Best New Song Winners

BEST NEW SONG 2022 WINNER: FLORA LEO
for ‘One Last Request’ from The Most Beautiful Suicide
Performed by Chelsea Halfpenny

Flora Leo studied Composition at the Royal Academy of Music and now works as a composer, lyricist, arranger and MD. Her musicals include Show & Tell (All Star Entertainment NYC, 2017) and The Lightning Road, which reached the semi-final of the Search for a Twitter Composer competition in 2017 and was staged as part of Iris Theatre’s Work in Progress scheme in 2018. She won the Voice, Vision & Potential Prize at the 2021 Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Finals and was Iris Theatre’s PLATFORM artist of the month in March 2022. @flomajomo

VOICE, VISION & POTENTIAL PRIZE: 
DANIEL MAWSON and LEO MERCER
for ‘This Isn;t Magic’ from Galileo: An A Capella Musical
Performed by Scott Hunter and students from Trinity Laban

Daniel Mawson is a portfolio creative living in Manchester. He’s been involved with theatre across the UK, as a reed player, sound designer/engineer, composer, arranger, and producer. His most recent sound design/composition work was Cherry Jezebel at Liverpool Everyman. Galileo is his first MT writing project. Dan is a close collaborator with writing duo leo&hyde, for whom he has produced their latest EP, out this week. As a music-maker he spans across electronic/acousmatic, a cappella, klezmer, pop, and jazz. @djmawson

Leo Mercer is a writer and composer, with a particular obsession with tech. His shows The Marriage of Kim K and GUY have toured the UK with his company leo&hyde, and most lately the VR musical Double Life. Outside of musical theatre, he works with culture-tech companies, such as on Cooperative Innovations “VR Museum of Plastic” and Storyfutures’ “Queercoaster” AR experience about Blackpool. Upcoming musical projects include with the National Youth Theatre. @leoandhyde 

Previous Best New Song Winners

2021: Eden Treadwell for ‘Those Stars ‘ from Galaxy Train
2020: Amir Shoenfeld & Matthew Greene for ‘I’m Your Guy’ from Benny In Beta
2019: Theo Jamieson for “Yes, Amazing” from Kali’s Toenail
2018: Adam Wachter for “You and Me” from Any Minute Now
2017: Claire Rivers and Tom Lees for “Gerry And Me” from P.S. I Love You
2016: Tim Connor for “Back To School” from Heart of Winter
2015: Richy Hughes and Joseph Finlay for “Don’t Look Down” from The Superhero
2014: Tamar Broadbent for “Library Boy” and “The Procrastination Song”
2013: Tim Sutton for “That Once-in-a-Lifetime Feeling”
2012: Douglas Hodge for “Powercut” and Dougal Irvine for “Do You Want A Baby, Baby” from The Busker’s Opera (joint winners)
2011: Joint winners Tim Sutton for “I Am” and Eric Angus and Paul James for “Kaboom! Kapow!” from The Boy Who Fell Into A Book
2010: Gwyneth Herbert for “Lovely London Town” from The A to Z of Mrs P
2009: Olly Ashmore for “Wake Up TV” from Hot Flush 2
2008: Mark Allcorn for “My Turn Soon” from Singles.