Four shows form the line-up in the London Musical Theatre Orchestra's 2018 season.

LMTO is the world's only professional orchestra dedicated to performing the musical theatre repertoire.

It launched in 2016 and since then has performed at well-known venues such as the London Palladium and the Lyceum theatre.

And the orchestra will be back at both those venues this year, along with visits to Hackney Empire and Bishopsgate Institute.

Below you'll find brief details about each of the upcoming shows - and there's more information and links to buy tickets on the LMTO's website.

King - 30 June to 1 July

At Hackney Empire

This year marks 50 years since the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr

and 30 years since the first performance of the late Martin Smith's acclaimed musical King.

Hackney Empire, in a co-production with LMTO are presenting a special concert version for two performances only.

Appearing in the concert will be a cast of West End stars including Cedric Neal (Motown the Musical, Chess) as Martin Luther King Jr., Sharon D. Clarke (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, Caroline, or Change, Sleeping Beauty) as Alberta King and Debbie Kurup (The Bodyguard, Girl from the North Country, Jack and the Beanstalk) as Coretta King.

The LMTO will be conducted by Freddie Tapner and King is directed by Susie McKenna with new orchestrations by Simon Nathan and features Hackney Empire's renowned Community Choir.

Martin Luther King Jr knew he would marry Coretta Scott from their very first meeting.

Over the course of their marriage, alongside their brothers and sisters within the movement, they fought for the rights of African American people in a divided United States.

King tells the story of their life together, and the strides, successes and sacrifices of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement that saw them change the course of history.

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Camelot - 6 October

At the London Palladium.

Lerner and Loewe's majestic Camelot, winner of four Tony Awards, returns to the West End for the first time in over thirty years.

Packed with some of musical theatre's best songs, LMTO's concert version celebrates Alan Jay Lerner's Centenary.

This much-loved musical brings the legend of King Arthur to vivid life with an extraordinary score and book based on T. H. White's novel The Once And Future King.

When Guinevere falls for Lancelot, one of the Knights of the Round Table, Arthur's loyalties and beliefs are tested, and the fate of his beloved Camelot hangs in the balance.

Camelot includes the songs "If Ever I Would Leave You", "How To Handle A Woman", "The Lusty Month of May" and "Camelot". 

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Girlfriends - 2-3 November

At Bishopsgate Institute.

Girlfriends, by Emmy, Brit and BAFTA-winner Howard Goodall CBE (Bend It Like Beckham, The Hired Man), returns to London in concert form with LMTO and an all-star cast, led by Lucie Jones as Lou (Legally Blonde, UK Eurovision Entrant 2017, Les Misérables) and Lauren Samuels as Amy (Bend It Like Beckham, Romantics Anonymous, We Will Rock You).

Girlfriends follows recruits of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) on an RAF Bomber Command base during the Second World War.

This emotionally compelling musical explores the bravery, camaraderie, solidarity and humour between the women in the WAAF while they pack parachutes, make shells, fall in love and live through the horrors of the War. 

With sweeping melodies and epic all-female choruses, set to brand new orchestrations by Simon Nathan and the composer, Girlfriends is the British musical at its best and will be performed in the beautiful surroundings of the Great Hall at Bishopsgate Institute, where LMTO are Orchestra in Residence.

Girlfriends is a London Musical Theatre Orchestra co-production with Bishopsgate Institute and Howard Goodall.

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A Christmas Carol - 10 to 17 December

Following the five-star sell-out successes in 2016 and 2017, the LMTO returns to the Lyceum Theatre with their spectacular concert production of A Christmas Carol, for what is now a firm London Christmas tradition. 

Charles Dickens' classic tale gets the full Broadway treatment by the award-winning team of Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Seussical) and Mike Ockrent (Crazy For You, Me and My Girl).

This joyous tale of the redemptive power of Christmas ran for ten years at New York's Madison Square Garden, where The New York Times called it "a tonic for adults, and for children a transfixing journey".

An all-star cast will appear with the 32-piece LMTO in full festive swing.

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