt on the events, and Medway (and beyond) certainly rose to that challenge.

Thank you to everyone who came to support our little show! Of course, thank you to our original cast and crew for giving up their time, energy and love to breathe life into the show – you all already know this but just in case you need reminding…

Lastly, thanks to #ChristopherMarlowe himself for imbuing our language, drama, literature and history with his genius.

Certificate of our Spirit of Fringe award from the Medfringe Awards 2026
Scotty Bassett and Natalie Radlett with the trophy

🎶 Just watch this space, I’m telling you there’s more from me before I’m done… and life will make the time for the ambitions of a shoemaker’s son! 🎶

See the nominee speech, winner reveal, and winner’s speech as performed by our lovely Natalie Radlett.

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Sold Out Performances of World Premiere

15 July 2026 was the first time the entire show of Kit the Musical was performed. A wonderful cast of 8 played 12 different characters to bring the show to life.

Tickets were sold out and it was a packed house. Apart from some sound glitches, the show was very well-received, and audiences loved the songs and story.

The Chair of Britain’s The Marlowe Society, dedicated to the life and works of Christopher Marlowe himself, Dr Chris Carr, came all the way down from Edinburgh to support the show. He said it was fantastic and that the Society would love to help bring the show up to the Edinburgh Fringe.

The second performance on the 18th July was just as rapturous. Audience feedback will be posted when available.

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Kit Opens the Chatham Carnival

The 4th July was a special day indeed. It was the day of the Chatham Carnival, which officially kicks off over 2 weeks of the Medway Fringe Festival (MedFringe) and Medway Open Studios.

The Carnival itself started on the High Street and was a colourful and rambunctious affair. The parade was made up of different groups in different gear, floats, streamers, and tons of brochures given out to passers-by.

Some of the cast of Kit the Musical took part in the MedFringe float, and when the parade finished, the cast moved on to the The Paddock, where the pavillion provided a stage for the public.

Posing after the performance (photo courtesy of Cr Nina Gurung)
Posing after the performance (photo courtesy of Cr Nina Gurung)
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Kit Debuts at IntraFest 2026

The cast of Kit the Musical perform at IntraFest2026

13 June 2026 was IntraFest, a celebration on the Old High Street of Medway, linking Rochester to Chatham. The day was filled with events all across the length of the Old High Street.

Kit the Musical made its public debut at The Old Brewery and also at The Bohemian. It was an opportunity for the public to hear a new song, “Star”, as well as the revamped “Shoemaker’s Son”, and also to meet the brand new cast.

The cast present included Scotty Bassett, Patrick Coulter, Zoey Firmin, Jen Laws, Natalie Radlett, Kieron Riddell and Jacob Stocking. Superb show, people!

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Rehearsals Begin!

The first rehearsal of 2026

We had our first ever rehearsal on 29 May, 2026!

(Most of) the cast met for the first time. Kit writer, Julian Ng, was on hand to provide insight into the characters and plot.

Our Musical Director is the fabulous Paul James, who led everyone through vocal warm ups.

Today was a sing through with vocal guides, just to pinpoint areas of strength and what to work on. Overall, the energy in the room was simply amazing and we cannot wait to get the show off the ground.

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Get Your Kit Tix :)

Get Kit Tix

Two dates have been scheduled for Kit the Musical at MedFringe.

We will be playing at the Spotlites Theatre in Chatham on the 15th and 18th of July, 2026.

Featuring an entirely revamped score, new songs, and rejigged older songs, come along and (re)discover the life and times of Elizabethan England’s most audacious and ground-breaking dramatist.

Tickets are now on sale. Grab ’em before they go.

Buy Tickets
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Season 4 of Hidden in Plain Sight is upon us…

Season 4 of Hidden in Plain Sight in here

Season 4 of #HIPSPodcast is arriving on 3 February 2026. As per Season 3, it is now a webcast as well. You can watch all the videos on YouTube and it gives you visuals such as when passages are quoted to help you understand what is being said.

It still works as a podcast, of course, and you can hear the series on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or other media.

This series is a slight departure, where a debate is held between our resident expert, Dr Peter Hodges and Dr Joseph Khoury of St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Canada. Carol Paxton and Dr Julian Ng then comment on that conversation.

Don’t miss our new season: arriving on all podcast apps from 3rd February, 2026.

Listen Here
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HIPS Season 3

HIPS Season 3

Another year, another season of our beloved podcast. Season 3 of Hidden in Plain Sight hits the airways on January 14.

This time around, Peter Hodges, Carol Paxton and Julian Ng dig into the collection of sonnets, popularly attributed to William Shakespeare. Specifically, we are focusing on the so-called ‘Procreation Sonnets’. What exactly are they? Why were they written? For whom were they written? What do they mean?

In this series, we will be joined by some guests – Dr Rachel Wifall (Professor of English at St Peter’s University, New Jersey, USA) and Dr Peter Khoury (Professor of English at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Canada).

Not only this, though… this marks the first we have videos! This is now a webcast as well.

Join us as we unravel the mysteries of the delightful sonnets.

Listen Here