Call for musicals to embrace dark themes of death and steamy sex
Award will encourage brave new shows to be written on challenging, grown-up themesA sombre topic, such as suicide or the dreadful progress of a serial killer, is often just what a musical needs to get an audience humming the tunes. Highly successful shows such as Sweeney Todd, Spring Awakening and London Road all make this unlikely point, despite the common assumption that taking in a West End show should be a frothy…