Gay's The Word Musical

Hi! We're the creative team developing an exciting new musical about identity, freedom and pride.

In 1984, long before the internet, LGTBQ+ people across the UK had just one window to a different life: the catalogue of Gay’s The Word, Britain’s trailblazing gay and lesbian bookshop. Idealistic activists Amanda, John and Glenn run the shop as a safe space to find family and share a sense of pride. But when HM Customs raids their shelves, branding their books ‘obscene’ and charging them with conspiracy, the booksellers could be jailed and the shop shuttered forever. Queer stories made this community strong. But are the book lovers strong enough to fight the state and win?

Adam Zmith first heard about the 1984 raid on Gay’s The Word while researching his award-winning podcast, THE LOG BOOKS. One of thousands of stories he discovered, this stayed with him throughout the pandemic. By 2023, he and Brian Mullin were exploring archives of the seized books, uncovering legal documents, letters and personal accounts. They began crafting characters, scenes and songs inspired by what they found. In 2024, fresh off STARTER FOR TEN at Bristol Old Vic, Tom Rasmussen joined the team with Fin Henderson, their music producer on the albums LIVE WIRE and BODY BUILDING bringing the songs to life. Joly Black shaped the project's strategy, producing a concept sharing in November as part of the Being Human Festival.

Currently, we're running a national creative engagement programme exploring how this story resonates with queer communities today. We're excited to continue developing and sharing this musical throughout 2025.

We're hugely grateful to School of Advanced Study for their support of the project, as well as to Arts Council England and the Grand Camp Maisie Fund.

Our fellowship runs from March 2025 to February 2026.