Over 100 years after the original photos of the Cottingley Fairies were taken, they have once again revealed themselves to a group of young performers who are in the middle of rehearsals for a new musical about the famous mystery.

British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT) are currently in rehearsals for the first production of their 2026 Season, The Cottingley Fairies, showing at Birmingham Hippodrome later this month.

On Monday afternoon, three fairies were spotted in the background of a selfie taken by a group of young performers, who were practising their lines outside in the sun.

The young people who captured the fairies said they ‘weren’t immediately obvious to see in the photos at first’ and that they ‘thought they were just a glare in their phone cameras’. Upon closer inspection a few hours later, one young person said they ‘couldn’t quite believe their eyes’.

Young Cast Member on The Cottingley Fairies: “We were just practicing our lines in the gardens and taking some selfies in the sun. We didn’t even notice any fairies were nearby… it wasn’t until I was looking through the photos later and zoomed in that I saw them! It’s crazy to think that they were so close to us. They must’ve known we were talking about them!”

When one half of the writing team Clare Packham caught wind that the fairies were nearby she ran down to try and find them again, but unfortunately they were gone.

Clare Packham, Writer of The Cottingley Fairies: “As soon as I heard there’d been a sighting I ran to the woodland as quickly as I could. To be honest, I’ve been sneaking out of rehearsals all week to see if I could find any fairies for myself (a girl can fake as many Zoom meetings as she’d like!) Frankly, I’m absolutely fuming that the young people found them before me (I mean- I’ve got at least ten years on them…. Fine… maybe more than ten). I mean… why else would I write a whole fairy musical if not as a huge coverup for my own fairy hunting operation?!”

Some members of the cast and creative team are more sceptical than others as to whether the fairies in the photos are real. Jacob Savage who is the Musical Director for the production said ‘We’re literally in the middle of developing a musical about this happening and how the girls set it up the first time – it seems a little bit too much of a coincidence for me.”

BYMT’s marketing team, Charlotte and Naomi claim they did not play a role in organising people to dress up as fairies and pose in the background, nor did they use photoshop to edit the photos into the selfie; which are rumours circulating around the project due to one of the fairies looking eerily similar to BYMT’s Creative Director, Emily Gray. We asked Emily for her thoughts on this, but she refused to comment.

Whether the fairies captured in the selfie are real or not, the new musical being developed is certainly real and is set to be a hit. Tickets can be booked now via the Birmingham Hippodrome website linked here. 

April Fools!

We’re very sorry to have fooled you… but seeing as it worked and you’re here now, why don’t you book a ticket to come and see one of our brilliant shows this season?

Currently on sale is:

The Cottingley Fairies (Birmingham, 10-12 April)

Written by Clare Packham (Writer & Co-Lyricist) & Fintan Kealy (Composer & Co-Lyricist).

A new musical inspired by the extraordinary true story of two girls who convinced the world they had photographed real fairies. This century-old story is revived for a new generation, with an earthy, alternative folk score blended with the nostalgia of 1970s rock.

Paper Stars (Barnfield Theatre, Exeter, 14-16 August)

Written by Grace Chapple (Co-Writer), Luke Byrne (Composer & Lyricist) and Miranda Middleton (Co-Writer).

Everyone knows her as the woman who created Mary Poppins, but who was P.L. Travers before she became famous? Inspired by real events, yet told with a healthy spoonful of imagination, this story starts as Lyndon Goff sets sail from the docks of Sydney Harbour in 1924. Whimsical musical theatre meets modern pop as we follow her dream of becoming a great writer in London.

To see what else we have coming up this year that isn’t on sale yet, please click here.