Always on
This project successfully funded on 24th May 2026, you can still support them with a donation.
YOU, ME & the rest of the world - Leeds Workshop
Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Aim
To bring a new musical about queer parenthood & chosen family to life through a 5-week development process & sharing in Leeds this summer.
OUR ASK
On 1st June 2026, we will begin a major five-week research and development period for YOU, ME & the rest of the world, a new original musical I have been writing and developing over the past few years.
Thanks to the extraordinary support of Leeds Conservatoire, we have rehearsal space, performers, musicians, technical support, and a public sharing confirmed as part of their Summer Festival. This is the first time we will be able to explore the full piece in this way, with a cast and band, over an extended rehearsal process, and present the work in its entirety.
We have worked incredibly hard to secure funding for this stage, applying to both UK and Malta-based funding routes. Unfortunately, after three unsuccessful applications, and at a time when arts funding remains under enormous pressure, we are now turning to our wider community for support.
Our immediate goal is to raise £5,000 to cover the remaining costs and make the most of this crucial stage in the project’s development.
Your support will help cover essential costs including creative team fees, travel, accommodation, rehearsal logistics, documentation, and the materials needed to make this sharing possible.
Anything raised beyond the £5,000 target would allow us to strengthen the workshop further. There are several things we would love to include but can only fund if we go beyond the minimum target, such as professional video documentation, additional music preparation, simple set and design elements for the sharing, access support, and further technical support for the process.
The workshop will culminate in a public sharing on Wednesday 8 July 2026 at 7pm at The Venue, Leeds Conservatoire, with industry guests, supporters, and audiences invited to see the work as it takes this next major step.
Every donation, however small, makes a genuine difference. If you are not able to donate at the moment, sharing this page would mean the world.
ABOUT THE SHOW
YOU, ME & the rest of the world is a new female-led musical following three women as they navigate queer motherhood, chosen family, identity, loss, resilience, and the small everyday moments that shape a life.
I began writing the show out of a desire to tell a human story led by women - something real, flawed and full of heart. At the centre of the piece is lesbian family life, explored with warmth, complexity and honesty: the love, humour, conflict, care and contradiction that exist inside any family, but are still too rarely seen through this lens.
In a theatre landscape where complex women’s lives, and especially queer women’s lives, are still too often pushed to the edges, this show tries to make space for something intimate, honest and emotionally detailed.
The score sits somewhere between contemporary musical theatre and singer-songwriter storytelling, with influences closer to Sara Bareilles, Regina Spektor and Billy Joel than traditional musical theatre.
DEVELOPMENT SO FAR
The musical has already had several key development moments, including:
- a professional read-through supported by Perfect Pitch
- a 45-minute sharing at The Other Palace
- a feature at West End LIVE
- a six-day Arts Council Malta-funded R&D workshop in Malta
- a five-day exploratory workshop at Leeds Conservatoire in October 2025
Following that October workshop, Leeds Conservatoire invited us back for an expanded five-week development period in summer 2026.
Their support has made this next step possible. We are now raising the remaining funds needed to honour the opportunity we’ve been given and make the most of this crucial stage in the project’s development.
WHY NOW
This is a pivotal moment for the show.
Until now, we have developed extracts, scenes, songs and sections of the piece. This summer gives us the chance to put the whole musical on its feet for the first time and share it with an audience, as we take the next step towards future production.
We already have early interest from industry partners and venues, and this sharing will allow us to invite producers, programmers and supporters to experience the work in its fullest form yet.
Your support will help us reach that next stage.
CREATIVE TEAM
Book, Music & Lyrics: Hollie Cassar
Director: Katherine Hare
Movement Director: Laura Meaton
With support from Leeds Conservatoire, the R&D will involve student performers, musicians, technical support, and a public sharing in The Venue as part of the Leeds Conservatoire Summer Festival.
WHY I’M ASKING FOR HELP
Making new work is always a strange combination of instinct, graft, hope, logistics, rewrites, spreadsheets and trying to keep all the plates spinning at once.
I care deeply about this piece, and I care deeply about how it gets made. I want this process to be ambitious, but also thoughtful. I want it to support the artists involved, honour the opportunity we’ve been given, and create the best possible conditions for the musical to keep growing.
If you choose to support this campaign, you’ll be helping make that possible.
THANK YOU
Whether you donate, share the page, or simply help spread the word, thank you. Every bit of support helps, and every person who gets behind the show helps bring it one step further along.
For something that began with me quietly writing songs and trying to figure out what kind of story I wanted to tell, it means a great deal to now be at this stage, with this team, and with this opportunity ahead of us.
Thank you for reading, and for being part of it.
Hollie -x-
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made