Stephen Sondheim Society

07/06/2026

Huge Congratulations to CHARLOTTE ENGLISH from BIRD Conservatoire who was the winner of this year's Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year. Charlotte gave a wonderful performance of 'I Read' from Passion and 'The Sparrow's Tale' from The Wicker Husband by Darren Clark. Her performance really tugged at the heartstrings.
The First prize is kindly donated by Tessa Kulick in memory of Mark Jones.

Second prize went to TAZIVA-FAYE KATSANDE also from BIRD Conservatoire who was wonderful as The Witch with 'Last Midnight and with her rendidtion of 'Peace in the Puzzle' from Turing: A Musical, also by Darren Clark
The Second Prize is kindly donated by Tricia Sharpe and Ray Barker

We have a new Third Prize this year which has kindly been donated by the Chapman Family in memory of Jeremy Chapman who was an important part of the Society for many years. The first winner of this prize was ROSIE SUTTON from the University of Oxford, with an excellent performance of 'Getting Married Today' from Company and 'Colour in My Cheeks' from Heart of Winter by Tim Connor.

Congratulations to you all, and to our other finalists, there was so much talent on that stage today, the judges say that it was the hardest decision in the history of the competition. I hope to see all of you on stages throughout the country (and beyond) for years to come. Please Tag yourselves in the photo if you want to so that everyone gets to know your names.

Thank you so much to our wonderful host Bella Brown, for stepping in at the last minute and doing such a wonderful job, wowing us with her performance of 'Not A Day Goes By' and ad libbing so well when the judges were still fighting it out backstage. That took guts!

Thanks to our Judges, Edward Seckerson, Jenna Russell, Melanie La Barrie, Andy Nyman, Rachel Tucker and Matt Wolf, and performers Georgia Blessitt, Stuart Thompson, Gracie McGonigal and the NYMT Ensemble.
Thanks Also to Musical Director Nigel Lilley, Assistant MD John Haslam, Director Hannah Chissick and Assistant Director Craig Legg

Last of all thanks to Craig Glenday and Tina Foote for producing this wonderful event

07/06/2026

Enormous Thanks to BELLA BROWN who is stepping in at the last minute to host today's STEPHEN SONDHEIM SOCIETY STUDENT PERFORMER OF THE YEAR award, after Oscar Conlon-Morrey was put on vocal rest.

Bella has recently been giving a wonderful performance as Rapunzel in Into The Woods at The Bridge Theatre and you may have caught her singing from The Palladium balcony last summer as the alternate Evita. It's so kind of her to agree to step in to the role of host at the last minute (there's always a song from the host too) Thank-you Bella, we really appreciate it,

Come along and give her, and all of our wonderful contestants some support. There are still tickets available and it money raised goes towards "promoting the public knowledge and appreciation of the works of Stephen Sondheim by such means as are charitable" such as working with the NYMT

We send all our best wishes to Oscar for a speedy recovery

Ticket link in comments

02/06/2026

THIS SUNDAY!

Ticket link in comments

The Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year competition - affectionately known as
SSSSPOTY - returns for its 18th year with a gala final to be held, fittingly, in the Sondheim Theatre on
Sunday 7 June.
The final will be hosted by the award-winning actor, singer, comedian and cabaret artist OSCAR
CONLON-MORREY. Oscar, currently terrifying the children of Victorian London as Mr Bumble in Oliver!,
just next door to the Sondheim Theatre at the Gielgud, is returning to SSSSPOTY after winning the
special Julia McKenzie prize at the event back in 2017 while a student at Mountview. Since then,
Oscar’s credits have included featured roles in Only Fools and Horses (Theatre Royal Haymarket),
earning a WhatsOnStage nomination for Best Actor in a Musical; in Mother Goose, opposite Sir Ian
McKellen (Duke of York/UK Tour) and Nativity the Musical (Hammersmith Apollo/UK Tour).
The Stephen Sondheim Society (a charitable trust founded in 1993) asked for the first round of
auditions to be made via video. More than 350 submissions were received, 81 of which qualified for a
live, in-person audition with Chair of Judges EDWARD SECKERSON, Musical Director NIGEL LILLEY (Here
We Are and Follies, National Theatre) and guest judge LAURA PITT-PULFORD (Follies in Concert,
A Little Night Music in Concert, Marry Me a Little). Twelve finalists were selected, with 3 students held
in reserve.
The finalists are:
Ruby Decent (Bristol Old Vic Theatre School)
Charlotte English (Bird College)
Cait du Feu (Mountview)
Marcus Harman (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama)
Rebecca Hennessey (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama)
Róisín Holland (Emil Dale Academy)
Taziva-Faye Katsande (Bird College)
Samuel Louis Bennett (Trinity Laban)
Erica Schoebinger (Drama Studio London)
Josephine Shaw (Royal College of Music)
Rosie Sutton (University of Oxford)
Freddy Thompson (Trinity Laban)
Reserves:
Phoebe Graham (LAMDA), Nicholas McKeown (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama) and Teddy
Thompson (ArtsEd).
The winner will receive £1,000 and the chance to headline their own Sondheim-infused cabaret in
London. The runner-up is awarded £500. A 3rd prize of £250 has been donated in memory of critic and
Stephen Sondheim Society member, Jeremy Chapman.

Each finalist will be required to sing one song with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, plus a new
song chosen by them from the selection at NEW UK MUSICALS - the organisation founded by the
Olivier-Award-winning Benjamin Button composer Darren Clark to showcase the UK’s best new
musical-theatre writing for the stage. It was the express wish of Mr Sondheim that for every one of his
songs selected by the finalists, a new song is performed, in order to encourage and support the creation
of new work.
The Society is also excited to partner once again with the National Youth Music Theatre (NYMT), and look
forward to featuring a performance from cast members from their upcoming production of West Side
Story, which will be staged in Birmingham in August 2026.
Also performing at the gala will be Gracie McGonigal (Little Red Riding Hood in the London revival of Into
the Woods) and Stuart Thompson, a returning SSSSPOTY winner and just announced as a runner up in
the Ian Charleson Award, will be performing new piece of writing from FlyBy.
The competition has an impressive track record for identifying young talent. Finalists have included
Cynthia Erivo, Oscar Conlon-Morrey, Dónal Finn and winners include Alex Young, Taron Egerton, Erin
Doherty, Stuart Thompson, Desmonda Cathabel, Izuka Hoyle, Courtney Bowman and, most recently,
Georgia Blessitt from the Royal Academy of Music, who will reprise her winning number at this year’s
competition.
Oscar Conlon-Morrey will host and also perform.
The Final will be directed by Hannah Chissick (Marry Me A Little, Pack of Lies, Amour).
The students will perform for a panel of highly respected West End performers and critics. Jenna Russell,
a patron of The Stephen Sondheim Society, will join the Chair of Judges Edward Seckerson, whose panel
will also include WhatsOnStage Best Supporting Actress Melanie La Barrie (currently The Witch in Into
The Woods, previously Hadestown, Mary Poppins, & Juliet; Olivier-nominated actor Andy Nyman (The
Producers, Hello, Dolly!, Assassins); Olivier nominated actress and singer Rachel Tucker (Baker’s Wife in
Into The Woods, previously Come From Away, The Last Ship, Hadestown); and renowned theatre critic
Matt Wolf.
Previous judges include John Wilson, Imelda Staunton, Fra Fee, Callum Scott Howells and Andrew Lippa.
Craig Glenday, Chair of The Stephen Sondheim Society, said:
“Whatever the outcome of this year’s competition, it’s going to be a fantastic afternoon of music at the
Sondheim. The calibre of the finalists is going to make the job of picking a winner a difficult one, and
I don’t envy Edward and his jury. I say this every year, but the standards just keep on rising, which is
a sign of the UK’s very healthy musical-theatre scene. Thank you to all the colleges and students that
applied – it’s been a privilege to hear you all perform. And best of luck to the Finalists!”

16/05/2026

Members were treated to a lovely Q&A after the matinee of Sedos production of Company.

Thanks so much to Producer/Sound DesignerAdam Coppard, Director Emily Phillips, Musical Director Thomas Marples and Actors Will Garrood (Bobby) and Natalie Emden (Joanne) for taking the time to talk to us.

Congratulations on a fantastic production!

Society members get access to events like this. To find out more about becoming a member, please visit the website.

12/05/2026

Congratulations to 2019 SSSSPOTY finalist Ahmed Hamad on joining this fabulous show!

Operation Mincemeat announces new West End cast!

See who's heading to the Fortune Theatre below. 👇

12/02/2026

The Stephen Sondheim Society is heartbroken at the news that our friend and contributor Jeremy Chapman has passed away at the age of 84.

Jeremy first wrote for the SONDHEIM magazine back in December 2011, with the story of how Judy Collins' recording of "Send in the Clowns" turned him on to Sondheim in his 30s - something for which he was eternally grateful. He then went on to write regularly for the Society, providing news stories, show reviews and penning a regular ON THE TOWN cabaret column.

Jeremy was a keen supporter of musical productions in prison, and an enthusiastic champion of Pimlico Opera, taking many of his friends and colleagues to places such as HMP Bronzefield to see their musicals performed by a mix of professional actors, inmates and prison staff.

A journalist and writer for the sporting press, Jeremy was a career-long contributor to the Racing Post and Sporting Life, and was the UK's first professional golf tipster - "the Tiger Woods of golf tipsters," said The Times. He also interviewed many sporting legends, including Muhammad Ali, who challenged him to a game of Monopoly!

Jeremy had such a positive and inspirational love for life that he battled through many years of illness with a stoicism that I've never seen in anyone else. With the support of his wife Christa, he made sure to never miss SSSSPOTY or the chance to support young up-and-coming performers. He was a regular at press nights in London, always looking dapper in a light suit, and it seemed that nothing - not even the relentlessness of cancer - could stop him.

The latest SONDHEIM magazine has just gone to press - featuring Jeremy's coverage of SSSSPOTY 2025 - so we'll be sure to celebrate his life and contribution to musical theatre in the following edition. It's almost impossible to imagine that he won't be there to cover the next SSSSPOTY...

RIP Jeremy, thank you for everything. You will be much missed xx

21/06/2025

Thank you to everyone at Stage Academy Theatre School (Dundee) for welcoming our Chair Craig Glenday backstage for a quick hello before tonight’s Sweeney Todd.

“And thank you for staging such a meaty production,” says Craig. “Every time I see this show there’s something new to discover, and there were plenty of beautifully observed little touches to enjoy on top of the great performances - particularly from the gruesome twosome. The idiosyncratic choreography also added greatly to the production and gave the big ensemble plenty of opportunities to shine. And the tension in the Whitehall Theatre during those last couple of scenes was proper edge-of-the-seat stuff. Bravo all!”

23/03/2025

Enjoying hearing our amazing cast rehearsing for tonight’s Merrily We Sing Along at Upstairs At The Gatehouse Please join us in honouring Mr Sondheim

Back by popular demand, The Stephen Sondheim Society invites you to raise your voice along with ours in a sensational Sondheim Sing Along to…