Mercury Musical Developments and Stiles + Drewe have announced the full cast for the 2026 Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize concert, which will take place for one night only at The Other Palace on Monday 12 October.
Hosted by Alex Young, the annual concert showcases emerging musical theatre writers, with 12 original songs competing for the Best New Song Prize. A panel of industry judges including George Stiles, Anthony Drewe, Joanne Benjamin and Jon Robyns will select the winning song, with a £1,000 development prize awarded to the writers.
Alongside the competition, the evening will celebrate new British musical theatre, featuring songs from recent and upcoming productions. The concert is directed by Alex Jackson, with musical direction by Livi van Warmelo.
The newly announced cast includes Roshani Abbey, Jessica Aubrey, Norman Bowman, Lewis Cornay, Morgan Gregory, Ryan Kopel, Frances McNamee, Christina Modestou, Joel Montague, Cheeyang Ng, Nia Stephen, Daniel Urch and Alex Young.
The twelve songs competing for the 2026 prize are presented in the following format:
Hyacinthus • “A Sliver of Sunlight” • Trevor K. Band
Rising • “Be Your Own Man” • Tom James McGrath & Amy Clare Tasker
Theo In Between • “Earth To Theo” • Jordan Li Smith & Gareth Mattey
The Deep End • “Every Day” • Paul Grady, Dom Patterson & Kate Peters
Confessional • “Father” • James Lark
Sally In The Woods • “First” • P Burton-Morgan & James Joshua Otto
Legendary • “In The Beginning” • Cheeyang Ng
Stigma • “Monster In The Mirror” • Jane Subachus
Le Pètomane – The Musical • “Paris Is Calling” • Tim Waters
The Last Lost Boy • “Shadows” • Jacob Attwooll & Kyla Stroud
Elbow Deep • “Skylines” • Elinor Peregrin
The Most Hated Family In America • “There’s More To Me” • Matt Bond & Aveev Issacson
The Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize is supported by Theatrical Rights Worldwide, Dorico, Sonia Friedman Productions, Tarento Productions, Joanne Benjamin, Music Theatre International (Europe), John Good and About Grace PR.
Founded by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, the prize continues to champion the next generation of musical theatre writers while providing a platform for new work to be heard by industry professionals and audiences alike.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
