Theatre Collection announces 2026 Kevin Elyot award recipient

Press release issued:

The University of Bristol Theatre Collection has selected the 2026 recipient of the annual Kevin Elyot Award created in memory of the renowned playwright, screenwriter and Bristol Drama alumnus.

Andrew McCaldon is a dramatist based in Hove. His two music-dramas, Gershwin & Miss Swift, and the 2024 Imison Award winner, Benny & Hitch, were both staged at the Alexandra Palace Theatre, London, and broadcast on BBC Radio 3.

His work, often incorporating music, also includes the BAFTA-winning Ten Pieces, shows for the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, and Abracadopera! for English National Opera and Sky Arts. 

Andrew said: “I’m thrilled and honoured to have won the Kevin Elyot Award 2026. Thank you to Kevin’s family and the panel for this wonderful opportunity – the chance to have a year-long adventure in Elyot's fascinating archives at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection.  

“Elyot’s dramas for stage and screen – with music running and resonating through their DNA – have always inspired me, so I can’t wait to take a deep dive into his creative process and, especially, the music and musicality of his writing. 

“I’m looking forward to exploring this vital, sensual aspect of Elyot’s craft in a series of workshops and, as I delve into the treasure trove of archive material, developing a new drama of my own, also with music at its heart.”

Sian Williams, Keeper at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection, said: “Since 2016, the award has enabled writers to produce new work including plays, publications, blog series and facilitate a wide range of workshops.

“Elyot’s archive is an extraordinary record of his creative process, captured in meticulous notebooks, drafts and script revisions. The award gives writers the time and space to be curious, to experiment and to draw inspiration from this material. It’s always a joy to introduce new writers to Elyot’s archive and see what new ideas are sparked.”

The award, now in its tenth year, was created in memory of Kevin Elyot (1951–2014) and invites writers, scholars and creative practitioners to work closely with Elyot’s papers, held at the Theatre Collection. Funded by an endowment from Kevin’s family, the £5,000 award enables the recipient to develop a new piece of writing or creative or academic work inspired by Elyot’s legacy.  

Further information

The Theatre Collection was founded in 1951 to support the establishment of Drama as an academic discipline in the UK and has grown to become one of the world’s leading collections relating to the history of British theatre and live art. The Theatre Collection comprises over 140 named collections and archives, including actors and collectors Raymond Mander and Joe Mitchenson.  

It also holds artworks, audio visual material, costumes, designs, set models, playbills and programmes of this most ephemeral of art forms.  The collections are particularly strong from the late 18th century onwards and document the onstage and offstage life of theatre. It provides a unique insight into theatre and live art, their creative processes and broader cultural contexts. The Theatre Collection’s holistic approach to collecting across archives and objects, and the interconnectedness between the collections, make it an outstanding research resource.