Chasing Icarus is a high-octane, emotional, exhilarating story about the sacrifices we make to be accepted.
It’s for anyone who has ever had to sacrifice a piece of themselves in order to be accepted — whether that be for class, gender, race, sexual orientation… anyone who’s felt like an outsider needing to belong.

Chasing Icarus blends chart-friendly music with rich storytelling — perfect for Gen Z and Millennial audiences. Its smart writing and lush period setting also give it strong crossover appeal for mature theatre-goers.

Designed for a majority genderqueer cast, Chasing Icarus reclaims history in the spirit of shows such as Hamilton or Six — offering the past through a fresh, urgent lens.

In the wake of the UK Supreme Court’s ruling on trans rights, this story couldn’t be more timely.

Rome, 1700.
Women are banned from the stage. The only way to preserve a boy’s angelic voice is castration — giving rise to the legendary castrati, worshipped as stars, reviled as outcasts.

Nero and Violante were childhood soulmates — a queer peasant boy and a noble-born “girl” (but actually non-binary). Neither fits in the world around them, so they build one of their own: a sanctuary where they exist without judgment, reneacting the operas they so adore and imitating the androgynous castrati they feel so drawn to. But, when Nero is sold to a conservatorio to be castrated, they are torn apart.

Years later, Nero is a young castrato whose voice is paralysed by anxiety. He risks everything to steal an audition and flee to Rome. Meanwhile Violante, suffocating under pressure to “become a proper lady” and marry, disguises themself as a castrato and follows the same dream — the lead role in Icarus, the opera that once bound them.

The twist? Nero and Violante don’t recognize one another. Having crafted elaborate personas to win the world’s approval, they become fierce rivals, competing in a swirl of camp and chaos — a fierce and fabulous feud of duets, sabotage, and stolen spotlights. But when a shared childhood melody unmasks them, they must face the truth:
Can you truly shine if you're hiding who you are?
And is the world’s adoration worth losing the one person who ever saw you clearly?

Cast: 8-12 (with double casting possible)

Band size: 3 upwards (adaptable due to electronic nature of score)

CARLO BOSTICCO, they/he (music, lyrics, book)

On top of their work with Matt, Carlo has provided additional lyrics for Travels with my Aunt by Broadway veterans George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. As an actor, credits include King Ludwig II in My Parsifal Conductor (Off-Broadway), the Olivier-Award winning production of La Bohème by company OperaUpClose (London).

MATT RANDALL, he/him (music, orchestrations)

Matt also works in the music industry as a performer and he is currently accompanying international drag superstar La Voix on her UK tour.

Theatre credits include: Wicked (UK tour and West End), Avenue Q (UK tour), Godspell (Lyric theatre and UK tour), Annie (UK tour), Jesus Christ Superstar (UK tour), Blood Brothers (UK tour), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (UK tour) and others.

CHARLOTTE PETERS, she/her (Director & Dramaturg)

Charlotte is a stage & film director (Darren Brown’s The Invisible Man, The National Theatre’s War Horse, An Inspector Calls). She is director of theatre company Brickdust, and Associate Artist of Original Theatre Company and PW Productions. Her production of Cinderella was the world's first interactive live-streamed pantomime, watched by around 100,000 viewers. Her short film Billy & Me starring Jon Culshaw, is the first film adaptation of Peter Barn.

Script and score are complete.

Orchestrations and arrangements are underway pending funding.

We have started conversations with a choreographer.

The Show has received R&D at Leeds Conservatoire, as well as an ACE-funded showcase and at The Other Palace Theatre.

We've had support and mentorship from leading names within the industry and an offer from a London venue as well as a regional one.

We are looking for financial backing, lead producers, producing houses and partners.

Chasing Icarus is a kaleidoscopic collision of two worlds: the opulent grandeur of 1700s Italian opera and the electric pulse of contemporary celebrity culture. Visually, it’s a landscape of plush velvets, candlelit decadence, hints of Baroque architecture and flickering footlights, pierced by sharp beams of contemporary light, pulsating electronic energy and bold, modern silhouettes. This is a world where powdered wigs and pop stardom coexist.

This is gig-theatre meets opera, where the audience is drawn into the performance and the line between spectator and spectacle can blur.

Movement is at the heart of our storytelling. Memory sequences swirl into the present as younger versions of our protagonists move like shadows through the space. The ensemble is ever-present, shifting roles and functions like reflections of the characters’ internal landscapes—celebrity, shame, desire, the cost of performance.

Chasing Icarus is a celebration of transformation—of voice, of identity, of self-worth. It’s a show that invites the audience in, not just to watch, but to feel - to be swept up in the sound, the movement, the spectacle, and the aching human truth underneath it all.