Mercury Musical Developments and Stiles + Drewe in partnership with PW Productions are pleased to announce the star-studded cast that will appear at this year’s Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize, which will be celebrated in concert at The Other Palace on Tuesday 25th November at 7.30pm. 

This one-night-only gala, hosted by Oscar Conlon-Morrey (Oliver!, Only Fools and Horses), will showcase outstanding musical theatre writing talent with a selection of songs from exciting new shows in development.  

The evening will also celebrate recent and upcoming new British musicals, featuring songs from hit shows including Hot Mess, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind and Ballad Lines. The concert is directed by Kate Golledge, with music direction by Flynn Sturgeon. 

A panel of industry judges, including Melanie La Barrie, Pippa Cleary, Joanne Benjamin, George Stiles and Anthony Drewe will award the prize for the winning song, and the winner will receive £1000 towards developing their work. An additional prize for Voice, Vision & Potential will be awarded 

The Best New Song Prize concert is generously supported by PW Productions, Dorico and Tarento Productions.  

Tickets can be purchased here. A discount code is available to MMD members (check your Friday Mail Outs).

Full list of performers: 

  • Amira Al Shanti (Rumi the Musical)  
  • Craig Mather (Les Misérables, The Wind in the Willows) 
  • Danielle Steers (Hot Mess, The Cher Show 
  • Emma Williams (Half a Sixpence, South Pacific 
  • Gina Beck (Wicked, Matilda)  
  • Jade Oswald (Little Women, Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Musical 
  • Lizzy-Rose Esin-Kelly (Frozen, The Lightning Thief) 
  • Kim Criswell (Follies, Carrie 
  • Lauren Conroy (Dear Evan Hansen, Babies the Musical 
  • Peter Polycarpou (The Bands Visit, Hello Dolly!)   
  • Tori Allen-Martin (The Season, Rock of Ages)  
  • Tyrone Huntley (Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita) 

Songs in contention for the Best New Song Prize are: 

  • ‘A Little Girl’ from The Fossil Finder by Ben Cahill-Nicholls  
  • ‘And Begin’ from For All Time by Zach Burns & Oli Adcock 
  • ‘Beyond The Break’ from Floaties by Michael Kooman & Christopher Dimond  
  • ‘Fly’ from 73 Seconds by Jordan Li-Smith  
  • ‘Nice Girls Never Win’ from VAMP by Sarah Middleton & Eleanor Isherwood  
  • ‘Once a Year’ from Clockwork Christmas by Anton Mouzykantskii & Craig Adams  
  • ‘Purple Striped Tiger’ from Spark! by J Edna Mae Thomas  
  • ‘Reason and Love’ from The Debutantes by Sam Norman & Eliza Randall  
  • ‘Steal My Heart’ from Dreamland by Michael Praed  
  • ‘Sunbird’ from Immigration Crisis: The Musical by Tyler McKinnon, Chantelle Micallef Grimaud & Zoë Farrugia  
  • ‘Time’ from Work Wife by Ashton Moore  
  • ‘Yes I Confess’ from Clara at the Door with a Revolver by Ayanna Witter-Johnson