Mercury Musical Developments and Stiles + Drewe have announced James Lark as the winner of the 2026 Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize, presented at a special concert at The Other Palace on Monday evening.
Hosted by Alex Young, the event showcased twelve finalist songs selected from 140 submissions, highlighting some of the most exciting new musical theatre writing currently being developed.
Lark received the top prize of £1,000 towards the development of his work for his song “Father” from the musical Confessional. The song was performed at the concert by Ryan Kopel.
The judging panel comprised Anthony Drewe, Chris Ma, George Stiles, Joanne Benjamin, Jon Robyns, Miranda Cooper and Rafia Hussain.
The runner-up Vision, Voice and Potential Award, worth £250, was presented to Cheeyang Ng for “In The Beginning” from Legendary.
The concert also celebrated recent and forthcoming British musicals, with performances from Bank of Dave: The Musical, Mona Loser, Raising Gays and Redcliffe.
In addition, the evening paid tribute to Adam Lenson, David James and Hugh Wooldridge, three influential figures within the new musical theatre community who passed away earlier this month, recognising their significant contributions to the sector.
George Stiles and Anthony Drewe said, “Huge congratulations to James Lark, whose song ‘Father’ is a worthy winner, and to Cheeyang Ng and all our finalists. This year’s concert carried extra weight as we remembered three dear friends and colleagues who gave so much to new musical theatre. It felt fitting to honour them with an evening of new writing, and it’s clear the future of British musical theatre is in very good hands.”
The Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize is presented annually by Mercury Musical Developments and Stiles + Drewe in partnership with Theatrical Rights Worldwide, championing new musical theatre writers and supporting the development of original work.
More information can be found here.
