Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize – The Other Palace

The Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize went to Flora Leo for ‘One Last Request’

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of Mercury Musical Developments (MMD). The kernel of what would become the UK’s largest and most important advocate of new musicals was formed after a group of eight writers studied with Stephen Sondheim at Oxford University. What started off as an informal salon of composers and lyricists – originally known as Mercury Workshop – has blossomed into an international members’ organisation, thanks to support from the Musical Theatre Network and the Arts Council England.

Among those originally involved with Sondheim at Oxford were George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, the writing team behind 11 shows such as Soho Cinders, Betty Blue Eyes, Wind in the Willows, Honk! and, most recently, Identical. In support of nascent talent, the duo have lent their name to the Stiles and Drewe Best New Song Prize, which, since 2008, has attracted some of the best in new writing for the stage.

This year, 12 finalists – all members of MMD – were whittled down from 175 entries and showcased on the main stage at The Other Palace in London. Each song was introduced by the writers, and performed by an acclaimed West End performer backed by a five-piece band led by MD Mark Aspinall. The result was a glorious celebration of original musical theatre writing that revealed just how strong the artform is, particularly here in the UK.

Our host for the night was Janie Dee, who was among the handful of performers who took part in the MMD inauguration 30 years ago. Before Dee welcomed the first three singers to perform, however, George and Anthony took to the stage to introduce proceedings

“You’re going to be whisked away on a magic carpet between places you couldn’t possibly have dreamed,” explained Stiles. “You’re going to wake up screaming with Vincent van Gogh after a terrible nightmare in a house he shared with Paul Gaugin; you’re going to touch down in Amelia Earhart’s living room as she’s having a portrait painted of herself; and, via an a cappella group, you’re going to wind up in Venice as Galileo unveils his newest invention to the Venetian Doge. And if that doesn’t set you up for a night, you’re going to get country, you’re going to get folk, you’re even going to get reggaeton and rap!”

What followed, then, was indeed a fantastically diverse selection of writing from across the spectra of genre and topics, all of it performed by a glittering cast.

• ‘On My Way’ from Hynt (‘Passage’ in Welsh) by Freya Catrin Smith and Jack Williams. An upbeat start to the night, this number, introduced by composer-lyricist Smith, was a coming-of-age song about a child stealing her mother’s Volvo in order to meet a friend. It included some smattering of the Welsh language, beautifully sung by Heathers star Teleri Hughes, who happens to be from Conwy in North Wales.
• ‘Lullaby’ from Soul of the Ballad by Chris Poon and Daniel York Loh. Poon introduced his simple ballad as being inspired by a Facetime call with his father about his Hong Kong heritage. Sung by Christopher Chung, this tender lullaby – sung to the character’s sleeping newborn son – was elevated by a gorgeous cello accompaniment.
• ‘I Don’t Feel Like Me Anymore’ from Snowflake by Lewis Cornay. Cornay introduced his new musical Snowflake as ‘a show about the tricky complexities of sexual identities and finding your purpose in modern millennialhood’. Sharan Phull took on the role of Jess, who starts a relationship with gay friend Tom, and sang this number while ‘dooming-scrolling’ through Instagram. This proved to be an ambitious piece of storytelling and self-realisation, with plenty for Phull to sink her teeth into.
• ‘Joyce’s Song’ from Falling Skies by Sophie Boyce and Fred Feeney. A mother has to send her evacuee children away during the Second World War in this poignant number from Boyce and Feeney. The beautiful use of repetition – the ‘drip drip drip’ of a leaking ceiling, the ‘tick tick tick’ of a grandfather clock and the ‘beat, beat, beat of my tenor-drummer heart’ – gave this song a haunting melancholy. Performed to perfection by Rebecca Trehearn.
• ‘Getting Away with Murder’ from La Vida Loca Latin Dance Musical by Chris Brindle and Rob Jones. Writer Brindle gave a rather quirky introduction to his equally quirky song from his even quirkier-sounding ‘Latin-ballroom-pop-rock-musical-theatre-dance’ musical, La Vida Loca. Aidan Charles Waller performed as the show’s hitman breaking the fourth wall to boast to the audience about his ‘one-man crimewave’ in a pop-rock spectacle. Certainly a fun pace-changer…
• ‘The Inventor’s Daughter’ from The Night Our Parents Disappeared by Andy Room and Oli George Rew. Room bounded on stage to introduce this song from his dark-comedy musical ‘about babies taking over the world’. In what the composer described as a ‘rare moment of reflection’, guest performer Emily Louise Israel sang about the challenges of living with a famous father, hinting at the complexity of their relationship in a surprisingly serious number, given the show’s premise!
• ‘A Portrait of Me’ from Dead Reckoning by Lezlie Wade and Scott Christian. The songwriting duo introduced their docu-drama about the aviatrix Amelia Earhart, portrayed here by Caroline Sheen. The song revealed the impatient pilot’s inner thoughts as she’s painted by a portrait artist – the longest time she’s ever had to sit still. Some beautiful images painted in song.
• ‘Wheatfield with Crows’ from The Rise and Fall of Vinnie and Paul by Neil Bastian. Bastian’s introductory banter came with a trigger warning about the suicidal thoughts being voiced in his two-hander rock-pop musical about Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gaugin. Craig Mather performed as van Gogh, whose mental health is deteriorating and whose final completed painting, the titular field of crows, comes to symbolise his suicidal downfall. A powerful, impressive number that also showcased Mather’s superb vocal skills.
• ‘Parallel Life’ from The Fan by Karen Bishko and Max Luck. A zealous pop fan starts a relationship with the subject of her obsession in this somewhat psychotic country number sung by Kaisa Hammarlund. A real toe-tapper, Bishko and Luck’s fun monologue got a real boost from the band. A clap-along success!
• ‘This Isn’t Magic’ from Galileo: An A Cappella Musical by Dan Mawson and Leo Mercer. My personal favourite from the night was this characterful a cappella-pop-and-film-music inspired song performed by the wonderful Scott Hunter and an ensemble of six students from Trinity Laban. This intelligent, wordy and amusing sales pitch by Galileo to the Venetian Doge for his new telescope invention was not quite a cappella, thanks to a bit of support from the drummer and bassist. Was also by far the most unusual and intriguing piece of the night.
• ‘One Last Request’ from The Most Beautiful Suicide by Flora Leo. The title of this song refers to the infamous photograph taken of Evelyn Francis McHale, who, in 1947, killed herself by leaping from the 86th-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building, landing on the roof of a black Cadillac before being snapped by student Robert Wiles. Chelsea Halfpenny performed this beautiful, captivating and ultimately empowering song inspired by a moment of sexual harassment experienced by McHale as she takes the train to New York on her last day alive.
• ‘Keep Me From Going Under’ from Keep Me From Going Under by Michelle Payne and EMY.P (Emy Parsons). This title song is from what sounds like an important musical about young people dealing with mental health issues and finding solace and community in poetry, rap and songwriting. Levi Tyrell Johnson performed, contrasting some touching lyrical moments with assertive rapping.

At this point, the judges slipped off to deliberate. Joining Stiles and Drewe on the panel was Tony-nominated Jenna Russell (remotely), producer Ameena Hamid, director Matthew Xia and Toby Marlow, co-writer of Six.

As the judges cogitated, the audience was treated to a few more songs from the MMD membership: Janie Dee sang ‘Checkout Lil’ from The Mercury Workshop Review by Eric Angus and Kate McMahon; Scott Hunter and Aidan Charles Waller sang ‘Horse Whispers’ from Beyond the Gate by Tim Sutton; Rebecca Trehearn sang ‘Musical Theatre is an American Artform’, the song in which Susannah Pearse gives the finger to Leonard Bernstein after his ridiculous claim quoted in the title; Emily Tierney sang the title song from Stiles and Drewe’s Identical; and the quartet of Teleri Hughes, Christopher Chung, Sharan Phill and Levi Tyrell Johnson returned to the stage to sing the gorgeous ‘If I Run’ from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by Darren Clark and Jethro Compton.

After deliberation, the judges returned to the stage and Stiles and Drewe announced the verdict. The first prize went to a very deserving Flora Leo for ‘One Last Request’, adding to the composer-lyricist’s ‘Voice, Vision & Potential’ prize won at the same event last year.

This fantastic evening of song speaks volumes to the array of talent in the UK musical theatre scene. There is clearly an inspiring esprit de corp among this group of creatives, each supporting the other on their show-writing journeys, supported by Stiles and Drewe and the work of Mercury Musical Developments.

As this night attests, musical theatre does play a vital role in putting voice to our troubles times – the topics covered in just a handful of songs touched on important matters such as mental health and suicide. But there’s also joy to be had in celebrating the best of humanity, and this is something that musical theatre can do better than any other art form.

Bravo to all concerned, and thank you to MMD for continuing to support a tranche of the arts that seems to be facing ever more demanding challenges, be it from audience complacency to arts funding.

Craig Glenday