Anthony Drewe is a British

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

and book writer for Broadway and West End musicals. He is best known for his collaborations with George Stiles.

Education

He was educated at Maidstone Grammar School between 1974–1980. He read Zoology at

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public ...

between 1980–1983 where he met his writing partner George Stiles.

Collaboration with George Stiles

For more than 30 years, Drewe has worked with the composer George Stiles. Together they have written eleven shows (see below). Projects currently in development include: ''Soap Dish''; an adaptation of Graham Greene's ''Travels with My Aunt''; and a new project with the director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell.

Tutankhamun

''Tutankhamun'' was first performed at the Northcott Theatre and Imagination Buildings in 1984.

Just So

''Just So'' was co-produced by Cameron Mackintosh at the

Watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production ...

in 1989 where it was directed by Julia McKenzie. A further production was mounted in 1990 directed by Mike Ockrent at the Tricycle Theatres in the UK. The celebrated Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut produced a new version of the show in 1996. In 2001, Anthony Drewe directed an extensively reworked version at Boston’s North Shore Music Theatre in the USA, with designs by

Peter McKintosh Peter McKintosh is a British theatre set and costume designer. Background He obtained a degree in Theatre Studies at the University of Warwick and then trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. His work as an assistant to Mark Thomps ...

and choreography by

Stephen Mear Stephen Leonard Mear (born 1964) is an English dancer, choreographer and director best known for his award-winning work in musical theatre. In the 1990s, Mear taught dance at the London Studio Centre. In 2005 he and co-choreographer Sir Matth ...

. With the same team, Anthony directed the 2004 Chichester Festival Theatre production, which received glowing reviews and proved to be a big hit.

Honk!

'' Honk!'' was commissioned by the Watermill Theatre (1993). Under the direction of Julia McKenzie it was developed at the

Stephen Joseph Theatre The Stephen Joseph Theatre is a theatre in the round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England that was founded by Stephen Joseph and was the first theatre in the round in Britain. In 1955, Joseph established a tiny theatre in the round on ...

(1997) in a production designed by

and choreographed by Aletta Collins. In 1999, during

Trevor Nunn Sir Trevor Robert Nunn (born 14 January 1940) is a British theatre director. He has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed dramas ...

's time as artistic director at the National Theatre,

Julia Mackenzie Julia Kathleen Nancy McKenzie (born 17 February 1941) is an English actress, singer, presenter, and theatre director. She has premièred leading roles written by both Alan Ayckbourn and Stephen Sondheim. On television, she is known for her BAF ...

was invited to restage her production in the Olivier Theatre. It was the first new British musical to be produced in the history of the National Theatre. Honk! won three Best Musical awards – the 2000

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

, the FNB VITA Award in

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, and the Elliot Norton Award in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The National Theatre production toured the UK in 2001. It is frequently produced by schools and community theatre groups. Honk! has been seen by more than 6 million people all over the world in over 8,000 productions in more than 20 languages.

Peter Pan

'' Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure'' won both Best Song (When I Kill Peter Pan, performed by

Denis Quilley Denis Clifford Quilley, OBE (26 December 1927 – 5 October 2003) was an English actor and singer. From a family with no theatrical connections, Quilley was determined from an early age to become an actor. He was taken on by the Birmingham Re ...

)and the Orchestra's Award for Best Musical at the 1997 International Musical of the Year. It premiered in 1999 at the Ny Theater,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

. In 2001, it was performed at the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I li ...

, starring

John Thaw John Edward Thaw, (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor who appeared in a range of television, stage, and cinema roles. He starred in the television series '' Inspector Morse'' as title character Detective Chief Inspector ...

, Jenna Russell, Joe MacFadden and

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and music ...

accompanied by the

BBC Concert Orchestra The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British concert orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five BBC orchestras which is not a full-scale sym ...

. The performance also boasted a first in that Wendy, Michael and John were played by three real-life siblings,

Laura Michelle Kelly Laura Michelle Kelly (born 4 March 1981) is an English actress and singer, best known for originating the roles of Mary Poppins in ''Mary Poppins'' in the West End, for which she received the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical, and S ...

and her brothers Jorim and Nathan. The BBC broadcast the concert on

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...

2001. Following the concert’s success, a fuller semi-staged version, with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, ran for 6 weeks at the

over Christmas 2002 starring Richard Wilson and James Gillan, with Susannah York as the Storyteller and Lottie Meyer as Wendy. In 2007, the show was given its British theatrical premiere in a fully fledged production at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

as directed by Rachel Kavanaugh. In the summer of 2011, it made its American premiere at the Tri-County Performing Arts Center in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, recently renamed Steel River Playhouse. The production made its Canadian premiere with the St. Albert Children's Theatre in

St. Albert, Alberta St. Albert is a city in Alberta on the Sturgeon River northwest of the City of Edmonton. It was originally settled as a Métis community, and is now the second-largest city in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region. St. Albert first received its town ...

in November 2011. In October 2015 a concert version directed by Jonathan Butterell was performed at London's

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receivin ...

with

Bradley Walsh Bradley John Walsh (born 4 June 1960) is an English actor, comedian, singer, television presenter, and former professional footballer. Walsh is known for his roles as Danny Baldwin in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' (2004–2006), a ...

as Hook, Ray Quinn as Peter Pan,

as The Storyteller and Jenna Russell as Mrs Darling.

Mary Poppins

George Stiles and Anthony Drewe were commissioned by Cameron Mackintosh and

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

to write additional material augmenting the

Sherman Brothers The Sherman Brothers were an American songwriting duo that specialized in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman (December 19, 1925 – March 6, 2012) and Richard M. Sherman (born June 12, 1928). Together they received various accolades i ...

' original

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winning Disney's classic 1964 film song score. The stage musical featured a new book by

Downton Abbey ''Downton Abbey'' is a British historical drama television series set in the early 20th century, created and co-written by Julian Fellowes. The series first aired in the United Kingdom on ITV on 26 September 2010 and in the United States o ...

writer and

winner Julian Fellowes. ''

Mary Poppins It may refer to: * ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fantasy novels that introduced the character. * Mary Poppins (character), the nanny with magical powers. * ''Mary Poppins'' (film), a 1964 Disney film star ...

'' opened at the

Prince Edward Theatre The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. History The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Marc ...

in December 2004 where it had a hugely successful 3-year run before embarking on a UK national tour in 2008. It opened on Broadway in 2006 where it ran for 6 years at the

New Amsterdam Theatre The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater on 214 West 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District of Manhattan in New York City. One of the oldest surviving Broadway venues, the New Amsterdam was built fro ...

. A US tour hit the road in 2009, touring for over 2 years. A new production opened at The Ronacher Theatre in

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in 2014. In the autumn of 2015 it embarked on a new UK Tour.

Betty Blue Eyes

Betty Blue Eyes opened at the Novello Theatre in April 2011 produced by Cameron Mackintosh, starring Sarah Lancashire and Reece Shearsmith. It received rave reviews from critics and audiences alike and received nominations for ‘Best New Musical’ in the 2012

Laurence Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

, The Evening Standard Awards and the WhatsOnStage.com Awards. The show received its US premiere at the Music Theatre of Wichita, Kansas in July 2013. A UK tour of ran from March–August 2014.

Soho Cinders

The show was premiered at a sold-out concert performance at the Queen's Theatre in October 2011 in aid of The

Teenage Cancer Trust Teenage Cancer Trust is a cancer care and support charity in the UK that exists to improve the cancer experience of young people aged 13–24. Founded in 1990, the charity's key service is providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. I ...

. A full staged production opened at the

Soho Theatre The Soho Theatre is a theatre and registered charity in the Soho district of the City of Westminster, in London, England. It produces and presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret, across three performance spaces. The the ...

in the summer of 2012. Further productions have been staged in Dallas, Texas, at the Arts Educational School, London, University of Cumbria, University of West England, and it will open in 2015 in Belgium.

Three Little Pigs

The

Three Little Pigs "The Three Little Pigs" is a fable about three pigs who build three houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house t ...

was commissioned by the

Singapore Repertory Theatre Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) is a non-profit professional theatre company founded in 1993. It is located at the KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT at 20 Merbau Road, Singapore. The current artistic director is Gaurav Kripalani while its manag ...

for their Little Company and forms the first in a “trilogy of trios” (along with Goldilocks And The Three Bears and The Three Billy Goats Gruff). It premiered for 70 sell-out performances at the DBS Arts Centre in Singapore in March 2012 (in English), and returned for a further four week run at the same venue in July 2013 (in Mandarin). In October 2013 it was selected for the NAMT Festival in New York – the first children’s show ever to receive that honour. Since then, there have been productions at The Greenwich Theatre, London, a hit season at Emerald City Theatre, Chicago and productions in Finland and China. In the summer of 2015 Three Little Pigs had its West End premiere at

Palace Theatre, London The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. Its red-brick facade dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus behind a small plaza near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road. The Palace ...

starring

Simon Webbe Simon Solomon Webbe (born 30 March 1979) is a British singer. He is best known as a member of the boy band Blue, forming in 2000 before splitting in 2005 and reforming in 2009, selling over 15 million records. Webbe released three solo studio a ...

as the Big Bad Wolf, Alison Jiear as Mummy Pig and Leanne Jones, Taofique Folarin and Daniel Buckley as the three piglets. A studio cast recording featuring

Gareth Gates Gareth Paul Gates (born 12 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He was the runner-up in the first series of the ITV talent show ''Pop Idol'' in 2002. As of 2008, Gates had sold over 3.5 million records in the UK. He is ...

, Alison Jiear, Clive Rowe, Amy Lennox and Lewis Barnshaw was released in 2012.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest home ...

'' was commissioned by the

and premiered there in 2013. The Mandarin production opened that same year. A studio cast recording featuring David Bedella, James Gillan, Leanne Jones, Amy Lennox and Michael Xavier was released in 2015.

Three Billy Goats Gruff

Three Billy Goats Gruff "Three Billy Goats Gruff" ( no, De tre bukkene Bruse) is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their '' Norske Folkeeventyr'', first published between 1841 and 1844. It has an Aarne-Thompson type of 1 ...

was commissioned by the

and premiered there in 2015.

Half a Sixpence

Following the success of ''Mary Poppins'', Stiles and Drewe were reunited with producer Cameron Mackintosh and book writer Julian Fellowes to create a new musical version of ''Half a Sixpence'' based on the original musical, using the original songs by David Heneker. The production premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre in July 2016 before transferring to London's West End in October 2016.

The Wind in the Willows

Commissioned by producer

Jamie Hendry Jamie Hendry was born on July 24, 1985 in London, England. Hendry is a British theater executive, actor, and producer. Education Born in London, England, Hendry attended Paul's School (London) prior to graduating from Warwick University in 20 ...

in 2011, '' The Wind in the Willows'', a musical adaptation of

Kenneth Grahame Kenneth Grahame ( ; 8 March 1859 – 6 July 1932) was a British writer born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is most famous for '' The Wind in the Willows'' (1908), a classic of children's literature, as well as '' The Reluctant Dragon''. Both books ...

's novel, opens at the

Theatre Royal, Plymouth Theatre Royal, Plymouth, is a theatre venue in Plymouth, Devon. It consists of a 1,300-seat main auditorium, The Lyric, which regularly hosts large-scale musicals, opera and ballet; a 200-seat studio, The Drum; and a 50-seat studio, The Lab. O ...

in October 2016 before heading to

The Lowry The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex ope ...

in Salford and London's West End. The book was written by Julian Fellowes who Stiles and Drewe previously worked with on ''Mary Poppins'' and ''Half a Sixpence''. The production will be directed by Rachel Kavanaugh (who also directed ''Half a Sixpence'') with set and costume design by

and lighting design by Howard Harrison.

Becoming Nancy

The

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

, based on the novel "Becoming Nancy" by Terry Ronald and with a book by Elliot Davis, will debut in 2019 at the

Alliance Theatre The Alliance Theatre is a theater company in Atlanta, Georgia, based at the Alliance Theatre, part of the Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center, and is the winner of the 2007 Regional Theatre Tony Award. The company, originally the Atlanta Municipal T ...

in Atlanta from Sept. 5 to Oct. 6, directed by Jerry Mitchell.

Identical

Based on the 1949 novel

Lottie and Lisa ''Lisa and Lottie'' (original German title: ''Das doppelte Lottchen'', "The Double Lottie") (published since 2014 in the United Kingdom and Australia as ''The Parent Trap'') is a 1949 German novel by Erich Kästner, about twin girls separated in ...

Erich Kästner Emil Erich Kästner (; 23 February 1899 – 29 July 1974) was a German writer, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known primarily for his humorous, socially astute poems and for children's books including '' Emil and the Detectives''. He receive ...

(also known as the basis for

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

''The Parent Trap''), '' Identical'' will premiere at the

Nottingham Playhouse Nottingham Playhouse is a theatre in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England. It was first established as a repertory theatre in 1948 when it operated from a former cinema in Goldsmith Street. Directors during this period included Val May and F ...

and

Theatre Royal, Bath The Theatre Royal in Bath, England, was built in 1805. A Grade II* listed building, it has been described by the Theatres Trust as "One of the most important surviving examples of Georgian theatre architecture". It has a capacity for an audien ...

in summer 2020 with a book by Stuart Paterson and will be directed by Sir Trevor Nunn.

Other

Stiles and Drewe are founding members of Mercury Musical Developments (MMD), a charity devoted to nurturing new musical theatre in the United Kingdom. They have also written other revues and songs for theatre, TV, and radio, including the RSC's ''Shakespeare Revue'', ''The Challenge'', and

Dame Edna Everage Dame Edna Everage, often known simply as Dame Edna, is a character created and performed by Australian comedian Barry Humphries, known for her lilac-coloured ("wisteria hue") hair and cat eye glasses ("face furniture"); her favourite flower, t ...

's ''Look at Me When I'm Talking to You''.

Awards

Awards include the

for Best New Musical ( Honk!), an Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Musical Production ( Honk!), and a host of awards for Mary Poppins around the world. As a founding board-member of Mercury Musical Developments, Anthony also awards the annual Stiles and Drewe Prize for a new song written for the musical stage.

Independent work as a lyricist

*''The Card'' *''Twist of Fate''

Work as an actor

*''Rouges to Riches'' – Porthos *''A Twist of Fate (musical), A Twist of Fate'' – Inspector East

Directing credits

*''

Snoopy Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by Charles M. Schulz. He can also be found in all of the ''Peanuts'' films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of the most recog ...

'' – at the Watermill *''

Cowardy Custard ''Cowardy Custard'' is a musical revue and was one of the last Noël Coward shows staged during his life. It was devised by Gerard Frow, Alan Strachan and Wendy Toye. A book, also titled ''Cowardy Custard'', was published in connection with the ...

'' – at the Royal Academy of Music *'' Honk!'' – in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

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, and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, *''Just So'' – at the Chicester Festival Theatre

References

Sources

*http://www.stilesanddrewe.com/ *http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsD/drewe-anthony.html *http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=542983 *https://web.archive.org/web/20080312161506/http://www.playbill.com/celebritybuzz/whoswho/biography/16550.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Drewe, Anthony British lyricists Living people Year of birth missing (living people)