Sheffield College student celebrates £10,000 theatre industry bursary win

Ewan Fellows, 20, is one of the winners of The Evening Standard Future Theatre Fund, which was set up in response to concerns about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the theatre industry stars of the future.

In association with TikTok, and in partnership with the National Youth Theatre, the fund is distributing 12 bursaries worth £10,000 to struggling young people to help them with their career path in addition to providing them with an industry mentor.

Ewan, who is studying a foundation degree in musical theatre at the college’s Hillsborough Campus, said: “It’s absolutely amazing to have won a bursary and mentoring.”

He explained: “It feels like Christmas, birthdays, everything, all coming together at once! Everything in my life revolves around theatre and this will be a huge step forward. I’d like to thank the fund organisers so much. Winning this bursary has changed my life.”

Ewan is setting up a theatre company with a friend and will use the bursary funding to launch his first musical, Alive In Wonderland, which has been inspired by and created during the pandemic. He wrote the entire show, which has a cast of 11 people, in three months and plans to stage it in 2022.

Kelly English, assistant principal, at The Sheffield College’s Creative and Design Faculty, said: “We are so proud of Ewan, what an incredible achievement and opportunity! I’d also like to thank our amazing staff who, in sharing their valuable industry expertise and skills, inspire our students to go further in their careers.”

The Future Theatre Fund’s six categories comprised directing or theatre-making, visual design, audio design, musical theatre and the TikTok BreakOut Award – an open entry award for those who may not have had formal drama training at a theatre. Two recipients benefited from each category.

The judges included Andrew Lloyd Webber, Helen McCrory, TikTok’s Richard Waterworth, the National Youth Theatre’s Paul Roseby and other eminent names from the theatre world. The winners were announced last month.